The eighth PSYCROPTIC album? Shit yeah! 

You know what you’re getting with this reliable death metal act. Riffs, so many bustling death metal riffs played with utter precision. Backed up with drums tight as buggery and the angriest of yelling. And you get it straight away here on DIVINE COUNCIL with the first track 'Rend Asunder', the sickest technical riff that moves into the most rockin death metal groove. 

But whilst we know what we’ve come to expect from Psycroptic, they still manage to keep every album sounding unique. Some darker moments like ‘Enslavement’ break up the relentlessness, or the evil synth in ‘Exitus’, and the wicked acoustic stuff in 'The Prophets Council’. 

The guitar picking feels quicker and tighter than ever before. And so too the blasts and kicks at times. A huge call considering the technicalities proven through their back catalogue. The songwriting seems stripped back which opens up space to let these wizards do their thing. The mix of extreme sections into grooves are just so cool, 'This Shadowed World' being a great example, crazy riffage at the start then an absolute monster bustle near the end. 

DIVINE COUNCIL also keeps interesting with a couple of guest vocalists. Jason Keyser of Origin features at various times throughout, plus even some female vocals courtesy of Amy Wiles that sit nicely in the mix. 

If somehow you haven’t heard PSYCROPTIC before, it’s almost like the guitars of Necrophagist with the groove and aggression of Decapitated. But with their own identifiable flare. 

Having grown up with Psycroptic it has been an honour watching them evolve over the last 20 years and they are a total inspiration to all Aussie metalheads. DIVINE COUNCIL is one mean feat!

 

9/10

Vincent van Goat

 

‘DIVINE COUNCIL’ to be released via EVP Recordings on August 5th 2022

Get it here - https://lnk.to/Psycroptic