Psycroptic – “Echoes To Come” (2014) Track Review

Am I allowed to call this band Australia’s greatest death metal/extreme metal act? Psycroptic has been around since 1999 and has released electrifying releases since. In their time of conquering the outback they have embedded death, doom, extreme, and even hints of folk metal into their sound. Brothers Joe and Dave Haley have been an extremely tight-knit duo in combing furious guitar riffs with breakneck and pounding drums. The bass keeps the rhythm together and adds an extra grit when needed. Jason Peppiat approaches the microphone with ear-shattering screams and powerful throated yells. This has been a winning formula for Psycroptic in the past, and their new single “Echoes To Come” features all this.

Psycroptic, “Echoes to Come” Teaser:

Slow and steady might win the race. The song opens in this manner, allowing the melodies to build with marching drums helping along. And then the distortion breaks through and adds frantic measures of chugs. Once Peppiat enters, the song never comes back to a soothing groove. This is all OK for metal fans, because you will find yourself trying to headbang along and then tweaking out because of how filthy the riffs are in this song. Not to mention the constant rolls and blast beats hidden in the chorus.

One thing people may dislike is the weird structure of the song. There are a lot of things happening at once and the business might be hard for people to wrap their heads around. The shift in pace that happens around the four-minute mark may, to some, drag the song out past its stay, but I love this part for the absolutely visceral vocals from Peppiat. His voice sounds like it is rupturing with every audible word. The chug may be a bit much but it is helped along by the intricate drum patterns, ending with a sudden stop.

“Echoes to Come” will be included on Psycroptic’s upcoming self-titled album, to be released in early 2015.