Review Summary: Riff salad with a thick sauce.
Outer Heaven return to their death metal stomping grounds five years after the rather competent debut
Realms of Eternal Decay, and they’ve grown even more since. With
Infinite Psychic Depths, the band keeps on grinding on the path it set out for in 2018 and doesn’t fail to deliver another undoubtedly heavy record, full of enjoyable moments and quite a lot of wit. Its artwork is similar but maybe not as explicit as the one of the first album, yet it’s by now quite characteristic how they both look and sound like.
If you have decided to keep reading after the introduction above, you’re most likely already familiar with the -if we could call it like that- modern revival of old school death metal, and how a small chunk of the movement strongly fuses hardcore elements to pump out groovy, bass heavy material that could be used as a cure for stiff necks.
Outer Heaven lie strongly in these territories but they’ve always fancied slightly more resourceful guitar playing, which is thankfully present in
Infinite Psychic Depths. The album’s production provides a clean enough sound to recognize each note that is played, and it gives a glimpse to the old school but is at the same time, quite well placed into its time and music scene.
Tons of guitar riffs at a bunch of different tempos are constantly jumping in and out of the stage, boosted by superb drumming and sensational vocals, which are a highlight here. Even more so, soloing is phenomenal whenever it makes an appearance, and brings the compositions to a higher level (e.g. in “Liquified Mind”). I personally prefer the times when the band decides to build up speed, producing bangers such as “Drained of Life” and “Rotting Stone / DMT”, but it’s also the slower, more hardcore-like sections that delineate the album, with tracks like the opener, “Fragmented Suspension” or the ending of “Warped Transcendence”. A wonderful and unexpected moment arises at the end of “Unspeakable Aura”, which features eerie clean chanting vocals, while the record closes with the five minute massacre “From Nothingness to Eternity”, which contains all that
Outer Heaven is about in one convincing piece.
Infinite Psychic Depths won’t surprise you, but you won’t mind. It’s sufficiently heavy and varied, without unreasonable ambition, and showcases some above average musicianship when it wants. The core melodies of its tracks are easy to follow most of the time, and that makes the album quite pleasing to listen to but also helps in the memorability aspect.
Outer Heaven stick to their guns with their second album, and why shouldn’t they.
