IDEAS OF REFERENCE

Now, having listened to a lot of Psyopus' repertoire, I have become a little bit more familiar with the band's rather unique and dissonant style. My first encounter with the band found me almost repulsed. The second record I listened to was 'Odd Sense' which despite also being ridiculous in nature, had some really cool moments as well as a pleasing neo- classical composition.

Now where does Psyopus' debut full-length, 'Ideas Of Reference' stand in comparison?

Believe it or not, overall; this is the band's most cohesive and enjoyable effort, as there are actually a few moments where the band gives leave of its harsh vocals, and turns to focus in on their instrumental skills without interruption. It certainly does not have a song that truly compares to their neo classical masterpiece 'A Murder To Child' but there's enough here to please someone with a taste for the avant-garde,

For those not familiar with Psyopus' style, it's something you really have to listen to in order to understand. It's the same sort of systematic chaos that many progressive metal bands employ, taken to the utmost extreme (to the point of annoyance.) On that measure, the sheer excess and originality of the band must be lauded, but it's a bit difficult to listen to, especially at first!

'Ideas Of Reference' has some moments (and by far, my favourites) where there aren't any vocals, and the guitars take over and incorporate 'some' melody and groove into the mix. Other parts that are certainly the most accessible to the average listener are the clean (yes, clean) parts of some of the songs where Chris Arp shows he can do more than simply shred his listeners to oblivion. Still, even the clean parts are dissonant in nature, although it has the same sort of dissonant beauty that attracts some to the post-classical scene.

Despite the fact that there are things to enjoy here, I could only run through the album a few times before being forced to cut my listening sessions to a song's worth or two. As time went by however, things eventually clicked and what I found was an album that blew me away in all of the ways that other metal bands were too tame to. Theres alot of worth here, and someone willing to let go of whatever preconceptions they have of the band might find something really interesting and unique here.

Share this PSYOPUS review

Social review comments () BETA

---

---

Review related links

• Send comments to Conor Fynes
• Report this review (#247826)
• Buy PSYOPUS music online with PA partners
• Show all PSYOPUS MP3/Stream
• Go to PSYOPUS page for videos, full discography with ratings, reviews and much more
• Go to Ideas Of Reference page for more details, where to buy and ratings/reviews
• Search the Forum for PSYOPUS related discussions