Outer Heaven - Infinite Psychic Depths

Angry Metal Guy

Most of us wouldn’t expect a grimy death metal band like Pennsylvania’s Outer Heaven to put a ton of thought into story. Nonetheless, Outer Heaven crafted an in-depth background from which their sophomore full-length Infinite Psychic Depths spawns. To quote the detailed exposition provided in the promo kit, “Infinite Psychic Depths traces [Realms of Eternal Decay‘s] backstory by starting off with a Big Bang-like incident and the creation of amorphous souls, which eventually take physical form that populate then ravage their newly created environment. This, in turn, unleashes a disease, the infection of which sends victims into a violent fugue state and drug-like psychosis. The plague spreads until information is revealed on how to stop the contagion in its tracks. All the while, the new world’s omniscient, original creators are angered at what’s become of their gifted environment and, as a result, destroy the wasted civilization. The remnants of that world end up as what you see on the cover of the first album.” Outer Heaven clearly put a ton of thought into this onslaught, leaving behind one last question: does the end product do the concept justice?

One thing is for certain, Outer Heaven know death metal inside and out. Every gory roar, every disgusting riff, every brain-melting rhythm harkens to all different corners of the old-school death metal pantheon, taking inspiration from standbys like Cannibal Corpse, Incantation, Suffocation, and Immolation as much as more modern juggernauts like Tomb Mold, Corpsessed, Mutilated by Zombies, Blood Red Throne, and Atrae Bilis. That’s a lot of big names all in one place, but Outer Heaven aren’t copycats as much as they are enthusiasts. For the rest of us, that translates into a sound that is insanely varied and intimately familiar, yet still instantly recognizable as Outer Heaven. Boasting a thick but punchy mix of brutal guitars, incomprehensible vocals, massive rhythms, and unstoppable hooks, Infinite Psychic Depths stands strong as a clinic in dynamic death metal with a cool sci-fi/horror theme to boot.

Infinite Psychic Depths by Outer Heaven

Although maintaining a consistent tone and a harmonious palette, Infinite Psychic Depths is a remarkably kaleidoscopic record bursting with great ideas approached from myriad angles. Opener “Soul Remnants” cracks spines with a great blend of pit-opening riffcraft and acrobatic transitions, while follow-up “Pillars of Dust” focuses on fast, double-bass grooves destined to cause spinal injury, differentiating numerous variants of the main theme to keep it fresh while also exhibiting hardcore elements during a surprisingly novel mid-song detour. In fact, the first six tracks on Infinite Psychic Depths are nigh unfuckwithable, relentlessly beating me into a fine paste using all manner of gruesome weaponry. Meanwhile, late album hot streak “Starcrusher,” “Pallasite Chambers,” and “Warped Transcendence” constitute the album’s brightest flames, utilizing incredible ascending riffs, whiplashing chugs, tectonic groove, spine-tingling solos, and even a couple absolutely destructive slams that would fit right in with early Devourment’s output.

As a direct result of Outer Heaven’s impeccable attention to detail and dynamics, Infinite Psychic Depths’ flaws are notably few and far between. The obvious nitpick is album length. Coming in at a relatively standard forty-six minutes across eleven tracks, Infinite Psychic Depths is a whopping thirteen minutes longer than its predecessor. However, the only song which truly overstays its welcome is the six-minute “Rotting Stone/DMT,” padding its runtime with unnecessary ambient distractions that offer very little substance and an overlong proggier closing passage that lacks pizzazz. I also think the closer “From Nothing to Eternity” flubs the landing at the last minute with a false ending that leads to a reprisal of Realms of Eternal Decay’s opening segment, played in reverse and melded with the sounds of vocalist Austin Haines’ newborn daughter’s heartbeat. An admittedly cool idea to be sure, but in practice, it feels tacked on and underdeveloped.

Infinite Psychic Depths, flaws and all, marks an impressive and massively fun companion to the already sick Realms of Eternal Decay. More memorable and featuring more unique ideas than its predecessor, Outer Heaven’s prequel kicks major ass. If the trend of increasingly awesome death metal from this troupe continues, then I can’t wait for the sequel!

Rating: Great!
DR: 8 | Format Reviewed: 320 kbps mp3
Label: Relapse Records
Websites: outerheaven.bandcamp.com | facebook.com/OuterHeavenPA
Releases Worldwide: July 21st, 2023

The post Outer Heaven – Infinite Psychic Depths Review appeared first on Angry Metal Guy.

Pitchfork

Read Jayson Greene’s review of the album.