I’m in the minority, and by “minority,” I mean the only one on the staff who wanted to review the new Psycroptic album, The Pulse of Annihilation. Each member of the team has their reasons, specifically that they don’t like the band, but it is what it is. I do and have seen them live numerous times over the last few years, so I took it on without a fight. We’re all old men nowadays anyway in the break room, so despite our cantankerous personalities, we all just kind of let the others do whatever the hell they please.
The first track, “Ashes of a New Dawn”, while good, sounds like a B-Side from 2022’s Divine Council. It’s safe to say they have stumbled into their sound, which is not necessarily a bad thing, if they know what to do with it. If you’re unfamiliar, their brand of tech death is based on actual song structures, instead of just cool parts. Before three minutes pass, the slower section breaks up the speedy aggression, but only too briefly.
Many of the gripes I hear regarding Psycroptic are that many people don’t like Jason Peppiatt’s vocals. If you agree, it won’t change with The Pulse of Annihilation. I want to clarify that I don’t think there’s a need for change. He’s unique, and it’s difficult to mistake him for someone else. My issues fall in line with, yes, everything sounds similar. If you’ve heard the last few Psycroptic albums, you’ve heard the new one.
Are there times when they stray from the path? Well, maybe a little. Take for instance, the first two minutes of “Our Pillars Fall,” which begins with an acoustic guitar intro that builds into the main riff. There’s also a splash of keyboards, but if you close your ears (however the fuck one may do that) for just a moment, you’ll miss it. Howevvverrrrrrrr, that main riff from Joe Haley sounds like nothing, if not familiar.
Guys, I’m trying my best here to list standouts and great moments, so maybe “Annihilation Pulse,” the de facto title track, will have them. I do enjoy the fretboard wizardry that makes up the main riff. It stands out because everything sounds so clean that it’s almost sterile. I guess if you want to know how the rest of the album sounds, you’ll know immediately after it.
I hedged my bets on some experimentation to happen on the final track, “Forging the Crown.” It does have a cool intro where one can hear the tension building into the main riff, which is another scorcher. Taken in isolation, perhaps on a playlist, I can see this one standing above the rest. At first, I thought there were keys in the background, which pop up for a quick “hello” on occasion, laying the atmospheric, darker groundwork. However, after time with it, I found it’s just the guitars ringing out a bit too long. Just like that, in a stout 39 minutes, the album is over.
Ughhhhh! I didn’t want to do this but felt I had no choice. While I still love Psycroptic, The Pulse of Annihilation has done nothing for me. The nearly 40 minutes go by without even thinking about it, wondering what happened. Perhaps it’s the combo of the “too clean” production, along with the same style of riffs I’ve heard from them for years, but I just can’t recommend it heartily. If you want a better representation of what the band is capable, check out their early stuff with Chalky, as well as ObServant, The Inherited Repression, and Divine Council. Perhaps their previous work spoiled me.
Unfortunately, I’m not sure The Pulse of Annihilation grabs me. It just kind of exists.
