Heathen Beast, India's leading black metal band, return with yet another scandalous EP containing their strongest material thus far. Delving into the current political scenario in the country, especially the extremist ring-wing agenda of 'Hindutva', this band comprising of anonymous members, feel the need to express themselves using the vicious power of black metal. Traditional instruments are once again employed to give it the topical flavour, from 'Tabla' (Indian drums) and 'Sitar' (Indian stringed instrument) to 'Carnatic violin' (Indian classical instrument) and 'Shankh' (Conch), and the music is charged with a vibe that can be called hair-raising. This is the boldest effort from the whole region, bar none. Heathen Beast may have outdone themselves here, and also put their band members in even more danger with this release. A specially commissioned artwork from legendary US artist Mark Riddick has been made to cover the original band-provided artwork of this release with a slipcase packaging. The original content however remains untouched underneath.
Heathen Beast's previous discography CD/digital album called 'Trident' (all their recorded material!) can be obtained from here -
transcendingobscurityindia.bandcamp.com/album/trident-black-metal
REVIEWS -
- "this is Heathen Beast’s attempt to relentlessly question a system that’s coming apart at the seams" - MTV Indies
- "trademark Heathen Beast rager" - Rolling Stone India
- "the band’s most cohesive and cataclysmic release to date" - The Metal Observer (Canada)
- "terrific!" - XXL Rock (Germany)
- "Utterly essential, as always." - The Killchain (UK)
- "a black metal conflagration of ripping riffs, blazing percussion, and searing shrieks" - No Clean Singing (US)
- "a triumph" - Head-Banger Reviews (US)
- "top of the pile." - Global Metal Apocalypse (UK)
released April 25, 2016