Label- Prosthetic Records
Release Date- 5th August 2022
Words - Tony Bliss
Now over two decades on from their 2001 debut The Isle Of Disenchantment, you would be hard pressed to find (in tech-death circles at least) a more fearsome reputation than that of Psycroptic. Indeed, their formidable chops notwithstanding, these limb-lopping Aussies have always stood slightly left of field, their uncanny knack for scalpel-keen songwriting providing a touch of class and sophistication that few of their overly clinical peers can match. Divine Council, the band's third full length with scene taste-makers Prosthetic Records, is yet another collection of tautly constructed, viciously delivered, and imagination-fuelled rippers.
Some may point to the records opening triumvirate (the surprisingly hook-laden ‘Rend Asunder’, the knotted, ensemble onslaught of ‘A Fool's Errand’ and ‘This Shadowed World’s grisly, riff-driven but strangely grooving approach) as the best on offer here, however with the towering melodic ideas behind a frankly stunning ‘Enslavement’ and ‘A Fragile Existence’ coming across like the grandest encapsulation of Psycroptic’s line blurring ethos to date, in truth the record offers an embarrassment of riches across its thirty-eight-minute runtime.
Dominated by their signature weirdness and state-of-the-art complexity, Divine Council may offer a number of remarkable detours and moments of atmospheric suss, however, this is still a gruesome, spine-shattering death metal LP at heart, the likes of ‘Ashes Of Our Empire’ (although pin-point perfect in execution) lunging at us with all the subtlety of a ritual disembowelling. Ultimately, these songs are proof positive; Psycroptic are still on career-best form, and the competition still don’t stand a chance.
8/10
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