Australia is home to innumerable death metal bands. Few make their way beyond these shores, and fewer still garner global respect. Out of those, only one has maintained that position for a full 25 years: Australia’s finest, Tasmania’s pride and joy, PSYCROPTIC.

When the history of technical metal is viewed in years to come, the books will come to show that PSYCROPTIC are responsible for a hefty slice of the genre. The band blasted into the deepest underground in the late 90s, then proceeded to drag the metal scene closer to what they do by sheer attrition. Their music guides you through the densest of riff jungles before bursting into the clear with powerfully rhythmic grooves and blasts, anchored by the profoundly talented Haley brothers.

No band bio is complete without a quote from the band themselves, but this bio will need to remain incomplete. All the members are profoundly humble and simply let the music do all the talking. Guitarist Joe’s esoteric, impenetrable picking style weaves musical hooks that wrap around the listener before pulling back to reveal Dave’s pulsating rhythms. They achieve a level of synchronization only brothers with decades of experience playing together can achieve. There are none tighter. That their telepathic performance is matched by the final lineup of Todd Stern on bass and the charismatic roar of Jason Peppiatt is almost unfair. Like all masters, they make the impossible look impossibly easy.

Most bands take a few albums to find their feet but PSYCROPTIC’s first two releases were underground classics: “The Isle of Disenchantment” (2001 self-released) and “The Scepter of the Ancients” (2003 Unique Leader). Matthew Chalk (vocals) and Cameron Grant (bass) were part of the first squad who joined the Haleys on their quest for perfection. A relentless touring schedule emerged in Australia, including legendary appearances at Canberra’s Metal for the Brain festival. Normally this would be the high point for an Australian metal band. Two albums out, successful shows, who could ask for more?

Tasmania couldn’t contain them and as it turned out, neither could Australia. Their first overseas tour was Europe in 2004. Matthew was replaced on vocals by Jason Peppiatt, and PSYCROPTIC went on to record “Symbols of Failure” (2006 Neurotic). The band expanded their sound with “Ob (Servant)” (2008 Nuclear Blast) bringing in ambience and atmosphere, then “The Inherited Repression” (2012) introducing the powerful neck-cracking grooves that would mark their sound going forward.

It also introduced them to touring the US with their first happening in 2010. This pushed their lust for the road to new levels, smashing audiences and stupefying musicians around the planet. They’re unique among death metal bands in that it’s almost pointless to try and list the festivals and countries they’ve visited, let alone the bands they’ve played with. It can be condensed to “everyone, everywhere”. Official estimates are at thirty countries. Standouts would be their tour of China in 2010, becoming the first Western band to appear in the Inner Mongolian city of Hohhot, and nearly getting caught in a three-day long traffic jam. They were one of the earlier Western bands to hit Indonesia’s now-famous

Hammersonic Festival in 2013. They did a seven-day tour of India in 2017, roamed South America in 2022, and even managed to break into the US during the height of COVID.

PSYCROPTIC solidified their American relationship by signing to Prosthetic Records in 2014, replacing Cameron on bass with US legend Todd Stern in 2015, then releasing their self-titled album in the same year. At this point something indefinable clicked, and the band unleashed “As The Kingdom Drowns” (2019), a clear step up from their previous work. “Divine Council” (2022) proved that this wasn’t a new level for the band – it’s a new normal.

And there is no slowing down. As of late 2024, PSYCROPTIC are recording a new album and are booked in for a massive US tour in January 2025 with NILE and SIX FEET UNDER. PSYCROPTIC are no longer the local Australian band made good: they are a global powerhouse with a footprint the size of the world, nothing left to prove, and an endless commitment to finding ways to rock you as hard as technically possible.

Psycroptic is:
Dave Haley – drums
Joe Haley – guitars Jason Peppiatt – vocals Todd Stern – bass guitar