Metal Assault: Album Reviews

By Aniruddh ‘Andrew’ Bansal

Bangalore-based stoner doom metal band Bevar Sea released their self-titled debut full-length album in India last October. The four tracks on this 43-minute effort were already popular amongst fans long before the actual release. The band has been performing these tunes for a while now, but there was still a huge amount of excitement and hype surrounding the release. People were anxiously waiting to get their hands on an official Bevar Sea studio recording, not just for the music but also for guitarist Rahul Chacko a.k.a. Scribble Bandit’s incredible artwork. Having seen live thrice last year, each time in a different size of stage and venue, I was curious to hear how a Bevar Sea recording sounds in comparison to what they play on stage.  Continue reading “Bevar Sea – Self-Titled”

By Andrew Bansal

The term ‘Big 4’ has been thrown around in the heavy metal universe a lot lately, and now we have in front of us what many people have been asking for, the Teutonic version of the Big 4, featuring Kreator, Sodom, Destruction and Tankard. Fans of Teutonic thrash have been eagerly waiting for some kind of union between these forces, and although the dream of seeing them perform together on stage still lives on, at least there’s hope now as the awesome foursome have decided to release a 4-track covers compilation, paying tribute to two of their major influences, Iron Maiden and Motorhead. This was released in December as a CD in Germany’s Legacy magazine, and is ready for release on February 15th in 10-inch mini-LP form via Nuclear Blast Records. I’m loving the influx of short-play releases this year. Easier to review and probably more enjoyable to listen to. So here goes yet another review of mine! Continue reading “Kreator, Sodom, Destruction & Tankard – The Big Teutonic Four”

By Aniruddh ‘Andrew’ Bansal

After a hugely impressive debut full-length album ‘A God’s Lie’, Mumbai-based extreme metal band Devoid has released their sophomore effort, a 5-track concept EP titled ‘The Invasion’. Since the 2010 debut album, the band has steadily built their local and nationwide fan-base, and they succeeded in reaching a level at which the new EP received plenty of pre-release hype and media attention. I’m a huge admirer of their debut album, but I was somehow sure that the new release would sound different. I gave the 22-minute EP a thorough listen, and here’s my honest, objective assessment of what the band has offered this time around. Continue reading “Devoid – The Invasion EP”

By Avinash Mittur

Folks have been going around calling Voivod’s new album, Target Earth, a comeback. For it to be a comeback however, Voivod had to have gone away or become stagnant first. If anything, the 2000s have perhaps been some of Voivod’s most consistent years. The three records in this period, the self titled album, Katorz, and Infini, have been strong, respectable slabs of mid-tempo thrash (the self-titled album is a particular standout), and saw the band more confident in their songwriting abilities than ever before. Though the band lost their brilliant axeman Piggy, Voivod continued to forge on with live shows featuring original bassist Blacky and a new guitarist Chewy in tow. Voivod have certainly been a force to be reckoned with in the last decade, but their first release without Piggy is the true test of whether they can carry on without him. Luckily for all Voivod fans out there, it is nothing less than an absolute pleasure to say that the current lineup of Voivod have proved themselves worthy of carrying on Piggy’s legacy. Target Earth isn’t merely a great Voivod album, it’s their finest album in two decades and it stands tall among the genre-defying classics this band has produced in its prolific career.

Continue reading “Voivod – Target Earth [9 out of 10]”

By Aniruddh ‘Andrew’ Bansal

For the past 20-plus years, Indian doom-infused death metal band Dying Embrace have been flag bearers of the genre in the country. Throughout this time, they stayed true and underground, and that’s why they’re still somewhat of a mysterious entity to many people. Their old releases are simply out of print or extremely hard to find. After seeing them perform at last year’s Bangalore Open Air Festival, I was absolutely convinced that their music is the real deal and not a mere gimmick. Their live show was powerful enough to stay in my memory for a long time after that gig, and I’ve kept in touch with their activities ever since.Now, much to the delight of their cult following, all of their past releases have been put together into the ‘Era Of Tribulation’ compilation. Continue reading “Dying Embrace – Era Of Tribulation [9 out of 10]”

By Aniruddh ‘Andrew’ Bansal

 

Based out of Kolkata, India, thrash metal outfit Mortar is a brand new entity, having started out only in late 2011. Their lineup became stable only a couple of months ago, and now they’re ready to release their aptly titled debut EP ‘Ground Zero’ on February 9th via India’s own Incanned Productions. With a majority of Indian metal bands coming from Bangalore, Mumbai and a few other cities, for a change it’s great to see a band come through from the city of Kolkata, proving that metal is gradually spreading to different parts of the country. So when I got the press release about this band’s debut EP, I couldn’t help but take notice. It was easy enough to give a few proper listens to this 17-minute EP, and I’m certainly not regretting doing so. Continue reading “Mortar – Ground Zero EP [8 out of 10]”