{"id":26586,"date":"2025-06-09T12:08:00","date_gmt":"2025-06-09T12:08:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/rpmonline.co.uk\/?p=26586"},"modified":"2025-05-28T12:18:48","modified_gmt":"2025-05-28T12:18:48","slug":"demented-are-go-psycotic-mutilation-sunny-bastard-records","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/rpmonline.co.uk\/?p=26586","title":{"rendered":"Demented Are Go – ‘Psycotic Mutilation’ (Sunny Bastard Records)"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Some bands are seemingly constantly on the road, while others release a studio album every 2-3 years. Demented Are Go are clearly in the former category, and, as any glance at their recent gigs on YouTube will testify, they are on fine form. So, a mere 13 years since \u2018Welcome Back To Insanity Hall\u2019, it is a pleasure to listen in advance to \u2018Psychotic Mutilation\u2019 (having preordered it, obviously).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

No one can say that Mark \u2018Sparky\u2019 Phillips hasn\u2019t lived an interesting life. That\u2019s an autobiography I\u2019d love to read, though I doubt he\u2019s interested in putting pen to paper, memory notwithstanding. He\u2019s too busy living it. And that\u2019s one reason why it\u2019s a pleasant surprise that his voice has matured into a wonderful thing. Battered and raw, but with a gravitas you can\u2019t fake.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So, what do we have here? A slew of new songs, plus two covers. You may well have heard the lead track \u2018Black Valium\u2019 already. A swampy, mid-paced riff, until it picks up speed and rattles along. Dark and classy. And that, for me, is the thread between the tunes; even the faster ones have a more classic, less metallic edge than on the previous album. Don\u2019t worry, the likes of \u2018Out Of Reach\u2019 and \u2018Don\u2019t Take Me Back\u2019 would be at home on previous releases, yet \u2018Chasing Rainbows\u2019 (not the Shed Seven song) is almost optimistic in tone, musically not far removed from Johnny Cash.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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