Who influences the tech death madness of Psycroptic? Well, we sat down with bassist Todd Stern to discuss to find out! The following was entirely written by Stern himself between (presumably) laying down the sweet, sweet bass shred.

Admittedly, I can hardly look anyone in the face these days and tell you what is and what is not underrated. I’m sure at least one of these bands receives the appropriate street cred within the right circle of homies, but this list features bands that I truly appreciate for their prowess yet don’t hear people talk about quite enough.

Abnormality

Absolutely ferocious. Blistering riffs, blast beats straight from the furnace of hell, and of course vocalist Mallika Sundaramurthy up front. Fantastic. I always found Abnormality to be exceptionally fun considering how brutal their style is. RIP!

Vale Of Pnath

This band is a bit more black than the rest of their counterparts on this list, but the riff style still incorporates heaps of tech in my opinion. Mad evil in the best way. They are fierce and intense often, extremely capable, and obviously rad. I believe strongly in this band.

Anata

They put out this one record in 2006 called The Conductor’s Departure. For a long while, I listened to it every day, and I still find that it’s one of the best. It has a ton of moments that remind me of early Necrophagist but in their own flavor. Their execution is flawless and their writing style really does take you places. Very sick.

Ulcerate

To me, Ulcerate is something you must experience. Honestly, I don’t even know that they’re tech death. They’re kind of in a league of their own. Every bit as avant-garde as Gorguts, somehow way more crushing. Just the right amount of precision, just the right amount of gnarliness. Please see them live, it’s fucking mental. One of a kind, pioneer shit.

Malignancy

I mean come on. These dudes are like the Godfathers. In a way, the term “tech” has cheapened itself a ton over the years, which we can get into another time… but these dudes are fucking scientists when it comes to sickeningly complex death metal arrangements. If Malignancy hasn’t been part of your experience in terms of either tech, or death, or anything in between; I feel bad for you. True pimps.