Colossal Figures ”“ Clockwork Dilation Album Review

Colossal Figures – (from left) Saksham Gupta, Karan Mehta, Govind Marodia, Karsan Chaudhary, Rijul Victor.

[easyreview cat1title = “Clockwork Dilation” cat1rating = 3.5 cat1detail = Self-released]

‘Clockwork Dilation’ artwork

Late last year, Delhi prog metal band Colossal Figures were one of the most hyped bands set to compete at the Hornbill International Rock Contest 2013 in Nagaland. They were one of the few bands from outside Nagaland who drew fans to their set and managed to even sell their merchandize. Colossal Figures’ half-hour set, however, was marred by sound issues.

Colossal Figures may have had a few bad gigs, but they show only strength and brutal force on Clockwork Dilation, their debut studio album with nine tracks of mind-bending, metal, best likened to UK prog metal band TesseracT. The Delhi band, formed in 2010, follow a pattern of building up slow, light synth passages and break into sharp riffs from guitarists Karan Mehta and Saksham Gupta. Thankfully, they don’t shadow TesseracT all through the album. They throw in solos and metalcore influences on songs such as “Relapse” and “Brand New Sun,” with vocalist Govind Marodia matching his clean vocals and growls. Clockwork Dilation starts out strong with “Stone To Water,” with vocalist Marodia leading the way. Tracks like “Floodrush” and “Lost” sum up the band’s sound of chaotic metalcore and technical progressive metal. Drummer Rijul Victor is a man possessed on his kit, while bassist Karsan Chaudhary is locked in to groove with the guitars.

While there are a few filler instrumental, synth-led electro-ambient tracks such as “Scry” and the album closer “Or We Could Be Dreaming,” Colossal Figures sound best when they’re loud and piling on one unpredictable verse after another.

Key tracks: “Floodrush,” “Lost”

Colossal Figures launch Clockwork Dilation at Outrage Festival on July 13th, 2014 at Blue Frog, Delhi. Entry: Rs 600. From 1:30pm onwards. Event details here.

Stream and buy Clockwork Dilation here