
It has been five years since Outer Heaven released their debut LP. That in and of itself seems rather strange given their impact and general adoration amongst the metal masses. Of course, they’ve been anything but quiet since then, releasing a live album, a covers project, and a single track. The point, however, is that there has been a festering desire for more songs from this modern stalwart of a death metal band. The wait is thankfully over and we have Infinite Psychic Depths. Eleven brand-new songs and 45 minutes of swirling grooves, death metal riffs, and hardcore energy await those who press play on this monster, and while the wait did seem eternal, Outer Heaven are doing their best to make it worth it.
With a lineup of veterans and a lengthy gap between this and their previous record, it's to be expected that there’s a host of cool ideas up the sleeves of their four-sided Deicide shirts, and this is certainly the case. Of course, don’t expect there to be jazz breakdowns or ambient interludes, this is still Outer Heaven. The pacing of Infinite Psychic Depths is borderline breakneck with each song being smashed right into the next one, making the moments of respite dependent entirely on any oxygen that has been written into the songs. This is an approach that serves this album well, as eleven songs is a lot to get through and to Outer Heaven’s credit, the majority of these songs are worth sinking into.
The band’s themes of chaos, cosmology, and unknown horror continue here in songs such as “Starcrusher” and “Liquified Mind” but the pervasive atmosphere of dread is present no matter where you jump in. In addition to the ever-present haze, the riffs are ceaseless from start to finish, and while that’s frankly to be expected, Outer Heaven know how to build a strong song around these ideas. Thankfully there are enough wrinkles presented here to keep this album from feeling like one long thrashing. Shredding solos make their appearance on “Fragmented Suspension” and “Unspeakable Aura” and the latter track sees haunting female vocals pull the song into a different dimension while the drums blast away. The second half (assumedly the “D.M.T.” half) of “Rotting Stone/D.M.T.” is another great example of how there are great ideas aside from pummeling riffs as this song fades into the ether. Given the aforementioned pace of this album, these moments help ease the tension a bit.
After waiting about five years it makes sense that Outer Heaven wanted to give us a hefty helping of songs to digest, but in some respects this album does feel like it’s a tad too long. Death metal albums over 40 minutes need to be exceptional to avoid being exhausting to ingest and while Infinite Psychic Depths is indeed a great album, I do think a little trimming would have made this record a little smoother overall. That being said, this isn’t an unreasonably long album but it may lead people to be selective of their favorite tracks for a playlist instead of downing the whole album.
Bottom Line: This is the kind of death metal album that 2023 needs. It’s chaotic but not directionless and has enough pummeling to satisfy the old heads while being forward-thinking enough to keep it from falling to the wayside of a thousand other OSDM releases. Infinite Psychic Depths has some genuine standout songs that will be played on repeat for quite some time but the length of the album could make it tougher to digest all at once. The variety of vocal ideas, solos, and esoteric atmosphere elevate this to a different level and has made the wait for a new Outer Heaven album very much worth it.
4 comments
Post CommentSo don't listen all at once. Or do, but not when eating. Or not? What?
Zulu is trash, all the love for them in the comments is trash
Zulu= 9, this horseshit= 7.