Album Review: Jabalpur’s Cynic Bliss Pump in the Grooves on Second EP

Cynic Bliss – Prakash Gupta, Palash Verma, Kunal Singh, Abhijeet Chourey and Ralice Anthony (from left). Photo: Prasoon Singh

[easyreview cat1title = “Lost In Heaven” cat1rating = 3.5 cat1detail = Self-released]

Central India’s metal scene has been gaining prominence entirely on its own over the last two years, with bands such as Indore groove metallers Zero Gravity and Bhopal death metallers Elemental leading the way in attracting national recognition. While Zero Gravity released their debut album Holocaust Awaits last year and Elemental are readying their own debut Creation Of The Damned for about a year now, Jabalpur metalcore band Cynic Bliss have been making all the right moves to put their music out there ”“ from shooting a music video to roping in producers such as Ashwin Shriyan [from extreme metallers Demonic Resurrection and prog metal band The Minerva Conduct] and Adhiraj Singh [from experimental metal band Noiseware] and now, releasing their second EP Lost In Heaven in two years. 

While their relentlessly melodic first single “Desiccated’ was recorded by producer Onkar Tarland e, Cynic Bliss recruited Delhi-based Rohan Daniel from Sidechain Audio and prog metal band Immoral Values to record four more tracks. Lost In Heaven, a follow-up record to 2014’s Never Ending Conundrum is certainly a much more polished, mature metalcore sound that’s tailored for fans of leading American bands such as August Burns Red and As I Lay Dying, as well as Australia’s Parkway Drive ”“ it’s groove-based modern metal with a nod towards prog and djent. While vocalist Prakash Gupta shows off a bit of his growling range on “Clemency” and “Maze,” drummer Palash Verma holds down crushing riffs from the band’s guitarists Ralice Anthony, Kunal Singh and bassist Dikesh Chandel. It’s only their title track which borrows a bit too heavily from their influences, offering nothing too fresh save for a lead section that appears at the end. 

That said, if you’re a fan of modern metal and metalcore, Lost In Heaven is a must-listen, which puts Cynic Bliss in the same space as breakdown-heavy metal bands such as Reverse Polarity. There’s still some growing to do for Cynic Bliss’s sound, but they’re well on their way. 

Key tracks: “Clemency,” “Desiccated” 

Listen to Lost In Heaven here