|
Release Date: 2006 Record Label: Demonstealer Records Track list:
|
Demonic Resurrection - Beyond The Darkness
|
Release Date: 2007 Record Label: Demonstealer Records Track list:
|
Severe Dementia - Epitaph of Plassey
Quite anachronistically, the Bangladeshi death metal sensation Severe Dementia, are getting really worked up over some fucker because of whose betrayal their great, great Bengal grandfathers were royally owned by the British East India Company. They are now determined to set things right by play playing technical death metal with a vengeance, at which they are decidedly competent, only problem is that perhaps due to excessive pre-recording wankery their music sounds flaccid and enervated on this cd, and then they wank some more. In a nutshell, Severe Dementia's ambitious brand of technical death metal is like a locally made cd featuring a fanciful copulating act happening between look-alikes of Decapitated's Nihility and Psycroptic's The Sceptre of the Ancients, which is often abruptly interposed by minor Nile interludes, Bangladeshi by ethnicity of course. “Entombment of the Traitor” and “Credence of Fort William” are pretty much modelled around that. For a brief moment something goes horrifically wrong in the latter song where their attempt of imitating the high-pitched torturous screams of Nile ends up sounding like the cry of the Bee Gees instead. External elements in the form of Necrophagist and later Death are occasionally incorporated in their songs, “The Bengal Regiment” being a good instance of that. It's around this time that emotive leads make a much desired appearance and provide an almost antacid-like relief from the soulless stomach-churning guitar wankery. The highlight of the act, coming only after the tiresome and superfluous “Strangled by Treason and Forgery”, is undoubtedly “Howls of Murshidabad”. Its climax is what makes it so special; for towards the end of the song, there is a fleeting yet tantalizing female vocal segment, after which you hear a whisper declaring “Let the dance begin!” Now this is the pivotal moment ALL the metalheads, kvlt and poseur alike, have been waiting for ever since they swore allegiance to metal – to officially dance to metal. And by the time you realise it, the ethnic rhythm passes away, and then not only you, but your family, your neighbours, even your watchman and the passers-by outside all dance deliriously with tears in their eyes to the following thumping beat. Overall, the Severe Dementia act is performed with reasonable flair and conviction, with the guitar bodies being nimbly flexed and twisted as far as to evoke a gasp from the mouth of the inexperienced listeners. However, it is their drummer Rhino, dexterously beating off in all directions, who steals the show. Good call by the vocalist to do the Chalky impersonation over here, but Shawki's not him, and it shows. Though all of their elaborately structured songs have their moments of awe and glory, Severe Dementia seem unsure of their direction and are guilty of letting their music sound patchy and forced. It's a shame the production quality isn't up to the mark either, hindering what could have been a stimulating experience.
|
Release Date: 2007 Record Label: Demonstealer Records Track list: |
Dusk - Dead Heart Dawning
Yusri Maha Durjana - Vocals
At last we reach the Pakistani leg of the split. I never thought I would get this far. Dead Heart Dawning happens to be the latest EP from Dusk on which they have reverted to playing in a death/doom vein. Some are protesting, some are cheering – personally I don't give a marsupial's lactating tit as long as it's good. Album opener “When the Mirror Speaks” is a sombre Nile -like instrumental song that is mercifully brief. “Dreaming Gotishya” somewhat compensates for time lost with a devastative albeit transient burst similar to Privilege of Evil/The Karelian Isthmus-era Amorphis. After which they probably get tired, for they quickly adopt a mellow, almost prancing approach like Aeternus so often did on Shadows of Old, but unlike them, Dusk prolong that trick and cling on to it like a bicycle-riding man does to the back of a truck till he reaches the end of the road, thus not making the passage very thrilling. “Sorrows of the Flesh” with its dark and potent, trudging riffs accentuated by beautiful violin tunes, invariably arouses sympathy in you as well as wistful memories of My Dying Bride. Alas, four minutes into an otherwise impressive song and Dusk can't handle the sorrow any more, so they decide to be gay about it and serenade us with a happy lead accompanied by a happy idiotic beat. The utterly incapacitating primary riff of the title track is once again strongly reminiscent of the Finnish Abhorrence/early Amorphis, though predictably you again have that annoying happy beat to contend with, which is closely salvaged by tasteful synths as heard on mid-era My Dying Bride albums and superb heart-squelching solos towards the end. The much-touted vocalist of the Singaporean band Cardiac Necropsy can be best described as inconsistent – often considered a trait, but not when he is able to sound like Donald Duck (on “Dreaming Gotishya”). Otherwise, he complements the music with his deep, salivating roars and his intense constipated growls that are delivered with so much pressure and pain that he's likely to be shitting his guts out. In short, this contentious Dusk EP is like a cultural exhibition hall converted into a ghost house featuring a dark horror tunnel ride in which you are made to drift warily, and all's well except for the part where some moron's cell phone keeps ringing happy tunes while you are trying your best to be convinced.
|
What the fuck is a Singaporean band doing here with their paltry two songs? Ostensibly, Helmskey are present over here as bonus – as if over an hour of extreme music wasn't enough – but I suspect they have been crammed over here to ensure the rise of the eastern blood if everything else fails. Anyway, Helmskey play a rather sweet and tingly form of Black/Death and are reasonably okay for what they do. Far from the tightest and slickest of bands, Helmskey manage to churn out some passable semi-melodic riffs with a thrashy spirit.
Rise of the Eastern Blood, what should have rightfully been just a 3-way split showcasing bands hailing from the little known metal nations of the sub-continent, is a fairly decent release and a fine concept, worth spending an affordable sum of money. Clearly there is enough room for improvement for all the three bands, but what is most important is that they all without a doubt have immense potential. Now how well they fare when it comes to releasing their own individual full lengths remains to be seen.
[Demonstealer Records is the only Indian extreme metal label that distributes/trades in international titles. Interested bands/labels can happily contact him.] June 16th, 2007 |
    
|
