Band – Psionic Madness
Album – Rotting Dominion
Country of Origin – USA
Genre – Death Metal/Grindcore
Release Date – October 29, 2022
Label – Vargheist Records
Author – Cody Ward
“I am the night terror made real. Haunting, lurking, stalking”
The genre of death metal has numerous styles and subgenres to be associated with it, and there are an equal number of “dime a dozen” projects out there. Psionic Madness is not one of those bands. November 12, 2021 saw their debut release “Mortality Salience” and it delivered a brutal concoction of dissonant death metal and grindcore with standout tracks such as “Fruits of Agony” and “Cathartic Suicide Denied” it was clear that Psionic Madness was more than just another carbon copy death metal project.
October 29, 2022 saw the follow up release to Mortality Salience in the form of “Rotting Dominion”. Right from the start you can tell that this trio haven’t lost an ounce of steam that their first album built. The first track “Necrotizing Miasma” opens with a haunting echo of guitar that reminds me at times of Gorguts and even some slight Morbid Angel vibes and goes right into a blast of cavernous drums and a crawling guitar riff that encapsulates the very essence of the album. A high point of the album I would like to take a moment to point out are the vocals. Justin Volus (of Maggot Crown and Volus, also the man behind Vargheist records) delivers an absolutely CRUSHING vocal performance and is easily some of the best vocals he’s given to date.
As the second track comes in you start to really feel the chemistry that’s going on between drummer Jared Moran and guitarist Nicholas Turner. The drums and guitars of this album fit so well together it’s as if they were created in the musical cosmos for each other. Nicholas really gets his chops out here with some incredible lead guitar.
Above all, I think my favorite part of this album are the random sprinklings of melody that are in almost every song. I feel these little additions really add something to the album as a whole and provide a much needed breather moment from the continuous onslaught of grind that we receive almost every audible moment of the album. Big props to the guys for creating such a monumental release and in my opinion one of the best death metal releases of 2022.
Head over to Vargheist Records for this album and more kick ass death metal.
