Outer Heaven – Infinite Psychic Depths (Review)

It’s been five years since Outer Heaven unleashed Realms of Eternal Decay on mankind. Kinda strange that so much time had to pass until a follow-up album is in the starting blocks but good things need time. Nevertheless, Outer Heaven were not completely inactive during this time. They released a live album and a cover EP. On July 21st their highly awaited sophomore records Infinite Psychic Depths will finally be released via Relapse Records. Outer Heaven have put a lot of time, energy and ideas into their new work, which you can hear right from the beginning.

If you’ve ever wondered what it must feel like to be sucked into a black hole, the opening track “Soul Remnants” might be the perfect experience. The ideal song to be thrown into the cosmos of Outer Heaven. Blast beats everywhere! These are paired with intergalactic guitar riffs that are strongly reminiscent of the first Steve Tucker era of Morbid Angel. Fans of Formulas Fatal to the Flesh or Gateways to Annihilation will get their money’s worth here. Speaking of riffs, the terrific work on the guitars that Outer Heaven delivers on eleven songs is hard to put into words. Songs like “Unspeakable Aura” seem eerily oppressive, as if you are drifting aimlessly in the cold universe and only waiting for your own death.

Infinite Psychic Depths is an album that has many interesting and surprising moments despite its running time of almost 45 minutes. The selection of guest musicians is terrific. JR Hayes does a fantastic job of emoting the essence of Pig Destroyer into an Outer Heaven song like “Pillars Of Dust”. This makes everything seem much more chaotic and hectic right away. A wonderful disaster. The other guest appearances fit just as well into the overall work of Outer Heaven. No matter if Derrick Vella (Tomb Mold), Steve Tucker (Morbid Angel), Alex Jones (Undeath) or Dave Suzuki (Churchburn, ex-Vital Remains), everyone does a damn good job. Coupled with the band’s inventiveness and the aforementioned guests, it creates some surprising moments on the album. I especially like that at the end of “From Nothingness To Eternity” they build a bridge to the previous album Realms of Eternal Decay. A small but fine Easter egg.

We are not talking about a typical death metal album here. Infinite Psychic Depths carries everything that characterized 90s death metal. In addition, this is combined with a technical masterpiece in terms of songwriting and guitar riffing. I’m not sure if aliens or a higher life form recorded this album, in the end it doesn’t matter, because Outer Heaven have created a true monster, which will surely shake the death metal world.