Psychlona – Warped Vision
Psychlona is a British stoner/psychedelic rock band from Bradford, West Yorkshire, in England. The band formed in 2016 and have just released their fourth album called Warped Vision, on Magnetic Eye Records. The prior three records are: 2018’s Mojo Rising, 2020’s Venus Skytrip, and 2022’s Palo Verde. The first two records were released on Ripple Music and the third on Wounded Yak. The current lineup of Psychlona includes founding guitarist and vocalist Phil Hey and drummer Scott Frankling. The newest recruits are lead guitarist Martin Wiseman and bassist Ian Buxton. Warped Vision contains 9 songs and was released on September 27th 2024.
Lead off track “Jasmine” begins with a solid drum beat, followed by the bass, then the guitars enter the mix. One guitar chugs along in rhythm as the other flourishes some high octave accents. Once the whole groove sets in, the sound is huge and display Psychlona’s musical charm. Phil Hey’s voice is unique and similar in a Pink Floyd melodic fashion. The music is big on all levels and derives a stoner riff rock foundation akin to Fu Manchu and Kyuss, with excellent metal guitar solos. The second song “Let’s Go” was the first single released on the record. It’s a great rocking and catchy tune that has equal amounts of fuzz and melody. Psychlona are masters of their craft and mix in just the right amounts of psychedelia that enhances their sound without saturating it. “Smoke” captures this sense of creativity perfectly and has a chill flow throughout. However, the last riff of the song portrays an energetic tempo where the guitar leads shred some tasty solos. Each song averages between five and six minutes in length which allows Psychlona to build upon a rhythm and decorate it with beautiful musical elements of harmony and heavy riffing. “Cut Loose” plays along those lines with a precise molding of rock and melody.
“Topanga” starts the second half of Warped Vision with bass and drums and breaks into a heavy lurching riff. The driving rhythm has a steady flow with chugging guitars and harmonic fillers. Hey’s vocals stay the course and blend in with the rhythm. The ending of song then transitions into clean guitars with a more mellow closure. The next track “Kaleidoscope”, has a new wave of British heavy metal feel to it with Judas Priest style guitar picking. The metallic riffing is righteous and the song also drifts into psychedelic territory. Hey’s laid back vocals down regulate the rhythmic charge of the song on certain parts, which keeps it interesting. “Split” is built around a slow build up of clean guitars and mellow singing. The song emerges slowly with spacy enhancements in the background. It shifts in the distortion as the vocals get more engaging but beckons back and forth between the two dynamics. The song structure is riveting through each of its parts, add in some grandiose guitar leads and we have a winner here. The final track on Warped Vision is the enthralling closure, “Magic Carpet”. The song has a beautiful and vital element to it that connects all of the components of the music played out on the record. Psychlona is a forward moving band that continues to expand their audio capabilities to new levels of brilliance.
The band is remarkable in their musical expansion despite losing half of its band members from their last recordings. Phil Hey and Scott Frankling have managed to keep the band together and not miss a step in propelling Psychlona to new heights. The up shift in progression from Mojo Rising to Venus Skytrip to Palo Verde, and now Warped Vision, is quite remarkable. Psychlona was a slow brewing band for me that has now been a staple listen in the last few months. I was immediately enticed with their sound but have since grown obsessed. They have a great blend of many of the styles of rock music that appeal to me and continue to amaze me with their output. Warped Vision is a top notch album of 2024 and I can only imagine where the band will go to next.
https://psychlona.bandcamp.com
https://magneticeyerecords.bandcamp.com
