The Tasmanian Devils in Psycroptic are back with their newest record Divine Council. This is their eighth studio record and follow up to 2018’s The Inherited Repression, and more recently, The Watcher of All EP which I reviewed positively here. Does Divine Council continue to uphold the mighty reputation that Psycroptic has created for themselves?
Quick answer: yes! Very much so.
From the extended drum intro to the album opener and released single “Rend Asunder”, you know you’re in for some quality technical death metal. If Soreption and Archspire are hailed as the gods of staccato riffs, Psycroptic is king when it comes to legato tech-death. Along with the butter smooth guitar runs that Psycroptic are known for, they are also well-versed in the thrashier side of tech-death, and “This Shadowed World” is very thrash forward, along with that classic Psycroptic spice. Tracks like this would not be amiss on a Revocation album either, which are even further along the thrash metal line of influences. The catchy central riff comes to a head when it gets modified into a pinch harmonic laden groove with impressive ride cymbal runs. It’s arrangements like these that put Psycroptic leaps and bounds ahead of the myriad of braindead shred-tech bands out there.
However, it is “Enslavement” that became my favorite track from the first listen. The anthemic pace, much slowed down from their usual fare, along with the magic that is the central guitar riff, equal parts groove, both cloyingly “simple” yet masterfully crafted and inserted into quicker verse/chorus riffs make “Enslavement” among the standout tracks on Divine Council. The addition of grander, more bombastic choruses with added synth layers pushes the track even further into newer territory. I would be so very happy with an entire EP or even full length with songs as fresh and diverse as “Enslavement”.
If the intro to “Enslavement” is like an exquisite tapestry of intricate brushwork (or rather string work), the intro to “Ashes of Our Empire” is the equivalent of a caveman knuckle-dragging his way forward with his spiked club, and I say this as high praise. After the slower pace of the previous track, “Ashes of Our Empire” is as high-octane as they come, and the contrast makes both tracks more enjoyable. And we are treated to our first scream-clean chorus. Again, more of this in future records!
Now that I am sitting down to write this review, I realize that Divine Council is chockfull of bangers, and even their “weakest” tracks are leagues better than what’s out there, and their evolution, even if incremental, is palpable. Divine Council is a record that takes familiar Psycroptic tropes and distills them into their most potent forms, as well as adds new elements, like the more melodic choruses on “A Fool’s Errand” and whatever the heck is going on with the chorus on “A Fragile Existence” with the numerous vocal layers. Psycroptic does not bother faffing around even on their album outro, there’s no outro-lude here, no filler content, just another winning track in the form of “Exitus”, with powerful riffs and a memorable melodic chorus, featuring female vocal overdubs.
Nobody could ever wag a finger accusing the members of Psycroptic of not being top-notch musicians and masters of their instruments. The Haley brothers, Joe Haley on guitars and Dave Haley on drums ARE Psycroptic. The signature legato-with-thrash-chug formula is the brainchild of Joe, but on Divine Council he is really putting all his cards on the table. The choreographed dance between the guitars and drums is a sign of how far the brothers have matured over the decades of playing and writing together, and it is as seamless as it is enjoyable. One of my major quibbles on Divine Council, a frequent one of mine when it comes to musically dense genre records, is that the bass seems under-represented. This is a particular shame because bassist Todd Stern has proven himself to be more than worthy addition to the Psycroptic roster. Hopefully, he will be given more room to breathe and flex his instrument on future albums.
The vocals on Psycroptic have always been a divisive issue among longtime fans. There will always be those that yearn for the more standard extreme death metal growl vocals that featured on the band’s earlier works like The Isle of Disenchantment and The Sceptre of Ancients. From the inclusion of vocalist Jason Peppiatt on ObServant, his preferred approach borrowed more from thrash metal and even hardcore vocals with a scratchier mid-pitch range of shouts rather than growls. On Divine Council the choice of vocal textures is, interesting to say the least. While there are more than a few hints that the Peppiatt is throwing in more old-school growls this time around, the vocal arrangements have so many layers that much of the clarity is lost, and many of the dynamics are lost amid a more washed-out quality in the mix. Either future records would have to scale back the number of vocal layers, or the mix would have to be tightened when it comes to the vocals. Cheers also to the stellar album art, courtesy of none other than Eliran Kantor, who is singlehandedly propping up the entire extreme metal album art industry!
Divine Council is a winning addition to the Psycroptic catalog. A legato riff-laden masterclass, held together with catchy grooves and melodic surprises thrown in to keep things innovative, this record should be the one to bring back those who may have lost faith in the Psycroptic machine. They are only getting better now!