The debut album for Pyschothermia, “Fall to the Rising Sun” leaves my ears wanting a little more from a self proclaimed hard rock band. The album opens strong with the track “Fall to the Rising Sun” which gives the listener some hope for a hardcore album dripping with some great ballads, but as the music progresses each track falls short from really standing apart from the rest of the pack in the metal/ hard rock music world.
The big issue I had with this entire album was the rather dull lyrics that fall into typical metal themes such as anarchy, uprisings, and destruction. While these themes all do rock when handled by skilled vocalists, Pyschothermia makes each subject droll with a lead singer who just cannot belt out great screams or passionate vocals. I never felt so bored hearing about pure anarchy, but hey on the bright side the album has some good guitar and drum work which helps save some of the songs such as “Anarchy” and “Slash & Burn.”
What can I compare Pyschothermia to, well I hear hints of influences from bands such as Stone Sour and Avenged Sevenfold when you navigate through the albums tracks. And at times lead vocalist, Johan Maldonado, attempts to hit some of those great vocals you may hear from Corey Taylor in Stone Sour, but Johan just never gets there or has that edginess. As well, you have occasions where Pyschothermia begins to get into that Rage Against the Machine vibe as seen in the tracks “Here’s to the Angels” and “The Fight.” Yet even when trying to create a sound similar to Rage Against the Machine, Pyschothermia does not create anything unique or special that tells us that we have something special here.
When you view the album as a whole Pyschothermia does not do enough to move itself away from the pack of countless metal bands out here today. The album borrows styles and influences from many current artists, but nothing fresh is provided to the listener. Pyschothermia in “Fall to the Rising Sun” simply feels like rehashed ideas without any distinct sound that gives the band any true identity. Each track feels like wandering through different sounds in an attempt to get something right, but in the end nothing will blow you away.
By: Jake Alleruzzo
Features Contributor
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