Review by JD on April 27, 2014.

Texas has been an unknown source of metal, and not just carbon-copy cowboys and line dancing to music that never inspired me. The timeless Pantera, the powerful Solitude Aeturnus and the party-till-ya’ puke Hellyeah among others, have proven that given the right direction – they rock harder than most out there. Another Texan group is there to continue the Lone Star states’ headbanging prowess, and I am here to fill you all in.

Taking their inspiration from NWOBHM and the same era’s American Metal, this one time thrash act (originally known as HammerWhore) came back from a short hiatus and a small line-up change to become Cruxiter. Now dealing straight ahead metal, influenced heavily by Iron Maiden and Judas Priest they now rule the Panhandle scene.

The Iron Maiden influence smacks hard and many times throughout the album, musically getting very close to the sound and even some of the riffs are too damned close. Other influences rear up and are blatant in most of the album, but it is done in a way that most would overlook it all. My favorite tracks here is Maiden like romp of "Paradise Found" and the Keel inspired "Tall Dark Glass", both are very close to the inspiration and yet they seem to make it not cheesy like. I usually do not like near -tribute bands thinking they are original but Cruxiter makes it fun. It's inspiring as they make their metal with reverence and give more than a smattering of originality paying homage to their peers rather than ripping off shit.

This is pretty good record from these Texans – even though it was recorded on the too treble side for my taste. It has my attention and will love to hear what they make later. I like it quite a bit after four plays back to back, just don’t love it... that is still is pretty damned good. I can recommend getting it, it’s up to you all to like or love it.

Rating: 8 out of 10

Review by JD on April 27, 2014.

Texas has been an unknown source of metal, and not just carbon-copy cowboys and line dancing to music that never inspired me. The timeless Pantera, the powerful Solitude Aeturnus and the party-till-ya’ puke Hellyeah among others, have proven that given the right direction – they rock harder than most out there. Another Texan group is there to continue the Lone Star states’ headbanging prowess, and I am here to fill you all in.

Taking their inspiration from NWOBHM and the same era’s American Metal, this one time thrash act (originally known as HammerWhore) came back from a short hiatus and a small line-up change to become Cruxiter. Now dealing straight ahead metal, influenced heavily by Iron Maiden and Judas Priest they now rule the Panhandle scene.

The Iron Maiden influence smacks hard and many times throughout the album, musically getting very close to the sound and even some of the riffs are too damned close. Other influences rear up and are blatant in most of the album, but it is done in a way that most would overlook it all. My favorite tracks here is Maiden like romp of "Paradise Found" and the Keel inspired "Tall Dark Glass", both are very close to the inspiration and yet they seem to make it not cheesy like. I usually do not like near -tribute bands thinking they are original but Cruxiter makes it fun. It's inspiring as they make their metal with reverence and give more than a smattering of originality paying homage to their peers rather than ripping off shit.

This is pretty good record from these Texans – even though it was recorded on the too treble side for my taste. It has my attention and will love to hear what they make later. I like it quite a bit after four plays back to back, just don’t love it... that is still is pretty damned good. I can recommend getting it, it’s up to you all to like or love it.

Rating: 8 out of 10

Review by Adam M on November 21, 2017.

Psychic Warfare brings more of the groovy Clutch vibe to the forefront. It has a rollicking aspect that makes it a delight to listen to. There is a very stripped down rock flavour that goes along with these songs even though they could be considered heavy metal. The song X-Ray Visions gets the album off to a rocking start and the momentum is kept up through a majority of these tracks. There is a feel good approach to the songs that is infectious.

The numbers groove along to at a nice pace and constantly set the tone for the album as a whole. It is a very fun album to listen to and it seems like the band had an enjoyable time creating it. The problem with the album is that if you’ve heard Earth Rocker like me, it is nothing new and doesn’t have the same impact as the first time you’ve listened to the band. The lack of originality is an issue, but only detracts slightly from these tracks. They are still huge, larger than life productions that make the listener gyrate along at an appropriate pace. The songs don’t fall into any genre in particular, but take on an infectious hard rock vibe. They have the necessary amount of feeling to make the listener become entranced in the songs.

Still, it feels the band could have tried to be more progressive and interesting with the tracks. They have a narrow path of rock bliss and don’t try to push the envelope. The amount of enjoyment you’ll have with the album will overshadow this fact and make it a pure joy to listen to, however. The guitar riffs will stick in your head for a while and are largely the reason that album is so enjoyable. As such, Psychic Warfare gets a reasonably big recommendation.

Rating: 7.6 ot 10