Power of Metal.dk Review

 
Psychotic Gardening
Hymnosis
Rating
 
Style: Death/doom Metal
Release date: 13 May, 2014
Playing time: 38:25
 


The third album of this greenkeepers is one with influences of several styles in their songs. Influences of swampy groovy death metal, black metal, thrash and a lot of doom pass by in the several tracks.

The first song is immediately one I appreciate and like the most. A rather up tempo death metal track with crunchy Celtic Frost kind of riffs, but with a very groovy (Swedish) rhytmn. The vocals of Chuck Labossiere and Gillishammer are low grunting ones and fit this genre. The second song "Defile" is a mid-tempo track again with a groove and chain-saw riffing. So far nothing to complain about. Then with the third song they slow down and a song in My Dying Bride and Paradise Lost style follows. Fortunately the next track "Mindfold" has more tempo and is the fastest track on this CD. The vocals are even a bit more biting and aggressive here.

With "Genome Degradation" the band returns to the doomier side of their music and with "Searing Cital" they even slow down in tempo more and a band like Winter (the slowest band I know) enters my mind. The doom tracks I find their weakest, they aren't very long tracks, but after 3 minutes I get a bit bored. The songs are just not exiting enough for me to enjoy from start to finish. "Garden Raiding" is the third slow track in a row and that should have been again a faster track like the opener for example to keep the CD in balance. Their version of "Open Casket" is fortunately a good one and with Tim Roth (Into Eternity) and Chuck Wepfer (Broken Hope) as guests they have my full attention again. The version of Psychotic Gardening is a lot slower than the original and I think they succeeded in changing but not destroying the song. "Journey to the Sun" is again a slow My Dying Bride influenced kind of track and it  makes this album go out a bit like a night candle.

For me this album could have been better by adding more (up) tempo songs to the play list and skipping a few slow tracks. However if you like more doomier stuff you will not complain about that at all, because it is all executed well.


Tracklist
01. Origin of the Infection
02.
Defile
03.
Re-Hybridized Strain
04.
Mindfold
05.
Genome Degradation
06.
Searing Cital
07.
Garden Raiding
08.
Open Casket (Death cover)
09. Journey to the Sun
Label: Independent
Distribution: Asher Media
Reviewed by: Reinier de Vries
Date: 14 May, 2014
Website: www.PsychoticGardening.com