When the term heavy psych is mentioned, it turns out to be quite a broad affair and very often really depends on the ears of the beholder, aka the listener. It can be something anywhere between a few slices of fuzz guitar, or something that can even qualify as really heavy heavy metal.
But when you really want to know what truly both heavy and psych in heavy psych sounds like (or should sound, if you will), you don’t have to go much further than Ígnea, the new (their second) album by Toluca, Mexico trio Mirror Revelations. If you need a more refined definition of their sound, you can stick to the one Fuzz Club, their record label, goes by – “heavy motorik drive and industrial psych intensity.”
The band themselves explain their music here like this: “The name of the album refers to fire, which for us symbolises transformation and change. Just as a spark can ignite a fire, Ígnea represents that ignition point, the beginning of something that burns, expands, and transforms.”
Now, many artists give similar descriptions of their music, with many of them more or less missing the mark. Yet this trio hit a bullseye here – as their combination of pedal-processed synthesisers and pummelling rhythm section put many determined purveyors of all things heavy in music to literal shame. At the same time, the trio shows full respect for all the musical references and inspirations they cite here, but really ignite some serious fire, as was obviously their intention.
