Tag Archives: djent

The Korea – Saturnus (EP)

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Today we have our close friend Nikhil Bejai talking about the new EP from The Korea titled Saturnus, released via Rogue Records America.

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Tracklist : 
1.Saturnus
2.Zion
3.Poles
Russian Version :
1.Сатурнус
2.Зион
3. Полюса (ft. Ilya Kuzubov-Immaterialist)

Honestly I was initially unable to completely appreciate whats going on with The Korea’s ‘Saturnus’.   The Compositions sounded relatively fresh, and brought something new to the table and yet still I couldn’t really tell. It took a bunch of looped listens to finally figure them out. Yes they can twist it around back and forth all they like, but all they are is a cleverly arranged deceptive ‘slip-knot! Oh yes you heard me right. And as you would have figured, I’m definitely NOT talking about the band slipknot; rather the word.., as my English teacher once clarified to me. You could probably look ‘slip-knot’ up in a dicktionary. Oh! pardon my typo error. Silly me  0:)

Well where was I ah yes, Slip-knot. Well.. er, I mean The Korea’s New EP ==> Saturnus.

The Korea belongs to Russia it seems. Oh dear oh dear… No Mr. Kim Jong! Now don’t you run along with that missile wrapped between your thighs! Lets leave that act to Harry Potter shall we 😀

We are talking about a Progressive METAL BAND here! Duh!  And pretty good one at that if you have the ear for this style! Beware There is a subliminal Korean Connection here which most of you may not like the sound of :O  No ! Mr Kim not again..  I meant South Korea this time! Well get to that in a while.

I’d like to start of with a small note, which I never fully understood. But I’m pretty sure it applies here, as with most other music around the globe.

–          Correlation does not necessarily imply causation. (Let us call it the Law of Anti-instinct)

I’ll break it down in a bit for you .. in a while

The EP They’ve Released is a Three Song set but repeated twice. i.e English and Russian Lyrics. I’ll stick mostly to the musical aspect of it though. A focused listen to the first two tracks i.e Saturnus and Zion will give you a fair idea of their stylistic direction and probably influences.

 

Stream the entire album below:

 

The Intro to both Saturnus and Zion both have this strong dark ambient build up which fades into a juicy melodic sequence with a hint of synth that serves as the backdrop throughout most of the song, while a blast of bouncy groovy djenty riffs take you for a ride while showering on top of it all are the shhhrrrrill but tight  growls. Notice the emphasis on the word shrill.  Overall the musical composition and the Growls strike strong resemblance to works of Swedish giants Vildhjarta. Have a listen to this one.       [Go read The Law of anti-instinct once again and come back!]

Another notable aspect is the tone/sound timbre of the riffs . Even though it’s one of the In-your-face djenty sorts, that’s hip currently in the metal scene.  If you lower the compression on the Guitars or slide up the eq on the lows / undertones maybe the distortion will sound very close to that of Korn. Vildhjarta, I mean you more or less have This!  Its does not mean anything on the downside, just a random observation to screw with your head if you hate Korn, Haha. They were epic you know (once upon a time).

The KoRn connection became apparent to me when I first heard the Poles (Track III) on the E.P. The riff seemed like a fast paced , rearranged and compressed version of the intro riff on Here to stay. Poles is a pretty good track, and personally the best of the three track E.P! It does not necessarily follow the Vildhjarta formula as much as the first two tracks, rather marks its own territory.

It could either be a choice or a compromise I can never really tell but I’d have wished the track Poles had a mammoth Riff tone of the sorts of the Mighty Gojira. However, the composition is pretty great here and true to the essence of a promising progressive metal  act who know exactly what they are doing.

Last but not the least, the most important thing about The Korea. At first, I was surprised the Weird asian accented screechy rap/shouting vocals the singer sings in between to fill in the shhhrrrill growls here and there heard often in Saturnus and Zion. I had a long discussion with Mr. Kim Jung who was adamant that the Rap was not done by a North Korean.  Yes fellow metal heads our guess may be right !

Recent Secret tapes forwarded by Wiki leaks, suggests the infamous Ga(Y)ngnam style artist – PsY doing vocal rehearsing for Saturnus, which suggests he may be involved with the album. I however cannot share it here cause Mr.Kims already kind of furious. He’s hopping on Missile cum Broom stick again. Your gonna get it Russia – The Korea’s Collaborating with a south korean rap singer for the E.P Saturnus is a blunder an entire nation might regret. Beware Russia, Kim Jongs might just drop by!!

P.S –  Kim Jong in this context is an average elitist metal head who believes anything sounding remotely new or different than what he likes is bull crap.

I think The Korea Band are pretty good at what they do.. with albums to come I’m sure they have a potential shocker in them.  If you don’t like them, it just may not be your staple diet. That.. is all.

Lifeforms – Multidimensional

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Today we have reviewer ‘Dev Arbikshe‘ reviewing the new album from Lifeforms titled ‘Multidimensional‘ released via Lifeforce Records.

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Tracklist:
01. Descent Into Madness
02. Multidimensional
03. Illogical
04. String Theory
05. The Ones
06. Digitize
07. Reflections II
08. Paradox
09. Interlude
10. Home

Music is one of those art forms which tops any other art form because it comprises of sound, poetry (in form of lyrics) and is compact in that it is brief compared to other art forms. But what makes it unique is that it can unfold a story of its own in such short time!
Multidimensional is one such album that achieves this feat. And it is not every day that you come across an album which has a compact beginning, middle and an end.  But I’d be honest I didn’t like the songs at first.,as the vocals seemed guttural and yet I couldn’t overlook the melodic elements and the impact of songs as a whole.  The songs here somehow reminded me of the trailer to the album ‘’Kolossus’’ by’’ Keeps of Kalessin’’ which is as good as any trailer of a movie based on ancient mythology. The point is ‘’Lifeforms’’ knows what they are doing and the messages are put across through their music.
The title ‘’Multidimensional’’ says it all. There is so much to explore here. There are no compromised fillers and every song has something in it which is unique and a reason enough not to skip any of the songs. But this is one of those offerings which is best enjoyed with going in for it without any pre-conceived ideas or expectations. This is not an album to be compared with other benchmark records in this genre like that of Born of Osiris ‘’ The Discovery’’. And to limit something by defining it as a part of particular genre is creating obstacles in enjoying music for what it is. The quintet of’’ Lifeforms’’ has amalgamated the elements of death core, djent and progressive music creating an animal with its own life.

To me every song conjured up an imagery creating a story in images with each passing second without even worrying about lyrics. For instance ‘illogical’ gave me chills and conjured up an imagery of badass killer bees flying with swords! The hurricane like atmosphere is the striking element of this album which bludgeons its way into your head and out of it. It will surely knock your socks off.

There is no dearth of chugging breakdowns. The test of good music is that it gets stuck in your head and that cannot be the case if the songs are not ‘’multidimensional’’. But the music that grows on you is even better as it stays on your playlist for long without the listener getting bored of it. This is a crossbreed of melody and’ in your face ‘straight-up no nonsense tunes. ‘’Multidimensional ‘’will reveal itself in layers on every listen. There is so much that can be written about the songs but there’s no point dissecting them here. I’d leave it to you to find out. From dismissing it at first listen to getting lost in its amazing diverse layers, it sure is a reminder not to pigeonhole music and stay open.

Heavy Prescription : Gaia’s Throne, Petrichor

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Today i’ve dug up  some interesting local metal. The word ‘local’ here is by no means derogatory and kindly view it as a reference to our own Indian scene so save your whining for another day.  Today we visit two bands, who have consistently managed to entice us with glimpses of excellent musicianship.

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1. GAIA’S THRONE

Goddamnit! I’ve never even had an inkling  as to the band’s existence until very recently. A hundred lashes from a metal barbed whip is what i deserve. Nothing can make up for this gross ignorance . Now for the rest of the uninitiated idiots out there, Gaia’s Throne is a heavy metal/ power prog band from Pune. The mention of the genre alone is something of a breather from the wave after wave of bad metalcore that seems to have the country in a stranglehold .

The band has just released two tracks, which includes a self titled track and a second one titled ‘Contact’. After having checked the song, for some reason one word popped up. ” Rishloo”. Vocalist Siddharth’s vocals sound strangely similar to that off Rishloo’s Andrew. The instrumentation employed does seem to have a flavor very similar to the Rishloo styled of prog. And yet Gaia’s Throne holds their own, weaving ethereal melodies with some breathtakingly beautiful vocals. More often than not progressive bands try to do a tad too much when it comes to instrumentation and pretty much shoots it over the roof. But Gaia’s throne seems to blend in things nicely, every single part of the song segue into the next with relative ease. This makes it a much more cohesive listen and high repeat value . And oh! did i mention that the production cannot be really that far from perfect. It highlights each and every nuance played in the band so the listener may pick it up within the first few listens.

Then comes the lyrics. Set in a futuristic yet dystopian setting, both the songs slowly unveil the multi- species storyline at hand. I wouldn’t want to go further into the deep lyricism for you can follow them all here at their personal blog. I stress you check the entire blog, which is a great read and you’d probably sense the extend to which the band has gone to churn out this beauty. Checkout both these songs below and also accompanying them is a lyric video of the song “Contact”.

LYRIC VIDEO  – “CONTACT”

Follow the band on FACEBOOK.

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2. PETRICHOR

Next up is Petrichor. Everyone who has stumbled across our compilation might find this name pretty familiar. Their sheer ability to write grooves that straddle the thin line between extremity and progressiveness is what got them there. The cover art alone is a perfect visual description of the kind of music they have in store for the listener. So why the re-mentioning them you ask?  Well they have just released the entire stream of their debut EP ‘ Hueman’. Take caution though, for these riffs might just shake your balls off. The entire EP was tracked and mastered at Refractor Studios which is co-owned by members of Noiseware. Listen to the entire stream below.

Follow them on FACEBOOK

Exist Immortal – Dream Sequence

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Today our reviewer Karan Katiyar reviews the new mini album from the band ‘Exist Immortal’, titled ‘Dream Sequence’.

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Tracklist:

1. A Timeless Voyage
2. Grabbity Gravity
3. Initiate
4. Exist (v.2)
5. The Fracture
6. Terminate
7. The Silence (ft. guitar solo by Fred Brum)

UK based metallers Exist Immortal released their mini-album “Dream Sequence” on 28th January of this year.  Formed in 2011, these guys have already made a strong foothold in their homeland by playing UK Tech Metal fest alongside the likes of Textures, Sylosis etc.

Dream Sequence is everything but monotonous. Each track is unique in emotion, context, and purpose. I liked this album mostly because it is one of the few that can be heard in totality without exhaustion!

Songwriting:

There is a definite focus on flow and transitions. Abruptness is something you will not come across frequently in this mini-album. The songs are well structured and there is minimal dependence on fade-ins and effects for tough transitions. Though there is nothing revolutionary in the songwriting, there are moments of pure musical genius here and there (eg. 3.05 Grabbity Gravity). Catchy choruses galore, especially Initiate. Grooves are also a huge part of Exist Immortal’s sound. Special emphasis on The Fracture for some solid technical grooves.

Today we have our reviewer Karan Katiyar dissecting and examining the new album from the band Exist Immortal.

Production:

One of the few disappointments in Dream Sequence. Production could have been way better. There is a serious lack of low end punch in the entire album.

Guitars:

Very well written, structured, and intelligently placed guitar parts. Almost every riff has a story to tell. Melodies, chugs, staccatos, tasty bends, solos, twangs, you have em all. The tone is the only sour element in the guitars section.

Vocals:

A searing mixture of growls and cleans, the vocals are a dose of freshness with the focus on mid -ranges. Lots of love for not autotuning through the roof! The highlight of the vocals lie in the harmonized sections, which by the way are absolutely delightful. In some parts, though, clean vocals seem forcefully tossed.

Electronics:

Easily the showstopper element of this album. Very worldly fills that breathe life into the tracks. A Timeless Voyage is just sheer aural pleasure! It’s very easy to go overboard with electronics, but these guys have managed to hit that sweet spot between perfect and unnecessary.

Drums:

Percussions on this mini album are unimaginative. Generic grooves that completely follow the guitars are prevalent throughout the album.

Summation-

Besides the production and the percussions, this album is a musical adventure. An absolute avalanche of emotions and colours makes Dream Sequence a serious win! Exist Immortal has tremendous potential and with this release, they have set a bar for our expectations from their future endeavours.

 

Follow the band on Facebook here

And watch the video for their single below

Heavy Prescription: Tick’s Talk, Rohit Nair, Abinav Thakuri

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Aargh! Boredom kills. I’ve been so caught up at work and monotony and never really got around listening to new music. Either way there have been a few Indian acts that i’ve been wanting to share with you guys for some time now.

1. Tick’s Talk

This is a band from Guwahati (a hot bed for some of the finest Indian rock and metal) leaning towards the progressive side of things. The rock elements in their music are more pronounced and yet they do have a few metal passages as well. They’ve just got two songs in the recorded format, the second of which was recently released as a pre-production track. Titled ‘Pictures Predict‘, the song starts with keys followed by some lovely heart stirring croons by the vocalist. The song  then veers off into progressive territory. The keyboards remain in the forefront and are complemented by some instantly catchy riffs. All this goes on to make a great listening experience, despite being at the pre-production stage. For all those laymen, they did release a song titled Drug Dimension a month back, which you can listen to below.

Follow them on Facebook

2. Rohit Nair

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Rohit Nair is the man behind Paradox, a one man instrumental venture. This guy produces some really catchy riffs akin to the one man behemoth that is Cloudkicker. He did release an EP titled ‘Beyond Reason’ under the Paradox moniker, and it did have a few heads turning his way. I for one loved it, for its simplistic and instantly gratifying vibe. But the mans been bogged down by a hectic day job, and hes been out of touch for a while. But i am more than happy to announce his return to what he does best, with a new track ‘Reminiscence’.

It is safe to say that the song has one of the catchiest main riffs i’ve heard in a bloody long while. Check it out for yourself.

And if you haven’t his last release. Then here is the whole album! Stream away

3. Abinav Thakuri

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Now for skull bashing, bone gnashing riffage. With this we welcome our new writer Abinav Thakuri onboard as well. Luckily for all groove aficionados out there,  he is well on his way to release his debut E.P. titled ‘Tattooed Goddess’. Check out a pre-production version of his first single ‘Cassiopeia’ released at the 1st of this month. Frenetically paced and filled to the brim with massive amounts of groove, this is one helluva track. Stream away lads!!   also remember to follow his personal page on Facebook.