Review: “Armageddon” by Psychotic Outsider

““Armageddon” is an exploration of the world around us and the impacts it has on people, looking at themes of mental health, climate change, christo-fascism, social justice and mass violence. The album charts a course through these themes, starting in a place of profound anxiety, overwhelmed by trauma, and slowly moving to a place of defiance and vengeance.” ~ Piotr Michalik, guitars

Uniting former members of Thy Worshiper, Wound Machine and Sinister Divide the summer of 2018 saw Psychotic Outsider formed in Galway Ireland. A mutual love of Speed Metal, Hardcore Punk and Groove brought them together and bassist Wiktor Klukowski, drummer Krystian Mistarz, vocalist Darragh Jennings and guitarist Piotr Michalik haven’t looked back since, unleashing three EPs and two albums since. The second of those albums is “Armageddon“, an affair recorded, mixed and mastered by Michael Richards (Khôra, Cruachan, Sonus Mortis) at Trackmix Studio with artwork by Helena Jennings…

Throwing the baby out with the bathwater Psychotic Outsider waste no time in testing the water temperature with their tip-toes, instead going hell for leather with the groove laden ripper of an opening cut that is “The End is Nigh“. Like a soothsayer Darragh Jennings tells of a bleak future with the time honoured combination of harsh screams and spoken words, the main riff from Michalik an earworm that will get inside you head and never leave. It’s like the bastard child of Lamb Of God and Raging Speedhorn with all the addictive qualities you’d expect from that despite the warning of the end of the world as we know it being held within. The rampage continues with “Crushed by a Black Horse“, a tale about being trampled by horse upon which death himself rides in a repeating nightmarish vision and once more the band deliver the goods in the best possible way with urgent riffage and pounding percussive battery. The guitar work has plenty of texture too and while there are a couple of moments which could have seen a face melting solo landed, that isn’t the option that Michalik has taken, not that that is by any means a bad thing. Things slow down a little for “Welcome Oblivion” a track with a funky bass and guitar trade off in the mid-section as Jennings tells a tale in the first person about being trapped in an eternal hell, chained to a concrete block at the bottom of the ocean and begging for sleep. The weighty grooves of this one are an unstoppable force of nature and while it might be a verse and chorus over long for some, it’s not for others.

The cold wind blows as “Vilify The Weak” opens with a snarled spoken word from Jennings which is a touch of class, having flavours of Dave Mustaine’s work in Megadeth. That continues into to the lyrical narrative of the cut itself as Jennings paints a curious portrait while the band provide a fitting soundscape of barbed riffs and pounding percussion, none of which elevates it from eternal darkness. A desperate cry that echoes some of the earlier tunes “Death By A Thousand Cuts” has something of “Monsters of the Universe: Come Out and Plague” era Wednesday 13 with a mid-tempo crush and a great use of metaphors while maintaining that perpetual forward motion and dark undercurrent of energy. The heart beat at the start of “White Phosphorous” breaks up the flow nicely, allowing the track to hit that much harder with staccato riff breaks and rumbling bass registering as seismic activity. Klukowski gets another moment in the spotlight with a bass solo before as Jennings screams with a clenched fist of defiance, the track a shorter, sharper shock that’s executed with surgical precision.

Flavours of Melodic Death Metal creep into “I Defy” as Psychotic Outsider increase the intensity of their sonic abrasions to match the vitriol of the lyrical narrative to create one of the albums finer cuts, the riffs flowing with poise and power in classical neck snapping fashion as Jennings speaks his mind with a clenched fist of defiance. There is no doubt that this one will be a live favourite, it’s infectious grooves and vicious vocals making for a mosh pit filler of instant appeal. Flowing from the same vein “I Will Suffer No Masters” maintains the energy and intensity levels in the best possible way, the unrelenting force of their assault on the senses setting them apart from the wolf pack begging for your blood. Lyrically it’s almost a monument to misanthropy before the ripper that is the title track hits like a freight train. “Armageddon” decimates the weak and thins the herd as sand blasting for the skin that sounds very much like a call to arms for violence and vengeance… [8/10]

Track Listing

1. The End is Nigh
2. Crushed by a Black Horse
3. Welcome Oblivion
4. Vilify The Weak
5. Death By A Thousand Cuts
6. White Phosphorous
7. I Defy
8. I Will Suffer No Masters
9. Armageddon

“Armageddon” by Psychotic Outsider is out 23rd October 2026 through Via Nocturna and is available over at bandcamp