Psyopus

Our Puzzling Encounters Considered

Written by: PP on 11/04/2007 13:41:01

...And I thought I had heard it all in The Fall Of Troy's ultra technical screamo and The Dillinger Escape Plan's carefully calculated mathematically precise riffing and genre-defining destruction on stage and record. That is, until I placed my hands on Psyopus' newest album "Our Puzzling Encouters Considered". When just contemplating Psyopus' very name, words like psychotic and insane are among the first to come into mind, effectively describing what this album is all about. Even the guitar and amp companies demanded a live video from the unorthodox guitarist Christopher Arp before endorsing him in order to confirm he is actually able to play that fast - because his extreme leads and riffs are unheard in the world of music.

You may insist The Fall Of Troy has complex instrumentation, but they sound like small children who werre just given a guitar for the first time after songs like "Scissor Fuck Paper Doll" or "Insects". The latter's guitars sound like little insects flying past your ear at lightning speeds, tuned at heavy-as-fuck levels and played with the kind of guitar experimentation and talent it's guaranteed to make your jaw drop. How Mr. Arp can possibly play such ultra-complicated extreme technicalities at such speeds is something I'm having trouble believing just like the guitar amp companies. But he does it, and heck, he demonstrates his beautiful side too in the ballad "Siobhanis Song". But here too, his giftnedness with the guitar shines through the original and mindblowingly beautiful melody. This is a song that gives you breathing space after eight songs of ear damaging tech-metal, and allows you to contemplate just what the hell it is that Psyopus is trying to do here, before the chaos resurrects on "Happy Valentines Day" (I dare you to play this song to your girlfriend on valentine's day).

"Our Puzzling Encouters Considered" is indeed puzzling, it is psychotic and the band's guitarist is out of his mind for being able to create sounds from a guitar I never thought possible. Some might get nervous from such a complicated array of instrumental chaos on top of equally chaotic screamed out vocals jampacked tightly together, but fans of extreme music will indeed find Psyopus one of the most exciting bands to have signed to Metal Blade in a long time.

8

Download: Insects, Siobhanis Song
For the fans of: The Dillinger Escape Plan, The Fall Of Troy, Heavy Heavy Low Low
Listen: Myspace

Release date 26.02.2007
Metal Blade
Provided by Target ApS

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