By Aniruddh ‘Andrew’ Bansal
Hailing from Bangalore, India, Bevar Sea announced their arrival in the world of stoner doom with the 2012 release of their self-titled debut full-length album, a righteous slab of heavy psychedelia that not only placed them at the top of what is still a fledgling metal scene in India, but also established them as a world-class entity amongst underground metal enthusiasts elsewhere. Stoner doom has reached unprecedented levels of popularity both in the underground and mainstream communities over the past few years, but Bevar Sea were one step ahead and ventured into this territory before most others did, going about one simple task: playing the kind of music they love. Now, three years since the debut, in times far more welcoming to their musical style, the band has unveiled the follow-up effort ‘Invoke The Bizarre’.
The 6-song, 45-minute album begins with ‘Bearded And Bizarre’, and the band’s development over the past three years is evident straightaway, as every single riff has a greater impact on the listener, the songwriting is more fluid, and all five members put in refined performances to collectively create a more cohesive sound. This eight-and-a-half minute track certainly doesn’t feel as long, as it undergoes a multitude of peaks, valleys and progressions to remain interesting throughout. These qualities are retained on the remainder of the album as well, and the opening track is followed by ‘Bury Me In NOLA’, which is a strong candidate for the doom anthem of the year, such is the power in its slow, melancholic dirge. But if this one comes across as trippy, the next track ‘Sleeping Pool’ is even trippier, bringing forth the band’s psychedelic tendencies that so beautifully decorated songs like ‘Abishtu’ and ‘Mono Gnome’ on the debut album. ‘Where There’s Smoke (There’s A Pyre)’ continues to carry this vibe but infuses some heavy gallops to make it the fastest, most aggressive song on this album. And lastly, following a short interlude called ‘Heathen’, ‘The Grand Alignment’ is high on guitar melodies and boasts of a prominent bass sound, aptly summing up everything the album stands for and bringing it to a heavy conclusion.
The vocals are laid down with unmistakable power and conviction, replicating the manner in which they are delivered live. The guitarists have emerged triumphant with everything they’ve attempted to do on this one, and the rhythm section is stronger than ever. Bevar Sea have taken their time to extract every ounce of creative inspiration within themselves, and the result is a gem of a record that’s as worthy a representative of the sub-genre as anything that’s been released this year. Besides the songwriting and performance, the striking feature of the album is the incredible clarity of the mix, done by Matt Lynch, which outdoes the previous album and presents all layers of the music perfectly even at louder volumes, enabling listeners to crank it all the way up and bask in all its glory.
If there were any doubts that Bevar Sea deserves to participate in heavy music meccas such as Roadburn and Housecore, and to share the stage all around the world with the bands they worship and draw inspiration from, ‘Invoke The Bizarre’ dispels them. Musically it is not distant from others pursuing this style, but it is executed so brilliantly well that it’s bound to captivate you. If you thought you’d heard everything the world of doom has to offer, Bevar Sea’s ‘Invoke The Bizarre’ will compel you to think again.
Rating: 9.5/10
Release Date: October 31st 2015
Track Listing:
01. Bearded And Bizarre
02. Bury Me In NOLA
03. Sleeping Pool
04. Where There’s Smoke (There’s A Pyre)
05. Heathen
06. The Grand Alignment
Bevar Sea links: facebook | twitter | instagram | bandcamp
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