Skrypt

Chalk up another name to the Indian thrash resurgence. Hyderabad-based Skrypt’s debut EP walks a taut line between proggy time signatures and crushing, structured thrash, going from one to the other and amalgamating the two with effortless ease. Opening with the driven with ”˜Artifice’ the band line the tight riffing with groove-heavy drums, pulling in and out of fantastic, catchy melodic sections and leaving off with a shred solo. The band uses vocals carefully and thoughtfully so that some of the best musical sections are given room to breathe and be heard, a fine example of how a song can be made better with a little discretion. ”˜Anathema’ builds up a slow riff against double-bass drums, drawing out the tension till it finds release a galloping bridge. The midsection opens into an expansive atmospheric soundscape, before finding its away back to its previous percussive fury. Both the first and this track clock in at 6-plus minutes, but the songs never flag and the pacing never jars. ”˜Supremacy,’ the shortest song on the album at four minutes, mixes Lamb of God-style breakdowns with running, harmonic riffs but it doesn’t grab the listener like the other songs do but the band rally with the monstrous ”˜Constructing the Absolute’ closing the EP in a frenzy of off-time signature and crunch-heavy riffs.

The album has a few weaknesses ”“ the production could use a little tweaking to make the vocals pop more out of the mix instead of occasionally bleeding into the guitar fuzz and yes, you’ll find hints of the band’s influences scattered throughout the songs ”“ but this record has some smart, thoughtful songwriting and Skrypt couldn’t have found a better way to announce their arrival on the scene.

Key Tracks: ”˜Artifice,’ ”˜Anathema’