Review Summary: The Devil's Work
For the first time, in the twelve years I’ve followed Psyclon Nine,
And Then Oblivion exposes some fallible qualities in a band that's been disturbingly good at delivering phenomenal albums time and time again. Even as far back as
Crwn Thy Frnicatr, the quality of their work has always maintained a level of excellence most bands would trade a kidney in for. However, once Psyclon Nine released
Order of the Shadow: Act 1 all bets were off – Nero and his cohorts hit the ground running with an indelibly savage sound and have, up until now, proven to be an unstoppable creative force within the scene, pushing their aspirations to unimaginable heights. 2022’s
Less to Heaven was a pitch perfect blend of abrasive black industrial and soundtrack-esque mood building; a genuine milestone achievement for the band that opened up a whole new world for them to explore in the future. The problem is that despite the set-up for pastures new,
And Then Oblivion doesn’t utilise the groundwork
Less to Heaven bequeaths. Instead,
And Then Oblivion feels more occupied in self-reflection, looking over its shoulder, and blending a modern-day sound with something closer to the band’s roots.
As a brand, Psyclon Nine are renowned for their innovation and high-quality songwriting, so while this review may come across like I’m dumping on it, the hard fact is that this is not a bad album in the slightest. No,
And Then Oblivion is a solid record with the typical despondent, heavy soundscapes – enjoyable tracks with boatloads of misanthropy put in there for good measure – all packaged under one umbrella with very impressive production values. Nevertheless, the problems are inherent and persist throughout, most prominently in the songwriting itself which lacks tangible standout moments. Put bluntly, there’s nothing particularly attention-grabbing about anything here, and it’s for a couple of reasons. Firstly, the band has opted to veer away slightly from the black industrial portion of their sound in favour of this aggro, retro-tinged EBM and trance, with hip-hop and trap influenced beats behind tracks like “I Choose Violence”, “Crwlng Frm Cnt T Cskt” and “Devils Work”. The bold gambit is one that comes back to haunt them in the long run though, as
And Then Oblivion feels homogenous and trapped in this repetitious and less impactful simmer that doesn’t quite pop like it should. The second problem is that the guitars feel overlooked or depressingly generic and undercooked. With the exception of “Locust of Everything”, the instrument itself is largely shoved to the side or has the mundane task of chugging in “I Choose Violence” and “Devils Work”.
All that being said, there are still plenty of creepy and brutal moments to be enjoyed. “Locust of Everything” is a cacophony of blast beats and shredding, throaty guitars, “Taxidermy” is a solid industrial-rock tune that has Nero singing memorable melodies over big choruses, and “Say Your Prayers” harnesses the band’s experimental proclivities into something worthwhile. It’s a very well composed piece with a good pacing and an excellent pay-off: starting off with swirling organs and Nero’s menacing hissing, the song turns into a bone-crushing breakdown with an oddly placed-but-welcomingly-cool synth that trills in the background. Couple that with the stomping “Shoot to Kill” and sashaying “Say Evil” and there’s plenty to enjoy here. However, as a full experience, there’s not enough substance or variety to keep you engaged until the end. Psyclon Nine aren’t exactly renowned for their accessibility, but
Less to Heaven offered an assortment of moods, styles and structures to keep things fresh. It’s also four minutes longer and doesn’t feel it, whereas I found myself checking where I was on here a few times.
As I said earlier,
And Then Oblivion is far from bad, but it is a humbling album because I came to expect every Psyclon Nine release to be a shoe-in at this point, just because of how long they’ve gone making stellar records. Still, while
And Then Oblivion doesn’t quite cut the cloth in the same way their last few records have, it still has all the good stuff you expect from a Psyclon Nine album. Just don’t go into this expecting another remoulding, as it relies heavily on sounds from the past, rather than pushing the band forwards. There’s nothing wrong with this of course, but for the first time in the band’s career, it feels like they’ve played it a bit safe.
