Psycroptic – Divine Council
Release Date: 5th August 2022
Label: Prosthetic Records
Bandcamp
Genre: Technical Death Metal
FFO: Origin, Soreption, Archspire, Revocation, Decapitated.
Review By: Rick Farley
Accessibility and technical death metal are two words that don’t typically belong together. The genre is known for extreme excess and, to this reviewer, has become stale and uninspired in recent years. Sure, there’s been a few releases this year that buck that trend, but it’s been slim pickings for sure. Enter Australia’s Psycroptic; an absolute pillar in the tech death community who have never really fit the mould of what the genre is perceived as, and frankly that’s a good thing. Let me elaborate.
Pyscroptic as a band are highly skilled musicians who have virtuoso style guitars and incredibly complex drums. Blissful sections of technical wizardry sure to please any tech head with blistering speed, perfect execution, and face melting sections of savage mastery. What sets the band apart from the rest of the genre is their song writing abilities. Songs are well written, extremely focused, and instantly sound recognizable. The blur of musicianship is silky smooth, there is not one ounce of excess. It feels completely natural, presented in traditional song structures of hyper, brutal, yet catchy melodicism. This makes an enormous difference in the likeability of songs for fans that are not straight into the whole section after section of load-blowing wankery.
Divine Council marks the bands eighth studio album and the most hyper focused and refined yet. Stylistically it isn’t far off from As the Kingdom Drowns but magnifies the assault in every way. Little bits of thrash, metalcore and some symphonic progressive elements adds some different vibe and style to the record, but the band has locked in their sound and is a fine-tuned machine at this point.
Guitar-centric riffs are still the fuel that gets everything churning. Joe Haley is a phenomenal guitarist who has a unique take on kinetic riffs and slithery runs that keep everything at chaos level but yet still very engaging. His slinky grooves and tight hooks never stay in one spot for long too long, but also keeps a traditional song structure that is highly memorable and easy to digest. That’s not to say, it’s not complicated, because Joe can shred with about anyone, he has this amazing knack for sharp and crunchy riffs with legato runs that blend well together. Not to be outdone by his brother, drummer Dave Haley is nothing short of incredible himself. His blast injected frenzied style of play is not even human. The interplay between the drums and guitar is intricate but sounds so fluid. It’s an explosion of complexity that’s catchy as hell. Vocalist Jason Peppiatt who wrote all the lyrics and vocal patterns brings a lot of versatility; vocally able to hit all the screams and growls required for the band’s intensity. Jason Keyser of Origin is considered an extended part of the Psycroptic family and contributes vocals as well. Amy Wiles was recruited to bring a female voice, which leans towards the choral sounding vocals. The layers of vocals can be a little daunting at times, but overall work really well. Rounding the bands core is bassist Todd Stern, who brings the low end. The bass is following along with the guitars often note for note, but is also providing that hefty punch when needed. It would be nice to hear his bass work just a little better. But it surely doesn’t detract from the album’s quality.
Divine Council is a great sounding record that gets better and better with multiple listens. Unbelievable musicianship, sick ass grooves and catchy melodies. From a fans perspective, this is everything you want in a Psycroptic album and feels like a natural evolution from the last record. Psycroptic is a band firing on all cylinders with incredible skill and serious song writing chops that’s bound to get some techies, heads to blow up and hopefully bring in droves of new fans. 
(4 / 5)
