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Track Listing: Blind Faith Religious Genocide Ayodhya Burns

The Indian black metal scene has pretty much sucked and been more or less nonexistent barring a few subpar bands trying too hard to capture the essence of black metal. Heathen Beast has succeeded in putting India on the worldwide black metal map with their debut EP release, Ayodhya Burns. The EP boasts of brilliant production with songwriting that is absolutely stellar for a band's debut release.

The vocals took a while for me to get used to because they are a tad over-processed, but the instruments complement the vocals very well. Another thing that really made this EP stand out for me as compared to the usual black metal releases is the overall sound. It actually sounds good and doesn't sound like the instruments have been recorded a mile away from the studio microphone. I will admit that black metal isn't my favourite sub-genre of metal but I really enjoyed this EP. Religious Genocide is my favourite song on the EP and is one of the better songs I have heard in the past few months.

While this album is very impressive, it has its weaknesses. Carvaka (Vocals, guitar) needs to add some dynamics to his vocals in the opening track, Blind Faith. The bass playing is inaudible in many sections and while it may "sound" black metal, I'd like to be able to hear all the instruments clearly. Many of the riffs on the EP sound very similar to each other and that is a huge let down for me. I do not care for the artwork to be honest because while it reminded me of the Ayodhya Riots, it fails to impress me for a black metal album cover.

Overall, I applaud Heathen Beast for this brilliant debut EP and look forward to hearing new music from them soon. I strongly recommend picking up the physical copy of this CD soon since it is limited to 200 hand numbered copies.