The unnerving metal fanatics in Psychotic Break have unleashed a stunning, genre-bending track titled “Vexation,” ready to demolish your speakers. Somehow, the band combines the crushing intensity of metalcore and nu-metal with the somber atmospherics of post-metal and the extreme musicianship of black metal into one bludgeoning song.
Clocking in at roughly four and a half minutes, “Vexation” takes listeners through sonic peaks and valleys, shifting between haunting beauty and absolute brutality. A sane artist might have crafted four different songs, but as their name suggests, the maniacs in Psychotic Break decided to throw everything into one gigantic metal anthem.
Blast beats, punishing breakdowns, angular riffs, electronic elements, and bloodcurdling vocal shrieks all collide in a relentless assault on the senses. The subdued, melodic passages are genuinely beautiful, while the black metal onslaught rages at full throttle. Meanwhile, the pummeling nu-metal grooves practically demand a mosh pit and some serious headbanging.
This year has delivered plenty of great metal releases, but you'd be hard-pressed to find anything quite as wild as Psychotic Break's latest single. “Vexation” is unpredictable, unapologetically heavy, and proof that sometimes throwing the rulebook out the window produces something pretty damn spectacular.
Listen to “Vexation” below:
