Album Review: Cheisrah ”“ Deafbreed

Cheisrah. Photo: Ancer Ash Thwayyib

[easyreview cat1title = Deafbreed cat1rating = 3.5 cat1detail = “Crisp production and bouncy grooves make this a must for any metalcore fan”]

‘Deafbreed’ album artwork

You know that young band who sounded like they had a bag full of breakdowns to hammer you on the head with? Well, they have an album out and it’s not your typical breakdown-verse-chorus-ultimate-slowburn-breakdown. That’s Cheisrah, the metalcore band from Bengaluru. 

The band, formed in May 2011, have put their riffing and drumming chops to make a well-produced, squeaky clean 10-track album that’s on par with most modern metal being pedaled out by American record labels such as Reprise and Razor & Tie.

Since we’ve mentioned production, it’s best to ask ”“ where is Deafbreed producer and Noiseware’s guitarist Adhiraj Singh’s mind? Noiseware, the experimental band from Pune have been putting off releasing new material for over a year, but Singh has clearly left an impression on Cheisrah. Sample “We Hate Metronome,” which is a nod to Noiseware’s signature  off-beat grooves. “Home,” which bursts with melody, takes a page from the book of American metalcore band August Burns Red. The band peaks on the title track “Deafbreed,” which is the strongest middle to keep listeners carry on to the end of the album.

Cheisrah are still young, though, and show a bit of their amateur side on the opener “Skinned,” which is probably that one song you’d see no one moshing to, simply because they can’t tell where it’s headed. They’ve even got song titles like “Ruins of a Grey Nation” and “Unscarred,” which may be brutal groove metal tracks, but anyone who can decipher what vocalist Imon Nirvan is growling out deserves a medal.

But Cheisrah aren’t just another young metal band who’ve thrown money around to put an album out. Drummer Amarjeet Karam is among organizers who push modern metal in a scene dominated by old school metal gig organizers, and his band, now armed with a dissonant-riffs-laden album like Deafbreed, deserve to be heard.

Key tracks: “We Hate Metronome,” “Home,” “Deafbreed.”

Listen to “We Hate Metronome” below

Buy Deafbreed on OkListen.

Cheisrah, In Dying Days, Orchid, Renegade and Prime Rage perform at Moshfest on January 8th, 2013 at The Humming Tree, Bengaluru. Entry: Free. Event details here.