Outer Heaven – Infinite Psychic Depths (Review)

This is the second album from US death metallers Outer Heaven.

I thoroughly enjoyed 2018’s Realms of Decay, and I can’t quite believe that it came out so long ago. Regardless, Outer Heaven are now back, and they have brought 46 minutes of shockingly good death metal with them.

The absolutely inhuman death metal roars of the singer are treat to hear once more. They sound massive and monstrous, and are one of the most striking aspects of Outer Heaven to hit you when the album’s first track Soul Remnants starts. It’s a great song to open the album with, and encapsulates many of the reasons why I like Outer Heaven as much as I do.

The second thing you’ll notice are the riffs. Infinite Psychic Depths is packed with murderous riffs and the sort of bladed songwriting that would keep many bands in business for an entire career. Outer Heaven pack it all into eleven tracks of gruesome worldbuilding and inventive brutality.

These new songs benefit from a variety of creative designs, including dark melodic twists, well-crafted technicality, barbed catchiness, and a sheer abundance of killer riffs. I’ve mentioned these twice now, but the riffs really are everywhere on this album. Importantly though, Outer Heaven do more than string together a series of great riffs to make a song, and instead also show a strong grasp of dynamics, structuring, and flow. Infinite Psychic Depths displays a creative destructiveness that’s impressive. Outer Heaven have a clear, focused vision for death metal that’s surprisingly multifaceted, while still delivering that raw, savage brutality that death metal is so good at.

A series of guests appear across the album too, further enriching its bounty. Current and ex-members of Morbid Angel, Pig Destroyer, Tomb Mold, Undeath, and Vital Remains all have their parts to play on this record. I’ll particularly note the guest spot from the singer of Pig Destroyer, as his vocals are complemented by the sort of prime Pig Destroyer riff that would have sat comfortably on Prowler in the Yard.

Oh my. I hoped for something good from Outer Heaven, but they have surpassed my expectations here. Infinite Psychic Depths is a top quality slab of ugly death metal horror, and I can’t get enough of it.

Essential listening.