RAINTIME

‘Psychomatic’ is the third album from Italian metal band Raintime, and their second release since being signed to Lifeforce Records. The band formed in 1999 and, with a few line-up changes and shift-arounds, their sound has evolved into the mix of melodic, progressive, death metal it is now. Having never heard Raintime before listening to ‘Psychromatic’, I was pleasantly surprised at how charismatic and powerful their music is, thanks to their well-written songs and impressive musicianship throughout - especially the brilliant guitar work of Daniele ‘Acido’ Bressa and Matteo De Bon, and Claudio Coassin’s stunning clean and harsh vocals. ‘Psychromatic’ was mixed and mastered by Logan Mader (ex- Machine Head and Soulfly guitarist) who has worked on many metal records in recent years, and he has done a very good job in making the album sound amazing. The sound of Raintime is like a mix of the technicality of Dream Theater and the heavy-melodic sound of In Flames - the song ‘I Want To Remember’ especially sounds like it could be an In Flames track. The album is predominantly metal, but also contains sounds of other genres: ‘Turned Up and Down’ has a catchy ‘poppy’ chorus with a pulsing beat, ‘Shift’ is less heavy and quite ambient in places track, ‘Fire Ants’ begins with a ‘dancey’ synthesizer introduction which builds up then kicks into a technical metal song, and ‘Never Ending Stairway’ has a rocky sounding middle section. Overall this album is very enjoyable to listen to and I definitely recommend a listen to any metal fan.

LABEL:

FORMAT:

Lifeforce Records

Album

PSYCHROMATIC

Review by Leah Smallwood

RUNNING TIME:

47:11

RELEASE DATE:

23rd April 2010

TRACK LISTING

1) Fire Ants
2) Turned Up and Down
3) Never Ending Stairway
4) Nothing But a Mistake
5) I Want to Remember
6) Shift
7) Fake Idols
8) Beaten Roads
9) One Day
10) Buried In You
11) Walk On Actor

COUNTRY OF ORIGIN:

Italy

"...a mix of the technicality of Dream Theater and the heavy-melodic sound of In Flames..."