Psycroptic
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Psycroptic

Standing out from the pack comes naturally to Tasmanian technical-metal titans Psycroptic. Formed back in 1999, they’ve steadily become the benchmark for many burgeoning metal bands around the world. In that time they’ve accumulated over 125,000 followers – from Paris to Poughkeepsie and everywhere in between. I sat down with founding member/drummer, Dave Haley.
“I’m happy to say we’re quite busy at the moment because we’re working on a new album and a whole bunch of tours. Even though we’ve been going for fifteen years now, we still have that spark and the energy that you need to keep doing what we love.”
That love runs in the family – Dave’s brother, Joe, plays guitar, while also moonlighting as the band’s engineer and producer. “Joe is a successful engineer and producer. He freelances in a lot of studios down here and he has his own studio set up. It makes things very easy for us – and yes, he’s my big brother.”
Does sibling rivalry affect the creative process? “No, it’s extremely comfortable. We’ve been playing together in bands for twenty years. It’s very familiar and we know each other’s playing styles. We’ve never had an issue.”
Sounds awfully harmonious for a band whose album titles include Isle of Disenchantment, Symbols of Failure, and the latest, The Inherited Repression – but the guys of Psycroptic are true professionals. “We’ve been fortunate enough to develop a relatively small but loyal following all over the world: whether we’re playing to 50 or 500 people, we’ll give it our all.”
Known for their particular blend of brutality, intensity and groove, Dave assures me their sixth studio album will not disappoint. “We’re enjoying the new sounds. The songs are turning out well and we’re pretty eager to start playing them live.
“This new album is a progression from our previous [The Inherited Repression, 2012]. We’ve picked up where we left off and ran with more of a catchy, groovy sound. It’s still very heavy and dynamic but it’s just a little bit catchier – that’s what people have said when they’ve heard it.”
Dave is hoping for a release date around September or October: “We’ll definitely be playing one or two of them at these shows coming up. Whether we’ll have a chance to finish up one or two more tracks in time, I’m not sure. Wait and see – people will have to come check it out.”
Joining Psycroptic at the Karova Lounge on April 3 will be old friends: “There with us is Hazard Secular – we’ve played with them a few times and we’re really keen to see them onstage again. Also Water of Torment, who are another killer ultra-death metal band that we’ve played with over the years. It’s definitely going to be a cool show. We don’t get to play the Karova Lounge too often but the shows are always great. We’re looking forward to it.
“We’ve got another really cool Australian tour lined up that I can’t really talk about at the moment, but we’re going to announce it in the next few weeks.” Watch this space – Forte’s got you covered!
When&Where: The Karova, Ballarat – April 3
Written by Natalie Rogers

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