Indian Metal

Kill the King – Kill the King Review

By Saunders on November 8, 2023 in Reviews, Thrash Metal, 10 comments

“Emerging as an underdog in the budding Indian metal scene, upstart thrashers Kill the King come armed and ready to unleash a self-titled, self-released debut thrash platter. Formed in 2016, Kill the King have done the hard yards toiling in the underground, sharpening their tools in readiness for the five-piece outfit to put their skills to practice and rumble with the big dogs of the modern thrash scene. It certainly isn’t easy to stand out in the crowded field of modern thrash, a scene that splinters off into various offshoots such as retro thrash, blackened thrash, death-thrash and modern thrash territory.” Rabid Regicide.

Gutslit – Carnal Review

By Saunders on July 7, 2023 in Reviews, Death Metal, 18 comments

“India’s deathgrinding powerhouse Gutslit took me by surprise on 2017’s accomplished and wildly enjoyable sophomore album, Amputheatre, marking a sizable leap forward from their rough around-the-edges 2013 debut, Skewered in the Sewer. On reflection, I was shocked to learn it had been six years or so since being blindsided by Amputheatre, and thus stoked to delve into the latest platter from this gifted quartet, mauling their way into underground recognition.” Sex criminals.

Demonstealer – The Propaganda Machine Review

By Maddog on April 6, 2023 in Reviews, Death Metal, Melodic Death Metal, Technical Death Metal, 37 comments

“India is now the world’s most populous country, but its metal output has remained embarrassingly small. Despite their millennia-old rich music traditions, these 1.4 billion strong have graced this site with just 24 records. Their quality varies wildly, from our first ever 0.0 to one of my favorite traditional heavy metal albums of the last decade. Mumbai’s The Demonstealer (Sahil Makhija) is one of the most prolific and talented members of this scene.” Gotta steal em’ all.

Dirge – Dirge Review

By Dear Hollow on March 19, 2023 in Reviews, Doom Metal, Post-Metal, Sludge Metal, 22 comments

“Apparently, I’m the only one ’round these parts who gets excited to see the band Dirge in the same sentence as “post-metal.” I’m like, “they’re back, baby!” and I lose my goddamn mind. The French masterminds of such classics as Elysian Magnetic Fields and Wings of Lead Over Dormant Seas were a force to be reckoned with, but then I realize: this is the other Dirge, the one from India.” International doom.

Bloodywood – Rakshak Review

By Kenstrosity on February 16, 2022 in Reviews, Deathcore, Folk Metal, Groove Metal, Melodic Metal, Nu Metal, 85 comments

“Bloodywood’s approach to metal is, on the surface, similar to Linkin Park’s in that they often combine rapped verses with sung choruses—utilizing both English and Hindi lyrics—backed by gym-ready riffs reminiscent of Hacktivist, We Butter the Bread with Butter, and even Dyscarnate. Look beneath those superficialities and you find a ton of cool Indian folk instrumentation playing along, particularly weighted towards woodwinds and festive drums.” The Rock Shack is now open.

Kryptos – Force of Danger Review

By Steel Druhm on October 1, 2021 in Reviews, Heavy Metal, 26 comments

“Kryptos have made quite the successful little niche for themselves over their 20-something year career. Hailing from India, they’ve slowly but surely made a name for themselves internationally by crafting faithfully retro heavy metal material reeking of the 80s but with slightly more extreme vocals in place of the expected balls-in-a-vice wailing. Albums like 2016s Burn Up the Night and 2019s Afterburner were solid slabs of hook-tastic 80s metal loaded with more killer riffs than a 70,000-ton cruiser could safely take out to sea.” Danger in the Krypt.

Arogya – Genesis Review

By Steel Druhm on April 22, 2021 in Reviews, Heavy Metal, 42 comments

“Sometimes you see something so oddball in the promo sump, all you can do is roll the dice of fate and grab it. When I saw that Indian act Arogya billed themselves as 80s-centric “synth-rock” with metal influences, I simply couldn’t pass up what was sure to be a steaming dumpster fire of colliding genres and styles. Add to this the band’s image, which sits someplace between Crimson Glory and Slipknot and you have quite the promotional package waiting to hit the world like a frozen bratwurst.” You can’t spell Arogya without AOR.

Dead Exaltation – Despondent Review

By Holdeneye on February 14, 2021 in Reviews, Death Metal, Progressive Metal, Technical Death Metal, 49 comments

“Technical death metal is one of those “hit or miss” genres for me. While I find the intricate rhythms and minigun note delivery intoxicating at times, I still require the style’s purveyors to provide that thing for which I look in all of my metal endeavors: the almighty riff. Genre legends Cryptopsy shred like no other, but they undergird their sound with a buttload of groove, and modern technical titans Archspire and Cytotoxin make sure to riff just as hard as they noodle. While I generally don’t love overly gore-themed releases due to the nature of my work, the pickings were fairly slim for this week. So I took a chance and picked up Despondent, the debut release from India’s Dead Exaltation, nasty artwork and all.” Technical butchery.

aswekeepsearching – Rooh Review

By Huck N Roll on September 25, 2019 in 2019, Indian Metal, Not Metal, Post-Rock, Reviews, Self-released, Not Metal, 10 comments

“You ardent readers may not agree, but it can be tough on one’s aural organs to blast metal for hours upon hours each and every day. That’s because in our tiny cubicles we don’t often get to crank the albums we love; we have to play the ones we’re reviewing. And after blasting my assignments from Cult of Luna and Monolord a combined twenty-seven times this month, my weeping ears needed a break. Something peaceful, serene, and calming. And since I wasn’t (un)lucky enough to be tabbed for In Cauda Venenum, I settled on what I hoped would be a sweet little morsel of post-rock: Rooh, the third album from Indian post-rock outfit aswekeepsearching.” Vacation for the ears.

Kryptos – Afterburner Review

By Mark Z. on July 6, 2019 in 2019, AFM Records, Heavy Metal, Indian Metal, Reviews, Heavy Metal, 37 comments

“”Full speed ahead—let’s burn up the night!” So screamed Kryptos vocalist and guitarist Nolan Lewis, thus closing out the Indian quartet’s 2016 opus Burn up the Night. That album excelled by infusing classic heavy metal riffs with harsh vocals and it more than earned its spot on my Year End list that year. But apparently full speed is no longer fast enough. Fifth album Afterburner sees the band cranking the throttles into overdrive and doubling down on everything that made Night great.” Still burning in the night.