Psychotic Sculpture

These unknown metallers from Texas started a band nearly a decade ago, something along the lines of Vesperian Sorrow.

Back in 2001 these guys released an album called Psychotic Sculptures. Some would say its Symphonic Black Metal, other might say its Melodic Death metal with symphonic elements. Either way who gives a fuck? Point is these guys have mastered a craft that so few bands attempt, and even less succeeds in performing.

This music is cold, it's dark, it's gruesome, it's downright depressing. Any yet throughout all the misery the atmosphere creates, you find yourself smiling at this seemingly beautifully dark melody. How can something so sinister create such a smile on ones face? The guitars are jus raw enough to really give that abrasive feel. The type of melody these guitars create is mind blowing, it sounds as the recorded was recorded in the early 90's or even mid 90's. Think Dark Tranquillity "The Gallery" and In Flames "Subterranean" era style guitars. The drumming is relentless, but not to the point where it's double bass, and blast beats galore. The drumming creates that octopus effect so to speak. When the double bass and blast beats are present, they are tastefully done to blend in with whatever passage of the song it so happen to be in. The vocals give such a wide range. From blood curdling screeches, to deep bellows of a malicious growl. Bass, there's really not much to say here, as with most metal, especially this kind of production, the bass is nearly inaudible. But when present it provides depth to the rhythm.

Here's why most bands fail with this type of music. They dreaded keys. Most if not all "kvlt" fans will turn this album down based on keys alone. If so they are missing out on a great album. They keys here range from piano, to some sort of shit I can only describe in this poorly worded sentence. Occasionally a female vocalist does appear, usually in accompaniment of the keys. Whoever VS recruited to take this on did a fantastic job. Her voice is crystal clear, even with the type of production. The final track Odyssuim is solely her. So just be blown away that a band that can create such a black sound can create such melancholic beauty to close out a cd.

Songs that have to be heard are Spiral Symphony, Astrodramtica, and Odyssuim. All tracks kick ass but if narrowed down, these tracks should give a great indication as to the sound these guys produce.

It seems that there are at least 3 truly different type of Black Metal bands out there in production and quality (I'm not talking genres here, I know there a more than three...), and fans seem adament at times of finding one or another. There are the grinding, staticy, recorded-in-the-backyard-tool-shed shounding albums that apparently have zero production value and come across at times as a recording of audio white noise with blast beats and a guy recorded screaming from a distance of 20 feet. I'm lookin' at YOU, here Countess!! The medium-production, established bands like Dark Funeral, Darkthrone, etc which though the quality may vary, it's still generally good--and listenable. And finally, you're higher-production bands with clear beats, guitar, and soaring symphonic melodies. Think Dimmu Borgir or Borknagar here. Some people like the more raw and underground sounding stuff--the less production value, the better. I like when the music comes through with a degree of clarity. This is just me, but I believe that it means the band is then focused on putting out a quality product. This, somehow, is Vesperian Sorrow's sound.

This recording varies and leaps about with no track sounding exactly like any other track. None of that "every track sounds the same" like you get with some untalented Death Metal bands, the sound is clear and thunderingly impressive and, often, intensly melodic. The vocals are gritty and powerful varying from standard Black Metal growling to roaring screams. Not to mention, the clear, melodic female vocals on the closing acoustic track Odyssium, which is clear and sounds (at least to me) expertly composed.

The standout tracks on this album are Psychotic Sculpture, Spiral Symphony, Astrodramatica, Arena Unorthodox, and the aforementioned Odyssium. Spiral Symphony opens with a cello (or violin, maybe, some sort of string instrument opening--Hey, I'm just a fan, not a musician) that is soon over-taken by the expetant Metal roar, the opening strings line, though, is not forgotten, but continues to provide background strength to the song. Astrodramatica is my favorite track on this disk and careens around in pitch and intensity throughout its nearly 9-minute playtime. Arena Unorthodox has an awesome breakdown halfway through the song that, believe it or not, sent a slight chill down my spine (for some reason) the first time I heard it. I believe it does involve a violin....

It's fairly difficult to describe exactly how this album sounds, or for that matter, who else out there VS even closely resembles. At least they don't sound like Cradle of Filth. But the production is clean and the songs clearly have some thought put into them. On a personal note, this is agruably the best Black Metal album I've ever heard, and one of the only ones that I'll listen to over and over. Borknagar's "The Archaic Course" is another favorite, to give you an idea of my personal tastes.

Now if only they sold enough albums so that they could tour outside of Texas for more than a couple days a year....