Band: Psycroptic
Title: Ob(servant)
Label: Nuclear Blast
Distribution: PIAS
Release date: October 2008
Review: CD + bonus-DVD

The Tasmanian formation Psycroptic will celebrate its tenth anniversary next year, but until then this fourth full length album will have to do. But there’s good news: Ob(servant) stands for Psycroptic at its best! The album was recorded by Cameron Grant (b), Joe (g, engineering, production) and David (d, lyrics) Haley, and Jason Peppiatt (v) at the Red Planet Studio and The Crawl Space, and mix and mastering were done by former Machine Head / Forbidden-member Logan Mader (who, by the way, did work with bands as Twin Method and Demia). Ob(servant) mainly goes on in the vein of Symbols Of Failure (2005), but I have the impression the band doesn’t ‘speed’ as much as before anymore. Yet beware! The album, which lasts for fifty minutes, opens with the title track, which is an ultra-intense, pumping and energetic semi-Blast piece pur sang. And believe me: there are many other ultra-blasting-lightning moments to come. A Calculated Effort, the second track, is based on a very pondering and slow riff, but after a minute, the urge to ‘hyper-speed’ shows its skull again. Most tracks are varying in tempo, yet no matter if the band plays fast or slow: it’s with passion and conviction! The influence from Grindcore and Hardcore still is of huge importance, but the accent lies on the technical Death-structures. The band clearly has grown as band – Psycroptic now sounds more as coherence than it was the case before, and that’s nothing but positive. I guess also live this will be seen.

The album comes with a bonus-DVD, which may only be interesting for the real fans (and freaks). Besides a short ‘studio diary’ (from the recording sessions and the promotional tour), it includes two live registrations: Holland (2006) and New Zealand (2008). Both come with a minor (but not completely terrible) sound and visual quality.

80/100

Ivan Tibos.