Kev Rowland
Formed in Colorado Springs in 1990, Psyco Drama released their debut album, ‘The Illusion’, in 1996. Although they did release a follow-up the following year, they went on a prolonged hiatus and it took until 2015 for this, their next album, to be released. Singer Corey Brown and Hercules Castro (guitar, keyboards) have always been the main songwriters, and consider this to be the real follow-up to the debut. They have been joined by bassist Ian Ringler, a member of the band previously, as well as playing with Corey in Magnitude 9, and new drummer Greg Sands. These guys are playing melodic power metal with prog metal overtones, and the result is something that is incredibly enjoyable indeed.
It is very American, with the bombast never containing enough power and rawness to break through, which is a shame, as with a different production this would be something that would appeal to fans of Savatage and Angra. It is way too safe for the most part, with the result being that while it is being played the listener happily smiles and enjoys what is going on, but whether the disc will be fully remembered or played again is something else altogether. There are some good moments on this, but too few great ones, yet is still worth hearing if you come across it.