PSYCROPTIC - Ob(servant)

By Jess V. and Jake W. - The Incinerator - 09/26/2008

With three previous studio albums already under their belts, Australian death metal giants Psycroptic released their fourth this year on Nuclear Blast Records to a fan base that had a pretty good idea of what to expect from them: extremely high caliber musicianship and a certain captivating energy that set the band apart from many of their less dynamic contemporaries. On the first account, this year’s Ob(Servant) certainly isn’t lacking; on the second, however, it leaves fans to wonder what exactly happened to the inspiration behind the band’s tech death masterpiece, The Scepter of the Ancients.

With the release of Ob(Servant), Psycroptic seems to be paying the price for being a technical death metal band that has consistently raised the bar with their previous efforts. Fans of the genre have gotten a taste of the kind of musical ability that is extremely rare and difficult to attain, and they are no longer satisfied with anything that falls short.

It’s unfortunate, really, because there are a lot of great things to be said about this release.

In the album’s accompanying DVD, the band expresses a wish to branch out and reach a wider audience, and there is certainly no dearth of groovy riffing or catchy melodies on the part of guitarist Joe Haley. Furthermore with this undertaking his brother, Dave Haley, has only increased his reputation as one of the most skilled drummers in all of death metal. Jason Peppiatt, who joined the band on vocals for Psycroptic’s previous release Symbols of Failure, delivers another solid performance with a few new vocal styles, including one somewhat in the vein of Meshuggah frontman Jens Kidman’s rhythmic rasp.

So what’s the problem? Well, here’s something new for you: for the first time ever, we have a Psycroptic album that you can put on only to forget that it’s playing. That’s right - Ob(Servant) simply does not grab your attention. Sure, the individual parts sound great- when you actually remember that you’re listening to them- the overall effect just lacks cohesion and, in the end, simply isn’t satisfying. The dynamic structures that have characterized Psycroptic’s songwriting in the past seem to wander aimlessly with this latest effort, making an erstwhile high energy, directed yet fluid listening experience fall generally somewhere between confusing and utterly forgettable. Indeed, even after repeated listens, it is difficult to recall any memorable songs- or even riffs, for that matter. One gets the impression that the songs all sound very similar to each other, but it’s impossible to say for certain–– we keep forgetting what they sound like.

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