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Albatross: Dinner Is You

By Mikhail Madnani

Release Date: September 26th, 2010
Record Label: Demonstealer Records


My rating points:


    Track Listing:
  1. The Great Plague Of The 21st Century
  2. The Dining Table
  3. In The Court Of Kuru
  4. Among The Cannibals
Albatross is a horror metal band from India that will be releasing their Debut EP by the end of September. It was mastered by Grammy nominated guitarist Andy LaRocque. This EP has more ups than downs. With very few complaints, I think this has to be one of the best debut EPs in a long time. It has some brilliant guitar work and a rhythm section that actually stands out as opposed to being far behind in the mix like in most albums. Here's a track by track review:

The Great Plague Of The 21st Century: The intro to the album starts off with some nice bass effects that lead into Mihir's spoken section. The intro was originally around 4 minutes but was cut short for the EP. The subtle guitar feedback sections that start in the middle go on towards the end of the intro making their presence felt.

The Dining Table : This is the song that most people have already heard. It has been on the band's MySpace page for a while now. The final version of the song is very different from the first version uploaded earlier this year. The song starts with a very Moonsorrow atmospheric effect and has vocals reminiscent of dare I say King Diamond. Good work Biprorshee. The guitars really take charge of this song. The entire song has a Sweating Bullets (Megadeth) meet King Diamond feel to it. The thundering double bass blends well with the guitars that sound absolutely fantastic. The first solo on this song was done by Jimmy. Another aspect of this song that makes it stand out is the bass playing. It's brilliant. The middle section of this song will be a hit or miss with most people in my opinion. I think it fits very well. The section that follows the Sweating Bullets-esque section is the best part of the song (and maybe even the EP). Raj (previously of Workshop and Apollonian Quest fame) absolutely slays here. His solos while memorable are full of nice short melodies that lead to one of the best harmony sections that I have heard in a long time. This harmony continues for a few bars before the epic song ends.

In the court of Kuru : This song starts off with a scream that leads into the intro riff. I feel the need to mention the bass presence in the song again. Many Indian bands have great songs but all the songs lack a good mix. The bass is nicely audible here and that adds to the vibe. The first solo is very good and fits perfectly here. This song also has a spoken section that takes you to the main riff. The only things I didn't like about this song are the sundry spoken sections. Just like the previous song, this one has a guitar solo section that leads to the last chorus which feels slightly overused by now. Some people may not like the vocals in these songs but the guitars and music in general more than make up for it.

Among the Cannibals : The last song on the EP is the longest song. Why do most bands do that? Is it some sort of trend or something? Even Blind guardian's album and the new Iron Maiden album had the longest song closing the album. The eerie clean guitar intro with a windy atmosphere opens the last and longest song on this EP. The length of this song is the only let down. Certain sections are repeated and seem overused. I'm not a big fan of the chorus on this song. The outro section has an underwater distorted guitar feel to it and has crystal clear pinch harmonics. Raj takes the lead with a nice long solo here as well. The solo should have been slightly louder in the mix. Clocking in at almost 10 minutes, this song could have been trimmed to a lean 8 minutes by cutting out a few of the choruses.

Overall this EP has 2 perfect songs and 2 near perfect ones. Usually EPs have some B sides or covers thrown in just to make singles as long as EPs. This album has only A sides if you know what I mean. The EP has an excellent overall sound and brilliant song writing. Guitarists in particular will love the solos here.

This EP is recommended to fans of King Diamond, Mercyful Fate, and Wolf. I give this album 8.5/10.

To buy the CD and for more information, visit the band's official myspace.

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