Immortal Guardian has been a notable addition to the metal scene in the last few years, with their ‘super metal’ being a delightful offering of varied styles that aims for the stars. Their first full-length, 2018’s Age of Revolution, really hit all of the promising marks that the band had provided with their earlier EP efforts. Psychosomatic continues to hold the same high water marks as said release, solidifying the band as a consistently strong one within the modern metal circuit.
At this point, the band has laid all of the groundwork to establish their sound, and with it being more unique in terms of its combination of power, progressive, and extreme elements, it’s a matter of sharpening the edges rather than reinventing the wheel. Psychosomatic in turn, does exactly that. The songs here contain that same ‘super metal’ vibe that the band has had going for them, and if anything, only helps to add to the diversity present as well as further flesh out their songwriting skills. Lots of exhilarating solos and big riffs still play a big part in the band’s sound, as well as some epic sounding choruses, and the lead-off title track drops you right into the good stuff. However, some darker material edges its way in this time too, and you can hear the COVID-19 influences in the writing (the entire album is about this after all), particularly with the tracks “Lockdown” and “Candlelight.” The heaviness suits the band well, and gives the flashy guitarwork some more grounded elements to embed itself into. Standout “Find a Reason” is a nice example of this, with an excellent solo midway through the track, but the darker tones surrounding it give it a really intriguing vibe, not to mention the soaring vocal performance. The opening and closing piano/keys give the song an extra bit of gravitas as well.
If you enjoyed Age of Revolution, you are bound to be thrilled by Psychosomatic. The band continues to up their game with technical thrills, but grounds it in some darker and personal songwriting that gives it a slight edge over their previous material. An easy pick-up for those in the power/prog section.