10 Indian Albums Turning 10 in 2023

A decade ago, there were a few discernible changes in the Indian independent music space as far as releases, tours and performances go. We’re focusing just on albums, but the truth is, the EP was slowly becoming a more interesting norm for indie artists. Especially in heavy music, we saw stellar, compact and pile-driving results from Devoid (The Invasion), Plague Throat (An Exordium to Contagion) and Cosmic Infusion all releasing EPs.

Mumbai metallers Reverrse Polarity too made their long-anticipated album release with their self-titled record. The EP was a good starting point for (then) fresh indie-rock acts like Spud In The Box (Attention Please) and The F16s (Kaleidoscope) but also championed by desi bass master Nucleya (Koocha Monster) and electronic/rock band Sky Rabbit (Where). That said, here were some of our favorite full-length, statement-making, decimating and heartwarming albums which made waves in Indian indie in 2013 and stand strong even today.

The Lightyears Explode – The Revenge of Kalicharan

Mumbai punk-rock trio The Lightyears Explode were in total party mode by the time they worked up to releasing their debut full-length album The Revenge of Kalicharan. Featuring songs like “Diet Coke,” “Kunj Gutka,” the title track and moshpit-starters like “Garam Dharam,” the band even called on bassist, vocalist and Indian indie’s fave P-Man aka Rohit Pereira to get campy on the epic crossover that became “The P-Man Explodes.”

Tajdar Junaid – What Colour Is Your Raindrop

Kolkata’s composer, vocalist and guitarist Tajdar Junaid made a formative oeuvre with his solo album What Colour Is Your Raindrop, gathering experiences and stories from life and adding a lush, cinematic sonic edge to them with good dollops of rock riffs when you least expect them. A decade on, it’s the only full-length that Junaid has released but we’re not complaining, because it’s quite timeless.

Reptilian Death – The Dawn of Consummation And Emergence

Sometime around a decade ago, Mumbai metal artist Sahil Makhija aka Demonstealer restarted his death metal project Reptilian Death. He wasn’t necessarily putting aside his work with extreme metallers Demonic Resurrection, but the multi-instrumentalist producer was sure as hell about to take Indian metal to a place we’d rarely seen – from masked performances to an absolutely puerile and ghoulish album, The Dawn Of Consummation And Emergence also featured vocals from Bhayanak Maut’s Vinay Venkatesh. So committed was Reptilian Death to the persona that each starting letter on the album tracklist spells out a word.

The Raghu Dixit Project – Jag Changa

Bengaluru folk-fusion artist Raghu Dixit was scaling up like never before in the run-up to his album Jag Changa. Featuring clawhammer banjo veteran Abigail Washburn, British folk band Bellowhead and sarod artist Soumik Datta among others, the album was sold in round-shaped tin boxes. The eight-song record was a flittering folk album featuring sounds from all over the world and stories very close to Dixit’s heart, from stomping tunes like “Parasiva” to “Lokada Kalaji” to his Tamil song “Amma.” There was plenty for Dixit to celebrate and introspect upon in turns, with songs still remaining a part of his live performances today.

Gutslit – Skewered In The Sewer

Mumbai brutal death metal band Gutslit put slam, grind and extreme music on the map in India with the release of Skewered In The Sewer. It had a lot to do with bassist and founder Gurdip Singh Narang – The Brutal Sardar – and his entrepreneurial spirit, but the songs also pretty much have a wrecking ball intent. Vocalist Aditya Barve’s squealed flourishes, drummer Aaron Pinto’s blastbeat madness and erstwhile guitarist Dynell Bangera’s cutthroat riffs and harmonies packed it all in and left venues totally decimated, ushering in a phase of great growth for Gutslit.

Skrat – Bring Out The Big Guns

Chennai rock trio Skrat have only got more massive with their riffs and heaviness, but there was a burst of energy on Bring Out The Big Guns that truly mirrored what the band wanted audiences to do – dance around and rock out. Their second album ramped up punk rock and garage rock adrenaline, best heard on songs like “Tin Can Man,” “Smoke a Cigar” and “Samurai Badass.” There was a comedic yet badass intent that was carried off so well, it sounds fresh even today.

Coshish – Firdous

Mumbai prog/alt rock band Coshish’s debut full-length album Firdous was a labor of love and fans like to joke about how, just like their idols Tool, the quartet put in a lot of years and made listeners wait. Released via Universal Music India, however, this was a big leap for the band, who scaled dexterous prog peaks with songs like “Maya” and “Mukti” but also offered singalong, emphatic alt-rock Hindi songs like “Raastey” and “Rehne Do.”

Chaos – Violent Redemption

Straight out of Thiruvananthapuram, thrash metallers Chaos broke down walls with their debut full-length album Violent Redemption. Produced by New Delhi/Mumbai producer, guitarist and sound engineer Keshav Dhar (from prog band Skyharbor), Violent Redemption had a polish yet gritty punch-to-the-gut intent that few albums delivered at the time. With songs like “The Game,” “Cyanide Salvation,” “Merchant of Death” and the title track, Chaos took no prisoners, upping the game for thrash metal in India.

Lifafa – Lifafa

New Delhi’s Suryakant Sawhney was still best known for his work with gypsy/waltz/psychedelic rock band Peter Cat Recording Co. in 2013, so the launch of his solo project Lifafa came as an exciting surprise for fans. With elements of downtempo and glitch but also disco and house, all laced with that affinity for yesteryear Bollywood, Lifafa’s self-titled debut album had gems like “Agnee,” “Los Gatos,” “Swarm In Here” and “Boa Gombay,” making for a mind-bending listen.

The Circus – Bats

Three years after the release of their mind-splitting debut album From Space, New Delhi experimental rock band The Circus returned with an even more frenetic record, Bats. Much like the mammal, the nine-track record certainly had a nocturnal vibe, but also lived up to their reputation as party-crazy rockers, changing tempos, adding anthemic vocals and soaring guitar solos out of nowhere and swallowing it all down to become a wholly different band on the next track. That’s what is heard right from the opening title track, to cuts like “In This Laboratory There Are No Rules,” “Spontaneous Combustion Love Song” and “Poxilation Chickachameia.”