I first became aware of Outer Heaven in 2015 when I saw them open for Krieg at The Archeron (RIP) in New York City. I was immediately struck by how intense, unhinged and heavy the band was. Vocalist Austin Haines' stage persona and vocal delivery were absolutely gripping, and the whole sonic atmosphere felt ominous and intense. It was a proper death metal set! I knew immediately they'd be a band to watch as the nascent new-old-school death metal movement caught steam.
Indeed, in the ensuing eight years, the band has earned a place alongside modern day death metal heroes like Gatecreeper, Witch Vomit, and Tomb Mold in the pantheon of bands carrying on the brutal ways of old. In classic terms, the band is best thought of as a mix of the force and power of Bolt Thrower, the dark and menacing energy of Incantation, and the taste for chaos invoked by Gorguts, mid-era Death, and Morbid Angel. It's a style that locks into a certain pocket of blasts and grooves, but shows off a lot of variation within that realm of sound.
And this satisfying balance is on fantastic display with the band's latest album, Infinite Psychic Depths. This is especially true of the album's mid-section, which contains the real memorable bangers. "Drained of Life" is a punishing death metal beast that rewards the listener with an infectious and irresistible ending. "Unspeakable Aura" ends in a very dissonant-death-metal fashion, and incorporates some clean vocals to mix things up. "Rotting Stone/D.M.T" has some of 2023's crunchiest riffs.
"Starcrusher" just crushes everything, and is perhaps the best example of the mix of Incantation, Bolt Thrower, and Tucker-era Morbid Angel (which makes sense, as Steve Tucker does guest vocals on this song). Other guest appearances include JR from Pig Destroyer, Alex Jones from Undeath and Dave Suzuki from Churchburn.
Throughout the album, the rhythm section forms the armored thrust of the band's metal assault. The production on this album brings bassist Derrick Vella and drummer Paul Chrismer all around the listener and never lets up with the low-end beat-down. But riff-addicts rejoice, the guitar tones of Jon Kunz and Zak Carter rip right through the mix as well. Finally, there's Austin's vocals, embodying the low gutteral energy you'd seek from this style.
I should say there's nothing wrong with the early and latter parts of this album, but that most of the treats that sated me the most were in the middle. Toward the end of the album, there is a bit of fatigue that sets in. I'm glad the band keeps the song lengths under control and gives listeners what they want. But at the same time, after nine or 10 songs, a doomier song or some sort of interlude would have been good. There's lots of cool parts on songs like "From Nothingness to Eternity," it's that once you get to that point, it all starts to bleed together.
That said, it is all good. I often lament in these reviews and elsewhere how rote and predictable a lot of death metal has become. We really are at a saturation point where it's difficult for yet another 1991-worshipping act to stand out. However, Outer Heaven stands apart from all of that.
