Psycroptic - The Isle of Disenchantment (2001)^{Release ID: 12313}

While I generally liked the last couple of albums from these Tasmanian tech deathsters, they never quite captured me completely. The talent was clearly there but they tended to sound a bit samey & the vocals weren't terribly wonderful. Their debut album "The Isle Of Disenchantment" sounds a bit different from those records. The inclusion of original vocalist Matthew 'Chalky' Chalk is positive as he's certainly more varied in his delivery than current vocalist Jason Peppiatt although there's still plenty of room for improvement. The guitar sound is a bit raw & could definitely have been a bit thicker. It's nice that the bass lines are so clear & easily heard though. I quite like the drum sounds too. The cymbals in particular sound quite fresh & vibrant. In fact, Dave Haley's drumming performance is the clear highlight of the album. He adds plenty of great fills & cymbal work which make for a much more interesting listen. Psycroptic don't overdo the technicality in the riffs themselves. It's the song structures that are quite technical as there is very little repetition going on.   

The album gets off to a great start as opening track "Carnival Of Vulgarity" is real stormer & is easily the pick of the bunch. I also really like "Condemned By Discontent". Other than that, most tracks promise a lot but don't quite give you that payoff. "Netherworld Reality" is probably the weakest moment but there's a pretty obvious rip-off of Deicide's "Sacrificial Suicide" going on at the start of the title track too. The band is at their best when they just go for it in my opinion. There's more consistency in their more brutal moments than their fiddly ones. Overall this is another Psycroptic record that is quite enjoyable without really demanding your attention.