A smile creeps across this reviewer’s face upon opening the package containing Psyko Dalek’s newly completed first album. One of the better known outfits on the Glasgow metal scene over the past three or four years, the band have emerged from the studio with
Dead To Some, a freshly recorded culmination of the band’s work to date. Mixing older songs that will be familiar to many of our readers with newer work,
Dead To Some is a self-financed project by the guys intended to lay the groundwork for some serious gigging later in the year.
On first listen it’s clear that Psyko Dalek have worked hard on this record to marry their catchy songwriting ability with some slick production. The drum tracks and vocal performances stick out like a bold statement of intent from Bonham-esque instrumental opener
Farewell and on into the title track itself. The sound is one that’s been stripped back to basics and properly laid down; especially apparent on older tracks such as
Bulletproof—the snarling, aggressive vocals still stick out and grab the listener but the overall aural experience benefits from streamlining in the studio. Apart from some slightly repetitive guitar work in places the songs have been recorded with continuity in production, which presents the album as a single body of work rather than the often patchy demos local bands churn out.
The overall groove of
Dead To Some is pretty impressive, comparisons to Rage Against The Machine would be pretty justified as Psyko Dalek obviously aim to keep the tempo upbeat and driving. The only notable exception to this is maybe the lone sedate tune on the record,
Everything, a mediocre piece which doesn’t seem to get going. From that point on it’s full steam ahead with well crafted heavy metal. It’s amazing to see how far this band has come. They’ve obviously taken time to learn their craft and have managed to produce a really enjoyable album that sounds cohesive and polished. The hard work no doubt starts now with the intensive gigging required to get ahead in the business. AltNation looks forward to seeing the live show.
Dead To Some is available direct from the band via MySpace.
www.myspace.com/psykodalek2005
