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Dimensional Psychosis are an interesting band, playing a hybridization of Black and Death Metal with an additional industrial twist. Their 2005 release Magical Matrix of Dimensional Continuum was a mixed affair, containing some really good ideas but marred by messy execution. The production on that album was not the greatest, kind of muddy, and the drumming (especially the bass drum sound) could have benefitted from a little cleanup work. All my opinion, of course, but maybe I'm not the only one, because Architecture of Realities improves on this significantly. I'm liking the new production values; conventionality isn't necessarily a bad thing, and the approach they've taken in 2009 is a lot more listenable, giving the music itself a chance to shine.

Musically, Dimensional Psychosis are betrayed by their name. Chaos and entropy have always been a staple of their sound, expressed by winding, technical riffs that do well to establish the proposed atmosphere. Technical Death Metal is a mixed bag for sure, but DP only use technicality as a means to an end, not an end in itself. The actual end is pure insanity, similar in style to France's Anorexia Nervosa and maybe even Anthems-era Emperor, though certainly more interested in a Death Metal base than the latter. The Black Metal influence mainly shows up in the shrieking vocals. Production, style of riffing, and drumming — which is varied and consummately performed — all exhibit a more Death Metal-inspired approach.

The album's flaws lie mainly in the songwriting department; not every riff is as engaging as the best riffs here, and the songs themselves seem to have fewer ideas than the previous album. The latter is more an observation than a complaint, however, because I think Architecture of Realities is a more concise and united effort than Magical Matrix.... Dimensional Psychosis are quite a bit more focused in their offensive this time around. One other complaint is the use of pinch harmonics in a song or two, but it's kept to such a minimum that it doesn't detract overall.

The last track, "untitled," is actually harsh electronic music rather than metal (breakcore? I'm not sure), though it has a metal guitar track and some harsh vocals to boot. Intriguing experiment, but I'm glad they kept it sectioned off by itself. The industrial aspect is less pronounced during the first seven tracks than it was on their 2005 effort, showing up most prominently as studio effects in "Kaleidoscope Reversed" and synths in "Vortex Generator - Intergalactic."

Architecture of Realities does what it sets out to do without many slip-ups.