Knoxville’s PSYCHOSYSTEM Welcomes You To The Asylum
July 24, 2011 by James Baysinger
Filed under Loud & Local
While Knoxville has kicked up some sick acts like metalcore mob, Straight Line Stitch and deathcore outfit, Whitechapel, Knoxville metal bands sometimes have a hard time making a name for themselves. One band that has been making some Loud and Local noise lately is PsychoSystem. They have actually been melting faces in Knoxville since 2005 under the name Facelock, but in late 2009 they decided to go in a different direction. They seem to have expanded on the heavy thrashing of the Facelock years and now describe their style as “Schizophrenic Psycore.” They definitely have turned up the energy and intensity and the talent’s as good as ever!
Lead vocalist Chris ‘Syn’ Wright throws out deep growls that seem to rise from the bottomless pits of hell. Guitarist Anthony ‘Evil’ Bull lives up to his nickname as he devastatingly crushes heads with his axe. Chris Benton shakes the stage with earth-rumbling drum work. Together they create a sound that picks you up, smashes your head against the wall and throws you headfirst into the pit!
Besides playing at various venues across Knoxville and the surrounding area they have played many benefit shows over the years including the ‘Rock Out Cancer’ and ‘Second Chance for Second Harvest’ shows in 2011 when heavy flooding destroyed the Second Harvest Food Bank’s supplies. In addition their music is played frequently on several local radio stations. They are currently in the studio working on their debut album.
As a whole, this band is wreaking some serious havoc on the local scene. The intensity is there and cranked to the max! I had a chance to talk to the boys of PsychoSystem and asked them to fill me in on what they are up to:
Can you give us a brief history of the band?
In 2009 PsychoSystem was reborn from the ashes of another dream, finding solid players after few years of the strongest surviving, the group of inmates rewrote themselves into what is the now…
You used to be known as Facelock, why the name change?
After causing chaos on the local scene since 2005 and going through many many a lineup, the music seemed to slowly change itself without intention into a creative core that seemed to have a life of its own, the new music and visions just didn’t seem to fit the old.
Has your style of music changed at all since the change to PsychoSystem?
More musically diverse than in one vein of metal I think, but that also comes from the current lineup in the band.
What is your style of metal?
Schizophrenic Psycore.
Who are some of your main influences?
Life itself, the police state we live in, anger, frustration, contempt, apathy. Musically…thrash mostly, Machine Head, Nothingface, Fear Factory as a main “vibe” for lack of a better word. Each member seems to have a different favorite “genre” they bring to the melding pot that is the core..
What’s your inspiration, what keeps you going?
A therapeutic need to unleash..for some of us and them (inmates) its the only release for the pressure cooker known as life, release the valve, Grab a mutha fucker and shove. Everyone can relate in some way.
I heard you’re back in the studio, what are you currently working on right now?
Currently we are piecing together the EP, taking our time more than usual on this one, wanna make sure everything gets conveyed properly, the story gets told in a symphony of unwavering chaos from all the voices in the mood swing.
Do you have a name for the album you are working on yet?
We have a few working titles nothing solidified as of yet.
How do you see the Knoxville metal scene these days?
In dire need of help, unfortunately, not too many places to play here as there used to be, but that’s okay, forces us to infect our group therapy to other regions until Knoxville finds a way to fix its scene. In some ways that’s a good thing, proves whether you’re road worthy or not, trial by fire.
What’s your funniest/craziest/greatest moment on stage?
Well there was the time this stripper and 2 donkeys…oh wait you mean “our” stage…Prolly the “Shutdown,” not sure even why to this day, but the club decided we were done and turned off the PA and what not on us and we just keep on going. Syn’s voice is so loud and carries we didn’t need a mic and kept on screaming with amps etc and was STILL Loud enough to be heard…think there’s vid on YouTube somewhere lol.
Tell me about the song, “Shove,” what’s it about?
“Shove” can be taken many different ways..in its simplicity its a song about that defining moment at a show where you’re contemplating jumping in that pit..on other levels it’s about not taking your fears too seriously and overcoming to better one’s state of mental health.
You have a new song coming out soon; can you tell me anything about it?
Ah yes, “Fadefliction” tells part of the story of a war inside one’s head, the many voices or faction of personality battling their opinions, angel vs demon vs demon vs demon.
PsychoSystem in their own words:
Just as there are five aspects of personality, there are five factions within the fracture. In 2009 a core personality was formed by the inmates looking to unleash a chaotic disruption within the soul. Shortly thereafter the core finds voice through the inmates themselves. This outpouring of explosive energy brings completion to the long awaited system. WE are the new voice in the back of your mind that starts with a slivered whisper and grows into the screams. PsychoSystem brings Aggressive Festive Therapy to those fadeflicted inmates with a schizophrenic weave of aural injection stimulating an internal release causing inflicted inmates to grab a mutha fucker and shove! The inmates now run their asylums. We hope to see ALL inmates on a day pass, now get out there and tell EVERYONE you know to GET WITH THE FUCKING SYSTEM!!!
http://www.facebook.com/pages/PsychoSystem/111724708855926
