New Metal: Prog Metal From Goa And Experimental Metal From Kochi

“Canyons” by Feeding In Atlantis

(from left) Rahul Rao, Kadesh D’Souza, Odin de Sa, Jairaj Joshi and Aaron Braganza. Photo: courtesy of the artist

It’s been nearly a year since Goa prog metal band Feeding In Atlantis released a cracker of a debut single called “The Firefly,” and guitarist Odin de Sa says it’s mainly due to band members’ other commitments. This week, they release their latest single “Canyons,” which includes beatdowns, ambient synth portions and some mind-baffling fretplay from de Sa that’s probably signature Feeding In Atlantis. Produced, mixed and mastered by Danish engineer Simon Ottzen, “Canyons” includes another female vocalist ”“ UK-based Nitika Kumar. Says the guitarist about what fans can expect next, “We have decided that a maximum of five songs to be released off [EP] Sustaining the Kraken. We might drop off another song by June or the entire EP.”

Sorbere Bestia Intra by Beastial Murder

(from left) Vivek Kanavillil, Rahul Raj, Nikhil Dominic and Chris Paul. Photo: Courtesy of the artist

Four-member experimental band Beastial Murder from Kochi was formed in 2008. The band teamed up with producer Vivek Thomas [vocalist of Kerala rock veterans Motherjane] for their debut EP, Sorbere Bestia Intra. While they released a lyric video for the song “Kill Your Idol” late last year, the just-released four-track Sorbere Bestia Intra clearly takes its influence from the likes of Swedish prog metallers Meshuggah, complete with pummelling grooves.

Beyond Forgotten Shores by Dormant Inferno and Dionysus

Dormant Inferno. Photo: Courtesy of Transcending Obscurity India

Few Indian bands can make doom as calm yet haunting as Mumbai band Dormant Inferno, who have been a part of the underground metal scene since 2009. While they had a demo out in 2010 called In Sanity, the band’s most expansive work comes in the double-disc split CD Beyond Forgotten Shores with their friends from across the border, Lahore-based doom band Dionysus. Released on Indian underground label Transcending Obscurity India, our picks are “Veil of Lunacy” by Dormant Inferno and the blistering, melodic “Rain” by Dionysus.

“The Carnage of Godhra” by Heathen Beast

Artwork for ‘The Carnage of Godhra’ by Heathen Beast

There’s very little to be said about black metal band Heathen Beast, mostly because the band remains an anonymous studio-only project started in 2010. With two EPs under their belt, the band have released the first single in three years, the title track “The Carnage of Godhra.” The track, from an EP, questions the motives and people behind the burning of the Godhra train burning, which are said to have sparked off riots in Gujarat in 2002. Everything from recording to member identities continues to be undisclosed. Says the band in an email, “Our production remains the same as our identity: unknown. Everything happens within the Heathen Beast collective. As a band, we are just three entities but it’s a collective that creates the music and everything else.”