Our Puzzling Encounters Considered
Noisier than a 50-car pile-up and more disorienting than a spin on a demonic merry-go-round, the music of Psyopus provides the listener with an endless barrage of challenging riffs and rhythms that, like much arriving to the second tier of mathcore, fails to be wholly memorable. The jarring, nightmarish guitar figures in "2" are undoubtedly impressive as is the gentle and beautiful moment of calm, "Siobhan's Song." The sheer athleticism of tracks such as "Whore Meet Liar" and unimaginatively titled "Play Some Skynyrd" is dealt in equal supply and skill. On the whole, there's enough aural action to inspire a month-long bout of insomnia as the listener tries to figure out how so many disparate but relentlessly aggressive elements are pieced together. But tricks such as these––inexplicably shifting tempos, moods, time signatures, and plainsong vocals––can't make up for the fact that Psyopus seems largely incapable of writing a straightforward and coherent song that can stir a series of diverse moods and emotions in the listener. Remove "Siobhan's Song" from the picture andOur Puzzling Encounters Consideredis all dull, monochromatic rage.––Jedd Beaudoin