Article by: Steven Principato

We have nothing to be vengeful for, except vengeance itself.

Historically, heavy metal has become a genre notorious for rigidity and fierce traditions. Defiantly unwavering from its draconian traditions of dark brutality and the glorification of all that is evil, one might agree that all is awesome among the headbanger multiverse. However, despite our complacent satisfaction with the satanic-nazi-zombie-wizard demons summoners that populate the genre, when was the last time we actually laughed at metal?

Well, aside from this…

Introducing Psychostick, the weapon of choice to beat away your heavy metal blues! Like the vulgarity spouting “Weird Al’s” of metal they are, Psychostick takes a profound and satirical glance at heavy metal, pop culture, and the ugly word, “fuck” in their fourth and latest release on Rock Ridge Music, Revenge of the Vengeance. In this schizophrenic but culturally contemporary pseudo-concept record of three minute-plus anthems of man-child ideology, we find something that’s generally lacking in metal today: a deliberate sense of humor. I stress the adjective deliberate as the result of the countless metal albums currently in circulation, in which the humor was not actually intended. You know who you are.

Revenge of the Vengeance opens with a self titled skit, setting the mood for the duration of the album. This explosive “action movie that you wish actually existed” trailer induced me to envision such a demented narrative — not to say the crudely drawn cover artwork, (featuring a fashionably bearded man of action riding the back of a presidential rhino, who in turn is riding a fighter jet expending a deadly skull-faced ordinance as the world explodes all around them) didn’t already cover that! Under this playfully destructive setting, a morbid parade of side-splitting and memorably rageful anthems embarked on a disorganized march to a astonishingly skillful double bass drum beats. Titles by the likes of “N.S.F.W.” which as the acronym suggests, do not play the track for your coworkers unless you’re employed somewhere that is okay with your face tattoo and doesn’t collect taxes from your paycheck. “N.S.F.W” is simply an infectious celebration of the word “Fuck”, in an unforgiving world where many fear such a word. Now, before you write off Psychostick as a band of juvenile philistines as the direct result in recording such a masterpiece in vulgarity, take note of their painstaking vocal harmonies and guitar work as they pay homage to legendary composers, including: Beethoven, Mozart, Green Jello, and even Tchaikovsky. Easily recalled by only one magical lyric, this is the song I’ll sing to myself the next time I stub my toe in the middle of the night.

Other somewhat less vulgar tracks include “So. Heavy.” This particular track struck a nerve with me due to the fact that a 19 year old “Tune it to H flat” version of myself is accurately described here. Don’t laugh, we were all 19 once. Additional sonic assaults to my remaining sanity include the brutally honest ballad of a PC geek, lamenting on the loss of everything (except his virginity) as the result of a sudden hard-drive cash titled, “Blue Screen” (of death). Farewell, League of Legends save-games and vast porn collection! We’ve all been there.

Finally, and most importantly we examine the track “Bruce Campbell”. This song is obviously referring to Psychostick’s unhealthy obsession with the very icon that every other metal-geek in existence is guilty of having an equally disturbing man-crush on, bordering on restraining orders being issued… which I’m sure some have.

In the end, mix all of these explosive concepts together, then attach a completely un-ironic and celebratory metal rendition of Kenny Loggins’ blockbuster mega-hit, “Danger Zone” as the detonator, and you get one massive explosion of genuine, nerd-friendly “humor-core”, that might even steal a chuckle from this guy:

So remember folks, if you find that you’re frequently pondering the more crucial aspects of life which may include: Explosions, Bruce Campbell, neighborly rivalry, growing a beard to be cool, Kenny Loggins and his cool beard, the word “fuck”, and playing music that’s as heavy the previously mentioned curse word, this is the record for you! Check out Psychostick’s 4th release, “Revenge of the Vengeance” (Rock Ridge Music, 2014), available at an interwebs near you.

4/5 Stars

Funny as Fuck.

Revenge of the Vengeance Track listing: