Psychofagist
Il Secondo Tragico

THE REVIEW

Stumbled upon by chance, I find Psychofagist a truly great name for an Italian band. I grabbed this CD and immediately put it in the player, knowing almost nothing about the project in question. I expected the usual grind, but I was quickly proven wrong.

The involvement of Luca Tommaso Mai from Zu might mean a lot to jazzcore fans, but for me, it meant almost nothing as I'm not a big listener of the Ostia band. However, I must admit that this album, even after a few listens, turns out to be truly IMPRESSIVE. 

A lethal mix of jazz-grind with Italian hardcore vocals and truly excruciating saxophone inserts, which add even more nerve-wracking acid to the thick walls of sound erected by the bass (you can really hear it, unlike many other extreme records) and the guitar.

The attack of "Uomo o Merda" I think will immediately clear your mind about the proposal of Psychofagist, a band I have started to listen to very frequently, and even retrieved their first album. Blinded by their perfectly balanced experimental vein applied to the grind-mathcore sonic extremism.

For fans of: Zu, Peter Brotzmann, Dillinger Escape Plan, Mr. Bungle, Naked City... important influences. 

But I assure you that "Il Secondo Tragico" truly deserves careful and prolonged listening... a truly satisfying sensation listening to it in one go, something that honestly hasn't happened to me for a while when approaching new releases, more or less extreme, in the field. 

I am sure that you too will want to partake in "Urlissima 2009", the introduction of one of the most extraordinary tracks titled "Defragmentation Rotunda". Also coming to mind is track number 9 "Biodegradazioni", an extreme free jazz suite that reminded me of Last Exit, the supergroup of Sonny Sharrock and Peter Brotzmann, which was somewhat my baptism by fire with regard to certain experimental sounds applied to Jazzcore.

...Italian Album of the Year?