The Psyke Project, Dead Storm (Lifeforce Records, 2009)

Dead Storm is the fourth album from Denmark's The Psyke Project (their second for Lifeforce Records)—a band I've been following for almost five years now. It's nice to see them continuing their pattern of releasing a new full-length just about every two years, and without growing away from the crushing heaviness at the core of their sound. Upon the first listen, Dead Storm seems perhaps a touch more stripped down than the band's past efforts, continuing to work in some "post-" types of influences while easing up on some of the more chaotic and abrasive bursts heard in their earlier work. I'm still generally sick of the vast majority of "post-rock" sounds, but the similarities present here are tactful nuances as opposed to the base style of shimmery effects over repetitious tremolo picking that far too many bands are toying with nowadays. There's also more going on under the surface here. In the band's own words:

The album is a soundscape influenced by the frailty and authenticity of traditional Nordic music, and at the same time there's a presence of pristine landscapes throughout the songs. The honesty of Nordic narratives—be it nature, myths, or music—has made a deep impact on how we wanted to record the album and the emotions that should be conveyed through Dead Storm. It has been paramount to us that all studio recordings were done live and within a short timespan in order to stay honest to the songwriting and to convey a sense of authenticity and unpredictability on the album.

Don't be misled, though, as this isn't some sort of artsy, folk-infused album in any way. The overall style really is right in line with what you'd expect from the band, with a good deal of shifting back and forth between soft clean passages (which often place extra emphasis on the rhythm section) and surging strikes of deep, detuned chords laced with winding discordant riffs and absolutely scathing vocal snarls. I'm quite intrigued by the fact that the material was recorded live in the studio, because the tones and the mix are just fuckin' awesome throughout, and the technique does create a more dynamic impact when they kick in the distortion after moments of calm restraint. Another keeper from this continually underrated outfit...

The Psyke Project "Polaris"

For some reason I think the U.S. release of the CD has been pushed back until October!? I'm not sure what the deal is there, but you can already buy the disc directly from the label in Europe, and it's available digitally through the major outlets in the U.S. right now as well. Go figure...

Get It

Lifeforce Records (CD)
Amazon.com (mp3)
eMusic (mp3)
iTunes (mp3)