Psyanide – Vertigo

A Greek band that does it the American way. It might be a bit of a shortcut or too easy to say, but in essence, the Thessaloniki based Psyanide plays groove metal reminiscent of the bigger American bands. The difference is found in the details, particularly when the guys sprinkle in some melodic elements. We do hear these in the groovy genre, but Psyanide has the knack for bringing them especially during start-stop moments.

Vertigo is Psyanide‘s second album but a first encounter for Zware Metalen, and it truly is my pleasure. Wormholedeath Records has provided a home to a band that uses groove as the base of their music and then adds their own sauce. Admittedly, during the title track which kicks off the album, it isn’t that noticeable. And the second track, Empire Down, also sticks to a dominant groove feel that lingers in anonymity. But then (!) there’s Inertia, a track that brings more variety to the surface. The band plays with guitar loops, accents, and some playful moments without getting excessively brutal. Fading continues along the same lines but relies more on the intense, quite gruesome vocals that are highly convincing. The drums not only form the foundation but also leave a significant mark in terms of variety on this production. The faster passage with excellent guitar and bass work is almost brilliant and, above all, very effectively executed. Delightful!

Future Tense bursts at the seams with excessive energy that is released when the track explodes and impresses with its characteristic groove and vocals. Every now and then, it reminds me of the dynamic of Ukrainian Jinjer. The guitar lead and subsequent acoustic part is giving me goosebumps. And then you probably already know what is coming, indeed, a hard outburst of violence with a grainy scream-grunt. Present Perfect initially presents itself as a real crusher or banger, with some detectable thrash influences. Consciously making room for the vocals when the instrumentation briefly steps back is a particularly good choice in this case! The vocals grab me intensely by the throat, and those fine melancholic leads fit perfectly. And when the band also has a sense of songwriting to throw in an acoustic passage, I can only conclude that Psyanide has got it right and wonderfully manages to stand out in the rather saturated field of grooving metal bands.

My question then is, can these beasts keep it up for the full duration of the album? Time at least shows signs of this, also with some unusual effects on the vocals. Human Republic kicks off again with a peculiar guitar ping before launching into an impassioned death-thrash cadence. Error eventually sounds a bit generic compared to the rest of the material on this disc, but it doesn’t bother me at all. With the long, concluding Oleka, the band significantly recovers, and we hear some spicy melodeath, with the groove moments taking a bit of a backseat. The groove is not entirely absent, but the band sometimes ramps up the pace, which is also nice.

In conclusion, Vertigo is an album with the necessary Greek grit and pepper, where the overseas groove elements often serve as the basis. It’s far from monotonous fare that Psyanide offers to death metal enthusiasts, and I find that quite impressive within the melodic groove genre!

Score:

87/100

Label:

Wormholedeath Records, 2024

Tracklisting:

1. Vertigo
2. Empire down
3. Inertia
4. Fading
5. Future Tense
6. Present Perfect
7. Time
8. Human Republic
9. Error
10. Oleka

Line-up:

• Dionisis Klokas – Vocals
• George Karazois – Guitars
• Kostas Alvanos – Guitars
• Fotis Amperiadis – Bass
• Vasilis Kouimtzidis – Drums

Links:

• Psyanide Facebook
• Wormholedeath Records