Psychotic Gardening: Hymnosis

I'm not sure what goes into psychotic gardening, but its harvest is sheer madness. I mean, this is some of the heaviest music I've ever heard. I could call it crushing; I could call it brutal; I could call it insane; but none of those labels quite works. This is simply a musical burden, a weight that listeners must carry on their own shoulders.

I haven't heard this band's earlier output, so I can't compare this album to the others. Still, I think I can confidently say that this band is showing no signs of letting up. This is heavy music, pure and simple, the kind that grows out of a combination of doom metal's tempos and extreme metal's sheer force of musical will. At the center of things is the twin vocal assault by Gillishammer and Chuck Labossiere. I'm not sure which voice is which but they both offer up a rasp fit for the underworld. There are other vocalists like these two, but their delivery is just so harsh that it grabs the attention and refuses to let go.

Aside from the vocals are heavy guitars, pounding bass lines, and cruel drums. Just listen to tracks like "Mindfold" or "Origin of the Infection" for a taste of how heavy things can get. I'd also suggest the cover of Death's classic "Open Casket." This version is a bit slower than the original, but it pays ample tribute to a great band while sticking to what Psychotic Gardening does best: create heavy music that is as unrelenting as a bomb. One more thing—the lyrics on this album are just as brutal as the music. No, I didn't read every line, but my overall impression is that the songs here are largely despairing and otherworldly. I was reminded, as I read, of science-fiction / horror hybrids, the kind where human beings find themselves prey to the worst sort of actions they can imagine—and then things get even worse. As brutal albums go, this is a winner.

Track Listing:
1. Origin of the Infection
2. Defile
3. Re-Hybridized Strain
4. Mindfold
5. Searing Cital
6. Genome Degredation
7. Garden Raiding
8. Open Casket
9. Journey to the Sun

Added: May 29th 2014
Reviewer: Carl Sederholm
Score:
Related Link: Band Website
Hits: 2453
Language: english

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