Puresonic Outcasts - Demonised Masses

Northern Irish punk-meets-stoner metal quartet Puresonic Outcasts (or PSO) released an absolute banger of an EP at the start of the year (which you can check out here), but they're not done yet for 2020. 'Demonised Masses' is also due at the end of the week, and they'll have 'Chasing Shadows' out soon as well. We'll be looking at 'Demonised Masses' today - but first, who are PSO?

Only formed in 2019, they signed to Fuzzy Cracklins to release 'Reflections Upon This Present Condition', full of Sabbathy, fuzzy riffing and a snarling punk attitude to create a familiar, but enjoyable and memorable sound that lingers in your ears long after the EP comes to an end. PSO progressed into the second stage of their Metal 2 The Masses heat in Belfast - their journey in that competition cut short, of course, by that notorious virus going round - but they've kept busy with their fun, active social media presence, shooting music videos and having DJs play their tracks on rock radio stations.

'Demonised Masses' comes in slowly, with two ominous chord sequences drenched in trademark PSO-style fuzz. They build up layers, with subtle yet intelligent lead bass lines and a guitar chug to get the listeners nodding away. Three minutes in, the track drops properly, and PSO really dial up the aggression. It's harder, heavier and more pissed-off than anything from the EP, complete with double-bass drumming that ultimately give off an old school thrash metal vibe - as if Slayer had written Kill 'em All as a punk album. Martin's vocals suit the song well, sitting somewhere between distinguishable melody and a punk-ish shout. Continuing the theme of intelligent lyrics about humanity and the world we live in, PSO seem to have found their message - and now they're shouting it with more conviction than before, and have noticeably improved on their older work.

The chord progressions on this track are clever throughout. The mellower first half shows the power of the buildup, with simple, sludgy note choices. In the angrier second half of the piece, they play with the tritone interval to devastating effect. Ultimately this makes PSO sound more evil and dark than ever before. This is a good thing! It gives them more individuality and this song is a great example of how they can set themselves apart from a scene where a lot of bands are doing the same thing. 'Demonised Masses' boasts a hell of a groove at times, and is surely one of their strongest songs to date. Great work.

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