PSYCHO-FRAME - SALVATION LAUGHS IN THE FACE OF A GRIEVING MOTHER (Album Review)

PSYCHO-FRAME - SALVATION LAUGHS IN THE FACE OF A GRIEVING MOTHER
Released: July 25, 2025

Lineup

Mike Sugars // Vocals
Hunter Young // Guitars
Aiden 'Dave' Bessent // Guitars
Leo McLain // Drums

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For PSYCHO-FRAME, the implication of subtlety has never been an option. Instead, there are more primal and ravenous thoughts at play, aiming to make music a missile- harvesting a direct attack on your ears that infiltrates your nervous system; bone-shattering and spine-chilling. This notion is not merely the foundation, but the unwavering connective tissue between the band’s debut full-length album. ‍With a point to prove and an overpowering stance to assume, PSYCHO-FRAME has removed the polished, nuanced and poetic walls, instead unleashing a visceral feeling of grit, and adopting one of the most unforgiving performances of the year. 

There is nowhere to hide as the album erupts with ‘BLUEPRINTS FOR IDOL GENOCIDE’. Within mere seconds, the track spirals into a guttural mess, infusing it with a layer of filth that slides off the sharp drum tones. It’s as if we have caught this track within the very centre, making for a jarring and uncomfortable opening that suspends the natural conventions that are so overused and overplayed… and it makes it all the more invigorating. This opening sets the standard for the album to follow, where decisions are charged from a brutally creative angle where expression and delivery slice through expectations and formula. Degradingly, PSYCHO-FRAME takes aim at the false prophets (influencers, scene stars and idols), hurling words that rip through like a hot blade. And that’s not where they stop. 

‘INVERTED SPEAR OF HEAVEN’ ceases to buckle under the weight of its predecessor, and shines an asserted trajectory of instrumental violence to continue throughout the record. There are moments of mastery that shine through the weight of such layered tracks, like this one. An unexpected guitar whirr, a slight shift in the tempo, or screams just ever-so-slightly interrupting one another, riding off a decline before capturing full power yet again. 

Despite their strict reliance on the power of their own voice, there are sporadic theatrics that linger through the body of work, like the woman’s wails before ‘THE PORTAL’ ensues. With a direct emphasis on instruments within the beginning, Aiden Bessent shreds furiously as his guitar trances and immobilises you. The chaos has already begun, and that is before the vocals reach almost a minute in. It is these guitars that rule the song for me, invading the space even when there’s no room, electrocuting the hostile environment at hand, and reinvigorating a sound already so buzzing. 

‍PSYCHO-FRAME ensures their method of storytelling is not derivative, and this clearly starts to become noticeable as the trifecta of vocals aids their hand within the first three tracks and beyond. There is a duality and dynamicness that fosters, yet doesn't demand direct attention. Flawlessly shuffling through, these variances in tone are just another note to the signature style embedded within a record that will see the band’s identity solidified not just within this listen, but many more to come. It’s particularly poignant in tracks like ‘BLACK_WAVE II’ between the profusely hammering chugs, ‘I WON’T BE THERE TO WATCH YOU GO’s’ chaos, and throughout ‘ENDLESS AGONAL DEVOTION’s sweeping soundscape. ‘DEVOTION’ furiously eliminates any rumours of mid-album blunders, and for me, was a personal standout, shifting sporadically, seamlessly and fearlessly. With a new sound around almost every corner, there seems to be no recollection of how you got there- it’s a bewildering feat of pure artistry that left me salivating (and even still now). There is a grandiose element to be found within this album, whether PSYCHO-FRAME wants you to find it or not. 

The years of experience lurk in with songs like ‘APOCALYPSE THROUGH LYSERGIC POSSESSION’, with poignancy creeping in not just musically, but lyrically. Damning, brutal, and unwavering in their cataclysmic proportions, the band strikes down with their tongue as the weapon. “The perfect bomb blessed by The Devil himself // Screaming in tongues I detonate // Brimstone and sulphur will descend from hell // Your holy temple bathed in flames”. Unapologetic, this track is seeped in an unrighteous but unforgiving blasphemy that is so palatable as they soar from the intense vocals at hand. Exacerbated by the primal and, fittingly, hellish musters, there is also a confidence to be found. And confidence this sharp does not always find itself lingering within a band’s debut full-length album. 

This trend only engages more brutally as ‘FILLETED AND FUCKED’ and ‘GOD IS BUSY’ follow, assuming a thunderous and in-your-face word vomit of direct insults and captivating attacks. To its alluring namesake, ‘FILLETED AND FUCKED’ is pure filth, seeing the track host an exhibition of just how gross this band can go, seeping with guttural bellows and long-winded pig squeals until the final transitional moments towards ‘GOD IS BUSY’. The carnage continues onwards, becoming another track of unforeseen movements, elevating the performance through intense instrumentals that portray such constructed chaos. It is by this moment that I am truly in awe of the album at hand, and the relentless persistence and hyper-aggression that has not merely remained a tangible guideline for this album, but soars higher as each track passes. 

‘STILL WATER SALVATION’ finds a special place on this album, inspiring the title SALVATION LAUGHS IN THE FACE OF A GRIEVING MOTHER. The track takes a disciplined look at the futility of salvation, powerfully enforcing the notion that you are truly on your own; who will save you if you cannot save yourself. As this track rings, the undertones of this album start to churn and rip even louder. Through direct stories of false idols, the blindside of ideology, and how unsettled promises of faith, whether that be religious or not, can destroy us, PSYCHO-FRAME become a beacon of prophecy- in turn, maybe making them the martyrs they never set out to be. 

The album closes with ‘NEURO++TERROR’, yet does not settle for slowing down. Throwing everything they have in this track, it almost seems louder, heavier… the stakes seem even higher than before. The track leaves a disgust on the tongue that can only be scraped off by pressing the repeat button, coming back to the perpetrators in hopes they have the solution for you. The very aggression present begins to make it feel like they have more to say, like a chapter unclosed. Yet, for now, this is where PSYCHO-FRAME remains. 

SALVATION LAUGHS IN THE FACE OF A GRIEVING MOTHER enforces sound as the overlord. Relentless and untiring, PSYCHO-FRAME don’t merely offer, but shove eleven tracks of crafted terror down your throat. Razor sharp, it cuts on the way down, but leaks with a taste so sweet you can’t help but swallow. There is an undeniable mastery at play within this record that becomes brutally aware within the first moments, and continues to elevate itself as the final seconds descend. With a self-acclaimed focus on the heavy, not once does the band lose touch with their ability to command lyrically, inflicting the most powerful form of violence; weaponising the truth and assuming the role of provocateur.

There is a hell, and PSYCHO-FRAME has given us a taste. 

Rating: 9/10 
‍SALVATION LAUGHS IN THE FACE OF A GRIEVING MOTHER is out on July 25th via SharpTone Records. Pre-order/save here
Review by Georgia Haskins @ghaskins2002