Psycroptic - The Inherited Repression

On their fifth full length, Australia's Psycroptic have come out with guns blazing. I always check out new Psycroptic with piqued interest as the Haley brothers, guitars and drums, are absolutely bonkers at their instruments. Somehow they find a way to continuously get tighter and more ridiculous.

The Inherited Repression does not letdown. Technical metal has been gaining popularity again and these boys from Tasmania do not want to be forgotten as they can run with the best of them and mop the floor with the rest. Track 1 sets the tone for the whole album. Some may call it fretboard gymnastics, but this is Joe Haley's style and he has created a signature sound. That's not easy to do in a genre that often spews out lifeless recordings. He deserves a lot more credit than he receives. His playing is in a word, phenomenal.

The album is not all nonstop technicality, they find a way to throw in awesome hooks and catchy grooving riffs that get your head bobbing. They also do this in shorter songs which I feel give them more impact. Previous albums/songs were at times a bit long.

I'm sure there's a question that longtime fans want to know, how are the vocals on this release? The band has been plagued by this ever since the fan revered Chalky was replaced by Jason Peppiatt. Unlike the majority, I didn't think Jason was awful. Unfortunately, he is most definitely weakest link. I didn't mind his vocals on the last two releases, but on The Inherited Repression he is blatantly monotonous. Gone are any death metal vocals. He stays in the same barked register almost the entire time. It has zero variety and wears on me considering I know what he's capable of. The lack of any death metal vocals was a bit of a downer.

Thankfully, the rest of the band do make up for his sub par performance. I'm not sure why they went that route with his voice. However, vocals are not what make the band for me and they never have. The music is what has always set them apart from the rest of the pack and will continue to do so.

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