Psyopus – “Odd Senses”

The bands bio describes their newest release Odd Senses as “over an hour of music, that taps into one part cutting edge tech metal album, one part Pig Destroyer EP, one part chamber ensemble and five parts LSD hang over, all adding up to what the band believes to be as an unprecedented interpretation of extreme music’s possibilities.”

This is an understatement to say least. This is the third release from extreme metal pioneers Psyopus and once again, it is a testament to the bands mission for creating an unorthodox mixture of extreme experimental music.

Let me first say that these guys are unbelievable musicians, the sheer technicality of these tracks is phenomenal and I am sure is the reason many people listen to them to begin with. The absolutely insane guitar shredding of Christopher “Arpmandude” Arp will leave the listener standing in awe with their mouths agape; he is that talented. The rest of the band is equally talented and this is highlighted in the way they seamlessly change tempos, stop on a dime and create a style of music that is quite different than just about anything you may have heard before.

With all that being said Odd Senses is “way out there” and I would consider it the true meaning of Avant-garde. There is no real good way to describe what this CD sounds like other than a melding of fantastic playing with dissonance and concerted effort to create music outside the conventional norms. It seems to me that the songs become weighted down and mired in an over the top avant-garde sensibility that makes the CD hard to listen to for much more than the shock and awe factor.

Maybe I don’t have a good attention span but I believe song length is another issue here as tunes like “A Murder To Child” clocks in at over 9 minutes long and “Untitled,” at over twenty minutes in length rendering it difficult to remain engaged for very long.

On a positive note, this CD is well produced and is packaged with some very interesting and well-done artwork. If you are looking for something outside of the box and or outside of your comfort zone, Odd Senses is for you. As for me, I just don’t get it.  [ END ]

Track Listing:

01. 44
02. Medusa
03. The Burning Halo
04. Duct Tape Smile
05. X And Y
06. Boogeyman
07. Imogen’s Puzzle Pt. 3
08. Choker Chain
09. Ms. Shyflower
10 A Murder To Child
11. Untitled

Run Time: 62:01
Release Date: 02.17.2009