Monday 1 June 2015

Song of the Week - Blakhole: DUMB FUCK


Founded in 2011, Blakhole is an old school punk band from Kolkata, churning out pure revolution and aggression through their music. And this is just a short and sweet teaser of the brand new lineup with which they plan to strike Strength of Steel! Would be fun to see their Black Sabbath cover!

Over to the shortest song to be featured here till date -


Tuesday 26 May 2015

[REVIEW] Heathen Beast - The Carnage of Godhra

Heathen Beast - "The Carnage of Godhra"
How often do you find people revolting against the system, and more importantly, against the biggest organised group in the world - Religion? The mysterious group of musicians, calling themselves Heathen Beast, have done exactly that. Ever since their inception, Heathen Beast have been vocal about what they felt should be revolted. The good old punk vibes, but for a good cause. We saw them narrating their hearts out in "Ayodhya Burns" and touch some very sensitive topics in "The Drowning of the Elephant God", which was probably the most vocal display of music and lyrics from India in recent times; and they outdid themselves with the video supporting "Bakras to the Slaughter" and cooked up some hatred towards them too!

3 years after the release of "The Drowning of the Elephant God", Heathen Beast are back with "The Carnage of Godhra". Based on the well-documented and even well ignored massacre at Godhra, Gujrat; where countless innocents lost their lives due to the riots, the EP deals with the conspiracy theories attached with the sad events and the ultimate negligence from those in power.



The EP starts off with the title track "The Carnage of Godhra", just like it did in "The Drowning of the Elephant God". Sticking to their signature narration intro and blending traditional Indian percussion instruments with distorted guitars and razor sharp vocals, Heathen Beast have come out as a better band since their last release. The production quality has improved a lot and the improvising in the fillers have been good too! As we jog through the three tracks, there's a feeling of predictability. At times, you can just predict what comes next. But that doesn't rule out the fact that this is a very strong release. Blast beats and tempo changes in the tracks make it a not so boring affair, while the lyrical content stands out from the crowd. A pure, in your face approach to the lyrics actually leaves behind the riffs everything that goes behind. One good example and probably the part which struck me the most would be:
"Jafri was dragged into the street and forced to parade nakedRefusing to say "Jai Shri Ram" they beheaded and burnt his remains"- Ab Ki Baar Atyachar

The release is very mature in terms of the quality of music as well as the thought process behind it. A very bold step, but surely deserves a praise for the effort being put into the whole EP. You don't see a fusion of classical Indian instruments alongside some raw distortion everyday, neither do you get to see someone standing out and speaking against those in control.

Democracy is flawed, but this EP isn't. I'll sign off with these two lines:

"How can anyone even live a normal life after hearing those helpless cries?Will you still find a reason to live after everyone you love has died?"- Gaurav Yatra

Listen to The Carnage of Godhra here:





Song of the Week - Hellwind: Taste of Metal

Heavy Metal has the passion which most genres lack. Yes, there are bands who have that ego problem, but the music comes from the heart in most cases, like it should be. And for the ego fueled maniacs out there, there will be someone who stands up and shuts their mouths (or ass, whichever speaks for them :P ).

Taste of Metal is one of those tracks where Hellwind speaks about the pretender and fake world surrounding us. Ignoring the negativity by the power of Heavy Metal, Hellwind, which started off as a cheesy metal band, makes it a point to differentiate between what is true and what should have been flushed in the toilet. But somewhere between all the cheese fest and glam metal approach, Hellwind have kept, what vocalist Akshay Deodhar quotes as "...little homage to selling our souls to the devil for heavy metal..."


Waste no time, for you have wasted some by reading this intro and the song has already started playing in this little widget below. Enjoy!






Monday 18 May 2015

Song of the Week - Primitiv: Taurus

Artwork by Aakash Dwivedi
This week we have something so old school, that they are primitive! Mumbai based supergroup, Primitiv, have made a name for themselves already. Opening for Albatross during Strength of Steel, the band promises to deliver a performance that will be remembered for a long, long time.

The song here, Taurus, is NOT about the sun sign Taurus (you got that wrong :P). Talking about how the Earth has been pushed back into a primitive stage post apocalypse, the Doom Metal influenced track, also the band's debut single release, packs a punch. The hard hitting riffs, along with Nitin's brutal vocals, transports you to a time after the great holocaust (or what has been said and written about in those books people talk about :P).

We won't waste any more time describing the track, it's too awesome for a description. We hope your music speakers or headphones are ready, the track should be playing by the time you read this line:


Primitiv: Taurus





Tuesday 12 May 2015

Song of the Week - Albatross: Jugglehead the Clown

Clowns are scary. Well, sometimes very scary. And, they surely make a good horror story character! Mumbai based Horror Metal group and the headliners of Strength of Steel, Albatross, have ensured the clown comes back to haunt you in your dreams. Every night.

The only song with a riff composed by the mysterious Dr. Hex, "Jugglehead the Clown" is an aural ecstasy! The 4 guitar solos pierce through the heart like valyrian steel, while the melodic riffs make the song an experience of a lifetime. The name comes from a story that Dr. Hex once heard during his college days (yes, even this doctor went to college), of a woman who could detach her head and juggle with it. This story, Dr. Hex claims, is the scariest one he has heard till date. And, how do you make it scarier? Replace the lady with a clown. Hello, nightmares!

The multiple guitar solos, Biprorshee's high pitched falsetos, and the dark ambiance makes us all pumped up for Strength of Steel. Over to the clown!






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