Psychostick

Upon opening this disc, I was left a bit amazed. Quite often, when I receive discs from bands that have gone out of their way to be avant-garde, I find it is usually an attempt to cover up for a lack of musicianship. That is not necessarily the case with Sandwich, the newest release from Rockridge Recording artists Psychostick.

Granted the CD cover is a sandwich adorned with mustard and ketchup and with song titles such as “This Is Not A Song, It’s A Sandwich” and “We Ran Out Of CD Space” it is easy to dismiss them outright, (and I almost did) but that might be a bit premature and foolhardy. What lies beneath the layers of bread, as it were, is some really good metal. Lots of chunky, heavy guitars mixed with tons of brawn make this a killer metal disc.

Vocally, I must admit I was a bit put off by Rob “Rawb” Kersey’s strange and times downright odd vocal delivery. It reminded me a bit of System Of A Down, laced with of comedic undertones. When Mr. Kersey sticks to a straight-ahead delivery, his vocals are outstanding but unfortunately, those moments are few and far between.

Lyrically this disc is way out there. A good example of this can be found in the song “You Got Mail Enhancement” in which Kersey shouts, “I click the link and I get fifty pop-ups/Try to close them and my PC takes a shit/There is no rubber for electronic STDs/For every spam I get I am gonna make you eat your own shit.”

After a full listen through I can honestly say that although I never really was able to get my head around the vocals the pure metal that these guys crank out is really good, it is big, it is ballsy and it is in your face the way I feel metal should be. Give Sandwich a shot. It is a hard rocking record that deserves a listen.  [ END ]

Track Listing:

01. Metal?
02. Caffeine
03. Shower
04. A Lesson In Modesty
05. P Is The Best Letter
06. Minimum Rage
07. Don’t Eat My Food
08. The Hunger Within
09. Grocery Escape Plan
10. Too Many Food
11. This Is Not A Song, It’s A Sandwich
12. Girl Directions
13. Orange
14. Beer, Part 2
15. Do You Want A Taco
16. Attempt At Something Serious
17. #1 Radio Single
18. Vah-Jay-Jay
19. Die…A Lot
20. You’ve Got Mail Enhancement
21. Passive Vengeance
22. 373 Thank Yous
23. Outtakes!!!1
24. We Ran Out Of CD Space

Run Time: 75:55