Psycroptic’s new self-titled album doesn’t quite sound like the extreme metal of 2015. And that’s not a knock whatsoever on the record. It just seems to be from another decade.

An artifact from an era where death metal bands played it no frills. A generation before neck tattoos and digitally altered vocals became fashionable (cough, deathcore). It’s from a time when death metal didn’t dabble in synth atmospherics or space age themes.

While I do enjoy many of those atmospheric/concept minded bands (The Faceless, Fallujah, most artists on the current Unique Leader roster) that are so prevalent today, it’s always fun and even refreshing to hear something more on the raw side of the sonic spectrum. And the less we say about modern American deathcore the better.

While everyone is in fine form, guitarist Joe Haley is still the main attraction. It seems like every nook and cranny on this album is packed with the man’s incessant riffage. See ‘A Soul Once Lost’ and ‘Echoes to Come’ for prime examples of wrist snapping fret action. As strong as Haley’s performance is he never lets the guitar pyrotechnics become overbearing or completely overshadow the songs. Psycroptic is a lean 39 minute recording that is all about tight songwriting and clean production. If anything it’s a little too clean. I would’ve appreciated just a tad more low-end in the mix.

And in that regard, this self-titled offering is much like their 2012 wrecker, The Inherited Repression, Psycroptic’s current musical makeup is as much about groove as it is about death metal and its concussive blast beats. ‘The World Discarded’ is the perfect marriage of tech wizardry and Pantera/Testament groove. It’s a mating of sounds that leaves Psycroptic sounding more akin to Gojira than to Decrepit Birth.

It’s not your kid brother’s idea of extreme metal, but that doesn’t mean it can’t kick all sorts of ass.

8.0/10

HANSEL LOPEZ