Psionic
Self Titled
6.7
If Devo, the early version of Devo with the guitars still intact, were a melodic black metal band, they might have sounded a bit like Psionic. Melodic Dark Nerd Metal? Are we "Through Being TRV"? Or am I just so waterlogged with bands that sound the same lately I automatically refer back to simpler times for reference?
Whatever you want to call it, it appeals to me very little. It's not a bad record, but I just hear too much of a dozen other records in it. Of course I am a jaded reviewer. You may not have heard all those dozen records, nor the hundreds of rip off records that followed them. That being the case, this is keyboard heavy, closely structured melodic metal with bored sounding vocals and trapped in a Circle of Dust funk. It is so violently controlled that any spark of energy is quickly confounded by musical logistics. It's just not my fucking thing at all. There is no danger here; conservative, restrained and ultimately average.
Too bad, because the musicians are decent enough and the compositions could have been pretty good with a little breathing room. The production is another culprit. It's clear as a bell, but it's also as dull as a sentence diagram. I don't believe this band sounds this lifeless in person. The keys are very high in the mix and with keys the choice of sounds available makes or breaks, so it's nice to note that they aren't particularly annoying.
Bottom line is that there is certainly promise here. Good band, good musicians, good songwriting, but completely edgeless performances and production makes this more of a clinic than art. I can't recommend this record, but I wouldn't diss the band yet. The right circumstances, the right performances, the right producer and engineer could make these guys shine. I very much doubt I will ever be a fan of the band, but I suspect that is my jaded ass' problem, not theirs. Track down a sample, see what you think, but keep an eye on these fuckers.
