Psychocide

You know the equation. It's worked for decades. Whisky + drugs + cigarettes + sex + other + rock n roll = a good time. That's the ethos of Montreal party rocker's Psychocide. With more than a healthy dose of Guns n Roses, the power trio also brings in strains of punk rock both in energy and humour to put together a driving, crackling sound. Birthed in the East Villiage, NYC, the group headed to the west coast to write the songs that would become their latest album, Alcohol & Bad Decisions.

The opener 'Crazy Janet' kicks off like a freight train. Straight ahead, four on the floor rock about the kind of crazy girl that makes the rockin' world go round. Guitarist Goldwyn Thandrayen and bassist
Ivan Tolj nimbly navigate around each other's lines. 'Mary' embraces the 80s rock vibe with a Def Leppard cowbell intro, bouncing hair metal riffs and low-beam breakdown.

'Crossing Guard' is a nutty standout. The bass screams punk rock while the guitar shreds up the road with Thandrayen pulling out his best Van Halen chops. The demented lyrics get into the mind of a crazed drunk driver. Like The Offspring's Bad Habit with a twist. 'Dear Alice' opens with an unexpected marimba to gives a more nebulous vibe to this slightly more eastern sounding fare. After a relatively straight-forward chorus, Psychocide break it all down to an Armenian style off beat build made famous by System of a Down.

Alcohol & Bad Decisions is okay. Everything is played competently and the musicians have talent. If you're in the market for basic headbangin' rock n roll, Psychocide delivers that but for those looking for anything new, they'll be left wanting more from this album.