Emerging Artist Reviews

Album Review: Psyclops - "Bound To Burn: Melody of the Martyr"

by The Metalverse

Updated May 25, 2026

Album Review: Psyclops "Bound To Burn: Melody of the Martyr" | The Metalverse.net

Portland, Oregon progressive metal outfit Psyclops just released their newest album, "Bound to Burn: Melody of the Martyr," on May 22nd, 2026. Forming in 2015, the band follows their 2020 album, "Amalgam". Psyclops is made up of members Alex Flatt (drums and synth), Brandon Peterson (bass), Ian Burnett (guitar), and Guerd Alberts (guitar).

"Bound to Burn" is also a cross-media collaboration with local comic artists Ben House and Morgan Hickman, who created the stylized artwork for the band's accompanying graphic novel that goes further in visual and storytelling elements.

The first track, "The Explorer-Errant" starts with a powerful atmosphere as distant wind and footsteps soon build into thumping bass, ambient clean guitar, and gentle drums that create a sound that reminds me of a dystopian, western desert. Singing vocals soon join the fray as orchestral strings add more melody and an epic vibe to the song. Unexpectedly, the band launches into slamming riffage and heavy vocals that alternate from ferocious lows to goblin-like high screams.

Next up is "Consequences I: The Instinct to Survive" which starts seamlessly from the previous track, showing how much thought was put into the songs to blend perfectly into the next. This track starts with a much more aggressive note as drum blast beats and galloping guitar riffs are matched by explosive screams as distant guitar leads fill the background of the soundscape. If the last song was prog metal, "Consequences" takes on a form that is more reminiscent of modern death metal while still keeping the technical, atmospheric touch that was built in the first song.

Next is "Consequences II: Warning from the Wise" which begins with a woman speaking over radio comms, giving orders to characters from the book while growing angrier at mistakes made by other people. The track acts as an interlude that builds into "Consequences III" as the song bursts into wildly fast double bass drum and technical death metal sweep picking that builds a sci-fi sound that shows the band's instrumental prowess. Psyclops picks things up with some of the heaviest pacing of the album before slowing things down with robotic, vocoder vocals being complemented by energetic guitar runs.

"Presence From Beyond" slows things down from the last track with an atmospheric vibe that reminds me of space jazz? Pretty interesting. Gentle panning synths create an extraterrestrial sound as reverbed guitar and haunting vocals add to the sound. At just under 4 minutes, "Presence From Beyond" is the longest song of the album, but it does a great job of staying dynamic throughout as instruments and layered vocals are added and taken away to create a sense of growing contrast while staying consistent with the spacey sound.

Introduced next is "Clarity" which continues the interplanetary sound as a quick traveling arpeggiated synth melody climbs up and down while distorted guitar riffs and clean vocals work together to create a balance of melody and heaviness. By the end of "Clarity" thing, pick up with double bass drumming and more intense guitar, which perfectly leads into "Indomitable I: Depths of Dissent" which brings back the more intense, death metal side of the band. Vocals swap between low growls and dark singing while visceral instrumentals and grooving drum beats keep the rhythm going.

"Indomitable II: Binding Purpose" starts with a deep synth bass before introducing ambient progressive guitar and drums, while pop-esque vocal melodies create a catchy but technical sound. The short interlude leads seamlessly into the next song, "Indomitable III: The Fight That Lies Before" as guitar melodies are continued before introducing crowd chatter. Bright vocal melodies are placed over top of energetic guitar strumming, while the song grows more cinematic as double bass drumming and even horns are brought in. A soaring guitar solo as distorted chugging takes the background, leading into a breakdown with brutal vocals to end the track.

"Manifest I: Seeing is Believing" begins with left-panned guitar before dramatic drum fills with intentional silences soon burst into full-speed metal action as grandiose guitar leads slash through the mix in a way that reminded me of power metal. Layered vocal chants continue an epic sound that feels sludgy and cinematic, similarly to the previous track.

"Manifest II: Warranted Transgression" begins with isolated drums and a clicking percussive instrument that sounds like it could be a castanet. Soon lead guitar is brought in alongside multiple vocal harmonies that alternate between ears creating a hectic yet melodic sound. The chanting is brought back alongside distorted, dark guitar riffs, creating an ominous and intense sound to fade out the song as vocals grow heavier. "Manifest III: The Ouroboros Chorus" uses eccentric vocals that give me a circus-like vibe as orchestral and epic instrumentals are continued, creating a huge, theatrical sound. Progressive guitar leads follow the other instruments, building with technical elements upon the rest of the soundscape.

The final song, "Begin Anew" introduces itself with dark singing and a piano composition that soon grows in theatrics to match the grandiosity of the previous songs. Choir and chanted vocals are used alongside distorted talking samples to build a masasive sound before Psyclops launches into death metal once more as slamming drum grooves, fierce vocals, and crushing guitar riffs create an equally symphonic and intense sound.

Overall, "Bound To Burn" is an impressive album from Psyclops, melding influences from progressive metal, death metal, symphonic metal, and more in a sound that is at different times, eclectic, cinematic, technically impressive, and wildly heavy. You can stream Psyclops newest album available on all streaming platforms now!