Stephen
Lillian Axe had just began turning people's head with several hits from their "Poetic Justice" in 1992 when grunge wave came sweeping in. The band tried to survive the change by releasing "Psychoschizophrenia" which incorporated a darker element and deeper essence to the music and lyric department respectively. Big thumbs up to Stevie Blaze who wrote all the songs, this man is simply a genius definition, not to mention the thrilling guitar solos he had on this album.
"Crucified" is a blazing opener, crushing forward with an intense hard rock, followed by a groovy track of "Deepfreeze" with a wonderful solo. "Sign of The Times" has a combination of dark verse, melodic bridge, and catchy rough chorus. A stunning delivery by the band and this one is the best track of the album. Couple of great ballads here are unbelievably pretty. "The Needle And Your Pain" that's dedicated to a late friend who died of cancer and "The Day I Met You", an ode to the lost love, this track is emotionally sad and touching. Some great songs that I like here are "Stop The Hate", "Deep Blue Shadows", and the Japanese bonus track, "Here Is Christmas".
To sum up, "Psychoschizophrenia" contained a mix of early glam with a bit of alternative influence, a bit dark and heavy, but melodic and accessible at the same time. This is a grower and not an easy album, probably needs at least 4-5 spins to capture the whole magical thing of Blaze's ideas. A brilliant underrated album that ever came out in 1993!