intreview by: Roberto Martinelli

Psycroptic's excellent debut, The Isle of Disenchantment (reviewed in this issue), showcased a young band with superb skills in making technical death metal. I contacted Dave (drums) to ask about this unsigned Australian band, to talk about life in Tasmania and what it's like to be in a death metal band there.

Maelstrom: Hello Dave, how are things going with Psycroptic?

Dave: Hi Roberto, that's for interviewing us! Things at the moment aren't going to badly at the moment for Psycroptic; we've just been invited to play the biggest metal fest in Australia, which will be great, plus we have so other interstate metalfests to play quite soon which we are looking forward to. We are also writing new songs at the moment so things are going OK….now we just need a label to sign us (haha)

Maelstrom: Your latest album, The Isle of Disenchantment, was released by yourselves, was it not? Is this Psycroptic's first album?

Dave: Yes, that's right. We financed most of the recording and pressing of the CD. We were given a grant of $750Aust (about $375 US) from the state government as part of their arts program to help with our recording costs…I think we are the first extreme metal band to ever get one in Tasmania. This helped a little, but the majority was financed by ourselves. This is Psycroptic's first ever release - you could almost say it's a demo of sorts. We didn't do a demo because we have all had previous recording experience and we were happy with how this recording came out.

Maelstrom: How would you describe the style that you play? How do you hope those listening to your music will think or feel?

Dave: Well, I would just say we play extreme metal with various influences. We try to incorporate all elements of metal in our music - death, black, thrash, power, etc. Its not that we're trying to cover all "fan bases" or any shit like that…we just love all styles of metal. To us, a cool riff is a cool riff - it doesn't matter what style it is. We just hope people can appreciate what we are doing -regardless of what style they think we should play. I think it is up to the individual to listen make their own judgment about what style they think we play…we don't really mind. We "classify" ourselves as a death metal band just out of ease for those people who have never heard of us because we fit more easily into this category. Regarding what we hope those listening should feel….metal, and a love for it!

Maelstrom: I was very impressed with the tightness and skill levels of all the band members. How long have you all been playing, both individually and as a band? What are your musical backgrounds?

Dave: Thanks very much for you complement!! We have all been playing our in instruments for over 7 years each. We are still young - the oldest member is 21, so we all started young. I got my first kit when I was 13 and Joe got his first guitar when he was 9. Cam (bass) started when he was about 11 I think. Matthew was about 13 when he started to sing. We have all had music lessons at some point…some of us more than others though. We started playing as Psycroptic in April of 1999. Prior to that me and Joe played an a black metal band, and Cam and Joe also played together in a band at school. Since Joe and I live in the same house (we are brothers) we try to practice as much as possible with Psycroptic…maybe up to 5 or 6 times a week.

Maelstrom: What are your musical influences?

Dave: In a simple answer - metal!! We love all styles of metal and take inspiration from everywhere. We all have our different "preferred" styles though - I'm into stuff like Nile, Hate Eternal, Angelcorpse, Immortal, Emperor, etc….Joe loves Iced Earth, Nevermore, Yattering, etc….Cam likes Opeth, Dissection, Dimmu Borgir, Borknagar, etc…Matthew listens to Dying Fetus, The Beatles, Cradle of Filth, Jeff Buckley…..we like a wide Varity of stuff. We also like to listen to great musicians to get inspiration - stuff like The Dave Weckl Band, On the Virg (Virgil Donati's band) and Dream Theater.

Maelstrom: What does "Psycroptic" mean?

Dave: Nothing at all….we couldn't come up with a name, so one of Matthew's friends (who's not even into metal) just said, "I could come up with a band name for a metal band, is fucken easy!" and Matthew was like, "yeah, sure" so this guy just said "Psycroptic….there you go." It stuck. Simple as that.

Maelstrom: I am intrigued by some of the lyrics in your songs. Third song, "Condemned by Discontent," seems to be some sort of parable about society. Is this what it was intended as? Could you please tell us about what that song is about?

Dave: Well, Matthew writes all the lyrics, so I'm not too sure exactly what his ideas behind the song were…but from what he's explained to me it is a slight reference to society - about greed and self advancement….but its also a fictional story that Matthew has written. I think it was set back in Egyptian times….or something like that. He likes to keep the lyrics varied and different to keep his, and those reading the lyrics, up.

Maelstrom: The first song, "Carnival of Vulgarity," makes references to evil clowns. I have met a surprisingly large amount of people who find clowns very frightening. Do you feel the same way, or are the clowns in the song used as metaphors?

Dave: Haha, no we're not scared of Clowns (well, not much anyway). That song is about being trapped in a dream that you can never escape from….a dream about a carnival in hell (or a place like that) that goes on forever. I think Matthew used the clowns as both characters in the story, and as metaphors for the way the human race runs it self. People should just draw their own opinions about the lyrics, and form their own imagery….its more fun that way, because perception is different for everyone.

Maelstrom: The title track of your album strikes me as a mix of Greek Mythology (especially Charon, the boatman of the River Styx) and H.P. Lovecraft, with a little death metal flavor thrown in. What inspires you lyrically?

Dave: I think lyrically Matthew is inspired by lots of Sci-Fi and fantasy stuff…for example, at the time we were recording the CD he was addicted to "Planet of the Apes" and was hiring out all the movies. Stew (they guy who recorded us) and he were sitting there talking about the movie all the time, and what they thought scenes of it meant….but, yeah, Matthew watches heaps of movies and reads a few fantasy books now and then. He's got lots of ideas floating around in his head….he's already got about 20 possible song titles/themes in the making at the moment.

Maelstrom: Unfortunately, the only image the average American has of Tasmania is of a cartoon character (Taz, the Tasmanian Devil). Please tell us about the place you live. How difficult or easy was it to start a death metal band?

Dave: Haha, yeah, Taz….The Tasmanian Devil actually exists - it's a vicious animal, about the size of an small to average sized dog. You don't see them too much, but they have a cool growl - sort of a black metallish screech/growl thing. Very endangered species. But enough of that. Tasmania (for those who don't know) is Australia's most southern state….well, it's the little triangular island at the bottom. The population is quite small (about 430, 000 people) and it is a fairly agricultural industry based place. Very scenic - not at all like the imagery most people have of Australia….its quite a cold place. More of a European type climate, nice in summer time and snow on the Mountains in winter. As far as starting the band, it was quite easy because we all knew each other and had a similar taste in music. Since we live in a small city, we know just about all the people who listen to metal and we're all friends. Starting the band was easy, but getting our name out to the rest of the world is proving to be much harder (haha).  Australia is isolated enough as it is, but we live in the most isolated state so it makes things harder. At the moment, we cannot really play gigs in our city (Hobart) because no venues will put our music on. Apart from that, Tassie is a great place.

Maelstrom: How far do you hope to take Psycroptic? What can we expect from you in the future?

Dave: We just want to get our music out to those who can appreciate it. We would like to get our name known - not for "fame" or shit like that…more from an inspirational point of view. Knowing that people are listening to you music from all around the world - that sort of thing. In future you can expect a similar style, but with more of our own sound. The new songs we have are faster, a little more technical and darker (well, that's what our friends have told us). We hopefully will sign to a label at some point (if we get an offer!!), so it makes recording and promotion much easier, which would be great. We'll see what happens….

Maelstrom: Thank you for taking the time to do this interview. If you have any last words, please share them with us.

Dave: Thanks again for the interview Roberto - it was cool. For anyone interested in Psycroptic, you can check out our sounds at our website at http://www.geocities.com/psycroptic or email us atpsycroptic@hotmail.com.

Our debut 9 song CD, The Isle of Disenchantment, is available for $10US or $15Australian (postpaid) from us at 70 Lochner st, West Hobart, 7000 Tasmania, Australia. Ok, that's about it, thanks again and stay metal.

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