New Music: From Kerala Thrash Metal to Kolkata Post-Rock

Arms To Death by Amorphia

If you’ve always associated the city of Alappuzha with backwaters, thrash metallers Amorphia are here to dispel that notion. Although regulars on the metal circuit since 2013, their debut album Arms To Death is a quintessential thrash bruiser, punctuated by piercing harmonics, ultra-fast riffage and solid rhythm in eight tracks. It may not be too lyrically adventurous, but the three-member band are in full force for a debut album.

Retrograde by La Brise

All that frustration from settling for college competitions when you ought to be playing club shows isn’t going to waste in Chennai. Garage, punk rock and grunge come together on La Brise’s debut album Retrograde. They play with dissonance, chunky riffs (“In Denial”) and walk the line between happy punk rock (“D.S.V.,” “Cindy, the Devil”) and destructive melodies (“Like a Foe.”)

Rainbow Decay by Fluro and Rogue Atari

Bengaluru-based producer Priyanka Sudhir aka Fluro teams up with vocalist and all-round experimentalist Ari Jayaprakash aka Rogue Atari for three tracks which are mind-bendingly seething and sinister. Rainbow Decay starts with the haunting “Nightshift,” featuring Jayaprakash’s low, gruff delivery, before descending into a pulsing beat over multiple voices on “Waiting” and closes with the trip-hop leaning “Casablanca Midnight Express.”

“Take Care” by Shores of Orion

Take Care by Shores of Orion

Kolkata-based guitarist and producer Parijat Chakraborty aka Shores of Orion takes the best parts of ambient acts such as Hammock and the emotional crux of post-rock band Explosions in the Sky to create a cinematic, dusk-hued sound on his new single “Take Care,” an addition to his recently released album The Courage of Stars.

Banda Ban Jah by Snorting Jatts

Ludhiana rockers Snorting Jatts have all things Punjabi down pat on their debut EP Banda Ban Jah, which is as headstrong as you expect. In four tracks that dip in and out of angst, endearment and love, the band brings rock ”˜n roll energy (“Ghumda Reha”), prog finesse (“Qatil”), lovelorn ballad poetry (“Dil Ch Vasaya”) and heavy riffs (“Banda Ban Jah”).

Meteors in Ascent by The Pulse Theory

Bengaluru prog band The Pulse Theory rope in New Delhi-based producer Keshav Dhar for their debut collection of songs, Meteors in Ascent. Although vocals can tend to disinterest, the real strong point remains the band’s cerebral songwriting, wiry melodies tangled up with shimmering keyboard lines and the occasional breakdown. The band will launch the EP on May 17th at Hard Rock Cafe, Bengaluru.