Rochester's Psyopus is no exception. From start to finish there's the sense that _Our Puzzling Encounters Considered_ was only ever meant to serve as a vehicle to show off the band's collective technical ability, which it must be said is admirable. Those seeking any semblance of immersive listening however, would be better served to search elsewhere. "Whore Meet Liar" and "Insect" -- like virtually every other song on the record -- are overdosed on free jazz, piecing together two dozen stop/start riffs across three minutes and never once dipping into anything other than full-blown ataxia.

Indeed, had Psyopus been bold enough to truly think outside the square and add the odd groove, this could have turned out to be significantly more interesting. But as it stands now, the supposedly "grinding metal" of _OPEC_ isn't nearly as clever as Metal Blade or the band themselves would love for us to believe.