PSYCHOCIDE – Alcohol & Bad Decisions

High production values and classic songwriting abound on this Canadian Hard Rock outfit’s debut release. Psychocide’s Alcohol & Bad Decisions is a modern-classic take on all of the themes that Rock and Punk fans have come to appreciate over the years. Odes to murderous women, drinking, false authority figures, and drug use are all explored here. The trio cranks out ten expertly produced tracks. As is typical of debut albums, these songs all sound as if they’ve been smoothed over with a fine-tooth comb, and have been played live extensively before being recorded for the album. This gives Alcohol & Bad Decisions an organic yet polished sound.

If there’s any knock against Psychocide, it would be that they’re not really presenting anything ground-breaking here. That can somewhat be forgiven, since they’re delivery it so well. The video for one of Alcohol & Bad Decisions‘ singles, “Mary”, looks as if it could be from a feature film. Lead vocalist and elven namesake Goldwyn Thandrayen’s voice is crisp and warm, while his guitar work is similarly pleasing. The foundation of the band features Ivan Tolj on bass and Wilson Li on drums, both of whom deliver excellent performances.

Overall, Psychocide has presented us with a genuine, albeit generic, very well done debut album. If this can’t launch the band on their way up to stardom, nothing can.