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Rating: 7.2 Release Date: 2006 Record Label: Demonstealer Records Track list:
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Exhumation - For Personal Consumption Only
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Rating: 7.1 Track list: |
Narsil - Carcinogenic
A highly volatile form of brutal death metal having Cannibal Corpse and to a lesser extent Cryptopsy as perceptible catalysts, Narsil can very well be referred to as the poor Indian man's version of the incredible Canadian band Deamon. Not staunch believers in giving obligatory intros, the Narsil band members pounce on their instruments from behind and begin molesting them as if they were girls on the average Delhi street. As a result, you have the guitarists frantically fingering out some snappy technical music, wobbly yet catchy; the bassist for once getting some audible, booming even, shot action; the vocalist screaming more than the hysterical girls but in an altogether different frequency; and the drummer hitting the kit freely and relentlessly with a sadistic glee. Amidst this carnal cacophony, pensive black metal-ish interludes are introduced on “Lugubrious” and they return to make a palpable appearance on “Derelict Deranged”. On “Depletion of Vital Forces” Narsil dabble in the groovy goregrind genre to a good effect before they veer the song back towards their pulsating semi-technical music and end it on a thrilling note. The striking feature of Narsil is their vocalist's agitated piggy vocals; to an extent similar to the terrified rasps of Lord Worm and the typhonic vocals of Cory Malone, the Deamon vocalist. I knew it as a fact that Shashwat had carried a pig with him to the recording studio but being a resident of another city I was unable to prove it. During the local Resurrection gig I stood right under his nose and half-expected a pig to emerge from under his tee collar to do the vocals for him, but much to my resentment that trick didn't take place. Looking at Shashwat with his chubby face and a sober Bihari-like hair parting, I was incredulous to still see him do those amazing pig vocals. I ultimately took heart in visualising him as a pig. Animated and enjoyable, Narsil's music is however a bit too haphazard and inconsistent to fully satisfy your death metal cravings. If they tie up their loose ends, they will be all set to dominate your cd player. |
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Warface - Demo
Dave Smith - Vocals/Bass
Plodding brutal music juxtaposed with a few piquant riffs constitutes the monolithic structure of this American brutal death metal band, their nature vaguely reminiscent of the German band Warspite. The throbbing brutal parts, inspired by early Cannibal Corpse in places (“Truth of Suffering”, for instance), are elementary and devoid of feel, while the cleaner and meaner riffs are somewhat Polish in nature with their scintillating Damnation style riffing like in “The Hunted”. “Mask of Battle” is another fine song with tantalizing riffs, Cannibal Corpse hooks and crashing parts inducing you to behave accordingly with the fragile objects in your room, until your mom decides to gives you a thrashing of her own ironically to the same part on the return. The songs are lengthy and played laboriously at a moderate pace, as if the band members were carrying school bags on their back while playing their instruments. Still, I have to say the performance of the band members is quite spirited, especially that of the drummer. Some babe must surely be watching him play. With Warface straddling both brutal and pure aspects of death metal, one feels like being given a ride on a mechanical horse without having to insert a coin. Knowing the limited scope of enjoyment involved, one would still want to experience it over again all the same, like a loser kid with nothing else to do. Mildly intrigued by the demo, I feel obliged to check out Warface's full length album, Insanity of the Obsessed.
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Reptilian Death - Intestinal Feast
Demonstealer - All music
A heavy sigh escaped from my mouth upon reaching the Reptilian Death part of the split, the kind of pitiful and anguishing sigh that would force itself out on the prospect of having to meet a mentally retarded person you knew since childhood. For going by the history of Reptilian Death, their music was equally retarded and had been that way for as far as I knew. However, on Kunal's episode of believe it or not, their music on Intestinal Feast miraculously shows (late) signs of positive brain activity. “A Cranial Funeral”, a short but obviously a personal song by Reptilian Death, features brisk and catchy Cannibal Corpse parts derived from Bloodthirst. The gnarly titled “Grasp of the Anaconda” has but vapid deathrock riffing and infantile beats and is manifestly an expendable track. Incorporating agreeable old school parts, “Intestinal feast” goes a notch higher but not over the commonplace level. And then the unthinkable happens - Reptilian Death somehow manages to adopt potent German death metal influences in their music in the form of Fearer with their imposing riffs, and Fleshcrawl circa As Blood Rains From The Skies/Soulskinner with their thrashy riffs played in that abrasive guitar tone. The last two songs not only salvage Reptilian Death from the murky depths of mediocrity, but they also succeed albeit briefly in making you thrash your body around like a fish out of water. Reptilian Death need to have a serious brainstorming session to decide on the course of its music and then come up with something consistently and substantially good if it wishes to capture our attention in future, which I have come to realise is not entirely improbable.
Ah, the inclusion of random acts as bonus on decent cds is turning out to be a really annoying habit by the label owner, Sahil aka Demonstealer. Someone needs to put a hand on his shoulder and explain, “Mate, the bonus material doesn't make your release any more worth than it really is; going by its quality, it probably detracts from what it is worth.” If that doesn't fix the cheap India mentality, then there is always the pleasurable option of punching him in the stomach. The band in context here is Infinity Hate Project. Absolutely no info is provided on this band and it is probably with a reason. “Blast of Hatred” sounds not too different from the better songs of Reptilian Death, except that their music is faster. On their only other song “Fuck The Sena Master”, the brutality is elevated to a whole new level, and that tremendous feat is achieved by merely setting the drum machine to an even faster speed. Forgettable, at best. In spite of being an Indian myself, I am admittedly guilty of grossly underestimating the Indian death metal bands. Well, at least the first two bands. For that I'm seriously considering doing penance in the Himalayas . But if you're sensible, you won't need to do all that; just pick up Defaced & Split at a reasonable price, if only out of curiously, and absolve yourselves. Write me a letter if you like it; I will pluck and eat a fruit to your gratitude.
[Demonstealer Records is the only Indian extreme metal label that distributes/trades in international titles. Interested bands/labels can happily contact him.]
June 21th, 2007 |
    
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