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Psycroptic.
Although the band had to find a new vocalist last year, things have generally been working out very well for Tasmanian death metal outfit Psycroptic. Aside from touring the country extensively, often as supports for big name international acts such as Incantation, Deeds Of Flesh and Hate Eternal, they have been quietly making a name for themselves overseas. In addition, they have just released their latest album, 'Symbols of Failure', through a Dutch label, Neurotic Records.
"'Symbols of Failure' is our third release," drummer Dave Haley informs me. "The writing process for it has taken about eighteen months, the first six of which were probably the most intensive; we just put everything else aside, and focused completely on the new album. It contains nine tracks, and is our most mature work to date, I'd say. The material on it is also the most varied of all the stuff we've done so far. It's a little more catchy for those people who haven't heard us previously; they might be able to get into the new material a little more easily."
Haley tells me that the new album doesn't really have a concept behind it, although "all the lyrics on it are sci-fi-based, probably in a more futuristic, dark way. There are a lot of metaphors in it, so I guess the reader will determine what the songs are about to a large extent."
Being something of a sci-fi nut myself, I find mention of the subject most interesting, and ask if the band are big fans of science fiction. "Me and [guitarist] Joe [Haley] are more than the other guys," he affirms, "but yeah, yeah, we are all quite avid sci-fi people! I'm a big fan of all the 'Stargate', 'Star Trek' type of stuff. I particularly like the newer sort of stuff: 'Battlestar Galactica', 'Lost', that sort of thing. Anything with a twist really."
The album's cover art is certainly in keeping with its science
fiction theme, looking a little like something from Games Workshop.
"A Swedish artist named Per Olofsson did that," Haley says.
"We'd seen his work previously and thought it was really cool,
so we got in contact with him. He just said, 'Send the lyrics
through', so we sent him probably about half the lyrics on the
album, and in a matter of days, he came back with the front
cover. We were pretty stoked about that."
The band have just completed a ten-country European tour with Dismember. "It was great!" Haley enthuses. "It was awesome touring with a group that was pretty much one of the founding bands in the death metal scene, so from that point of view alone it was great. And from another point of view, we just got along exceptionally well with them; they pretty much took us under their wing, and made sure we were always looked after. We made friends with them, so hopefully when we get back over to Europe, we'll go and hook up with them."
According to Haley, things have been going pretty well back home too. "The scene here in Tasmania right now is actually not too bad," he says. "The main drawback is a lack of venues; there aren't any venues here that are really willing to take a risk and put on something that they're not familiar with. They don't know how a metal show is going to go, so they just won't do it, so basically, there're heaps of great bands with nowhere to play. When we do play we actually have to hire out a venue, supply the PA and basically do everything ourselves in order to get the show up and running. It's costly and very time-consuming, so we don't do it too often; but when we do, it's great. You'll put on a show that ends up being quite big, and which attracts a really enthusiastic crowd."
As for other Tasmanian metal bands that the rest of Australia should be keeping an eye out for, Haley recommends the infamous Intense Hammer Rage (who are good friends of the band) as well as a few others. "There's a very good band called Zero Degrees Of Freedom from the north of the state, and also a solo black metal project called Struborg, which is excellent. I'll plug another band that I play in: a band called Ruins [also on Neurotic Records]. I play drums in that band as well. I can say they're pretty good because I had nothing to do with them!" he laughs. "There're also quite a few younger bands coming out. Definitely in the next couple of years, I'd say, there'll be a lot more interstate touring from Tasmanian bands."
James Brazel
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Psycroptic play at the Enigma Bar on Fri 10 Mar with Omnium and Sarsekim. 'Symbols Of Failure' is out now on Neurotic/Stomp.
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