Psychonaut

Perth, Western Australia metal act PSYCHONAUT deliver their sophomore effort in the form of the thrashing as all hell studio effort Shock Them Dead!. This reviewer feels it is definitely one of the more solid productions you will hear. PSYCHONAUT cites many influences including KISS, W.A.S.P., JUDAS PRIEST plus LOUDNESS, and certainly that is all in the mix here for sure – killer lyrics and vocals that you normally only dream about – but for me really this record sounds like PANTERA met TYPE O NEGATIVE in some dark alleyway for a gruesome knife fight. It is vicious, over the top and just pure rock n roll mayhem. These cats are not playing around.

Shock ‘Em Dead! was produced by the band, while recorded and engineered by Simon “Chaos Divine” Mitchell, PSYCHONAUT takes the listener on a ‘goddamn electric’ ride with fourteen tracks that are unrelenting and straight up will pummel your head from start to finish. Guitarist/vocalist Mark De Vattimo is one of the brighter talents to emerge from the land down under in recent memory. He’s got a voice like a banshee to go along with his battle ready guitar riffs that are matched in intensity by second guitarist Mike Kaval, and overall the sound here is absolutely crushing. De Vattimo’s voice is part Tom Araya and part Lemmy Kilmister. The rhythm section of Simon Hallett on bass and Brody Simpson on drums is as tight as it gets.

My favorite songs are the blazing “Rosemary’s Baby”, the annihilating “Knights In Satan’s Service”, along with the perfectly raging “Lemmy Von Frankenstein” and the epic “Thrash Metal Zombies”. Any fan of extreme metal will simply love this album, because these guys effortlessly blend elements of thrash, death and classic metal with a modern feel and I think this is a band that is going to have a very big future. - The Metal Den

If the Fringe Festival seems an unlikely place to catch a metal band collaborating with a gang of pyrotechnics gurus, then it's equally true that the Leederville Hotel's upstairs bar is an unlikely place to find hell. For a start you have to ascend to the second level. It threatens to ruin the illusion.

Situated among the glut of burlesque and stand-up shows, Psychonaut represent a novel inclusion to the Fringe program. It's a welcome change of pace, and one would hope an opportunity for the Perth band to find a new audience.

The turn-out, while strong, appears unfortunately bereft of the uninitiated. It's a fact neatly surmised by Psychonaut lead man Mark De Vattimo, who mid-set dedicates the thrashing "Wolfman" to the masses downstairs "too afraid to come up".

It's a shame, of course, because Psychonaut are an accomplished band. They expound a truly variegated style of metal; a band as likely to segue into a Slayer-esque shred session as they are a swaggering, bluesy guitar lick. What's more, they manage to pull it all off with tongue planted firmly in cheek. The result is a show that caters for the purist and the newcomer in equal measure.

The set has the added bonus of being accompanied by lasers. Though perhaps overselling it a tad with the title "laser hell", the aggressive coruscation of the lights does aid in inducing a frenzied atmosphere. Barely stopping to pause for breath between songs, the band combine exquisitely to cultivate a confident momentum.

For the faithful among the crowd standing on the front line, ringing ears and a neck sore from head banging appear a small price to pay. The consensus is that the likes of Psychonaut have just as much right to be on the Fringe bill as any other act.

If this sort of thing survives into next year, then it would be nice to think that it has more success in dragging in a few curious non-metalheads. After all, nothing challenges the senses like a dash of laser-flavoured thrash metal. - The West Australian

As a thrasher and a bit of a geek, I feel like PSYCHONAUT is a band after my heart with their sophomore album ‘Shock ‘Em Dead!’ The self proclaimed “Power Speed Thrash Death Rock Metal” band from way out Perth way have mixed cult movies and catchy thrash riffs to create their follow up to 2004's album ‘Masters Of Procrastination’.

True to their proclamation, they do indeed blend the 6 styles together and then bake it for 58 minutes to cook up 14 delicious servings of metal.PSYCHONAUT certainly isn’t the first band to mix movies and music, nor is their use of sound samples from said movies a new concept, and yet something feels different about the way they've done it in their better songs. What makes them work so well is that they feel like a second vocalist, the music doesn't stop for them and changes to match the pace of the sample. It makes the whole use of samples feel less like a gimmick and more like a necessary part of the song that can't be taken out. Some songs have entire conversation scenes that fit perfectly in the breakdowns built around them, the songs and the movies are just inseparable. It was a smart move by the band to open ‘Shock ‘Em Dead’ with a song that show off this writing talent brilliantly, the Star Wars themed ‘Darklord Rise!’

Not all the songs on ‘Shock ‘Em Dead’ are movie related though, and it's worth mentioning some of the ones which aren't. ‘False Metal’ is not only an anthem for the entire metal genre, it's also fun, old school thrash styled and the vocals in particular show huge amounts of JUDAS PRIEST influence. Right after it comes the slower and much darkly toned ‘Oblong Box’ which presents a stronger and more emotional side of the band, using those falsetto notes for some sinister screams to add with its grim lyrical theme. The last two songs on the record are live recordings with amazingly clean sound on everything except the vocals, which could be clean recordings. It’s hard to judge that having never seen them live.

In terms of production the album certainly has the smaller band feel to it, and I wouldn't want it any other way. With the cult movie themed songs and a very Australian vibe over the entire album, ‘Shock ‘Em Dead’ has so much charm and a high quality production would risk destroying that friendly feeling. This album is like a puppy really, no matter how many times it pees on the floor it's still fun, lovable and has songs about Star Wars, Mad Max, zombies and Lemmy Kilmister creating a Frankenstein monster to be his wife. Maybe it’s nothing like a puppy in that sense. Buy it anyway, Perth metal bands need more support!

8 stars - Sludge Factory

Perth, Western Australia metal act PSYCHONAUT deliver their sophomore effort in the form of the thrashing as all hell studio effort Shock Them Dead!. This reviewer feels it is definitely one of the more solid productions you will hear. PSYCHONAUT cites many influences including KISS, W.A.S.P., JUDAS PRIEST plus LOUDNESS, and certainly that is all in the mix here for sure – killer lyrics and vocals that you normally only dream about – but for me really this record sounds like PANTERA met TYPE O NEGATIVE in some dark alleyway for a gruesome knife fight. It is vicious, over the top and just pure rock n roll mayhem. These cats are not playing around.

Shock ‘Em Dead! was produced by the band, while recorded and engineered by Simon “Chaos Divine” Mitchell, PSYCHONAUT takes the listener on a ‘goddamn electric’ ride with fourteen tracks that are unrelenting and straight up will pummel your head from start to finish. Guitarist/vocalist Mark De Vattimo is one of the brighter talents to emerge from the land down under in recent memory. He’s got a voice like a banshee to go along with his battle ready guitar riffs that are matched in intensity by second guitarist Mike Kaval, and overall the sound here is absolutely crushing. De Vattimo’s voice is part Tom Araya and part Lemmy Kilmister. The rhythm section of Simon Hallett on bass and Brody Simpson on drums is as tight as it gets.

My favorite songs are the blazing “Rosemary’s Baby”, the annihilating “Knights In Satan’s Service”, along with the perfectly raging “Lemmy Von Frankenstein” and the epic “Thrash Metal Zombies”. Any fan of extreme metal will simply love this album, because these guys effortlessly blend elements of thrash, death and classic metal with a modern feel and I think this is a band that is going to have a very big future. - The Metal Den

Somewhere out in the vast Western Australian wastelands, a group known as Psychonaut were thawed from eight years suspended in a tomb of ice, to be released into society once again. With them they have brought a collection of compositions to be unleashed onto public that will no doubt Shock ‘em Dead!, the follow up to 2004’s Masters Of Procrastination!

A lot of bands take rock and metal seriously to the point where you could set your watch to the precision and meticulous sterility. Psychonaut must have missed that memo, as they deliver helpings from a well stocked musical larder with some tongue-in-cheek humour thrown in to add flavour.

On Shock ‘em Dead!, Psychonaut tackle different themes and musical styles. One themes is derived from films, with tracks like the speed metal "Rosemary's Baby", "Il Pianeta Delle Scimmie (Planet of the Apes)" that features a swinging Latino middle section and the hard and fast album opener "Darklord Rises!", a tribute to the one and only Darth Vader (as was the first track on the previous album). Monsters and the living dead are touched on in"Pound Of Flesh", a brooding, catchy account of being attacked by zombies, the “unLive” duo "The Tooth of Dracula" that sounds like old school black metal and "Thrash Metal Zombies". "Wolfman" is a Southern fried jam that crosses Motorhead with Deliverance and in "Lemmy Von Frankenstein" Mark DeVattimo puts on a Lemmy impression that will no doubt make listeners crack a smile.

Psychonaut provide a myriad of hard rocking tunes with humour and fun thrown in on Shock 'em Dead! Anyone tired of the conventional and stale products other bands deliver from album to album should give it a listen. - loudmag