Growling at the Sun
Introduction and Foreword (Coming soon)
3. Thieves
5. Blessings and Curses
6. The Alpha Male
7. Goa Magic
I first heard Hecate Enthroned years ago when I was starting out as a musician who was becoming increasingly attracted to the more extreme side of metal. The band was interesting back then, and Upon Promethean Shores (Unscriptured Waters), the album I gave those listens to, would at the most be a fun listen now. 2014 fast coming to an end, I couldn’t not listen to Hecate Enthroned‘s latest album and looked forward to the cheesiness and to seeing how this band from my early times had grown.
‘Thrones of Shadow’ begins with a typical symphonic Black Metal intro (this is never a complaint from me; ‘typical’ is just fine if done correctly), and to my utter disbelief George Fisher’s growls emanate from the speakers along with the opening riff which is out-and-out OSDM, and the song is then made to go Black Metal, synths and screams.
This is Hecate Enthroned wanting to stay Black Metal, but influences have strange ways of revealing themselves and the desire to do new things rarely remains hidden. The odd Thrash Metal riff here, and another OSDM riff there, but it’s largely the Corpsegrinder-style growling out of place in this setting. Virulent Rapture is defiantly Black Metal for most part, though – agreeable because of its kosher approach to (cheesy) Black Metal – and it’s the Black Metal sections that delight.
Listen to the title track and you’ll mistake it for a Cannibal Corpse song. So here’s the problem: I love Cannibal Corpse, but I don’t want a Black Metal (or Death Metal) band to sound exactly like another band. It’s cool that Hecate Enthroned can do it (because of the vocalist), but this is the kind of blunder that robs a band of its true identity.
Virulent Rapture could have been a terribly enchanting album from Hecate Enthroned.
RATING: 2.5/5
Review: Deicide – In The Minds Of Evil
Download: In The Name Of Satan
Download: The Darkness Of Being
(Satan must be pleased as punch.)
Deicide‘s 2013 album In the Minds of Evil has the band delivering a work that befits their status as the undisputed kings of Satanic Death Metal. Indeed, this new album is far superior to their last few works (with the exception of The Stench of Redemption). On the very first listen you can hear how inspired these dudes are sounding; this is the sort of music I expect from Deicide.
A beast tamer than Deicide and nowhere as chaotic as Legion, In the Minds of Evil is a beast nevertheless, and sits comfortably between Once Upon the Cross and Serpents of the Light. This Deicide album has atonal as well as melodic soloing, and nobody seems to be missing the Hoffman brothers a lot. Kevin Quirion and Jack Owen have superb Death Metal riffing going on here, and it would’ve sounded sharper with the bass lower. The solos get 
more fun as the album plays on, and there’s a groove to In the Minds of Evil, possibly Owen getting nostalgic about Cannibal Corpse, and that’s great for us. I’d be ecstatic if they went all CC on us with the next album; Benton bellowing over grooves of that kind would be something, besides a nice change.
Steve Asheim’s drumming is better than ever; it’s as if the seasoned drummer is giving you a best-of performance. Glen Benton is finally, at long last, sounding hateful. Deicide without hatred isn’t Deicide, and even though Glen has been pissed off long enough at God, his son Jesus and Christianity to still be pissed off at them, it is necessary for the old boy to be angry enough for Deicide to sound like they will wring your neck, and he’s even doing more than his “fuck your god” routine after so long. Benton’s still saying the same thing, only he remembers he can say it even more interestingly.
Deicide‘s In the Minds of Evil is a headbanger’s delight.
RATING: 4/5
Devdutt’s Review: Amon – Liar In Wait | Aditya’s Review: Deicide – To Hell With God
DOWNLOADS: Solar Deity’s Devil Worship | Solar Deity’s The Darkness Of Being | Solar Deity’s Snowless | Solar Deity’s In The Name Of Satan
SOLAR DEITY to destroy United 21, Thane during Black Metal Krieg III
A hodgepodge of a film, Bullett Raja is neither a comedy nor a serious action thriller. It doesn’t give you a dose of drama, and it certainly doesn’t deliver what it promises. If you go for this movie expecting to be entertained, you’re in for a rude shock, unless your idea of entertainment is seeing for yourself how Tigmanshu Dhulia has made the first goof of his career. Jimmy Shergill and the three-four other actors who are cast in almost all of Tigmanshu Dhulia’s movies act because it’s what they have to do, because it comes to them naturally. Bullett Raja, however, stars Saif Ali Khan – a Bollywood star who’s been attempting these type of roles to create his place as one of the heroes of the masses, and Sonakshi Sinha – a fat chick who acts the exact same way in all her movies. Saif Ali Khan falls badly here. This isn’t the role he was waiting for, and he’s worse than ever at convincing you that he’s playing a character and has been horribly miscast as Raja Mishra (let’s never get into this film’s story), while Sonakshi is … fat. It’s hard to believe this is a Tigmanshu Dhulia film. Bullett Raja is by far the worst movie I have seen in a very long time, with two brain-dead composers providing songs it didn’t need. The story is so absurd that you have to watch the movie to believe it, and I certainly don’t have time to take you from one scene to another the way the plot takes you from one city to another. Save the very few funny one-liners, there is absolutely no reason to go for this film. Jimmy Shergill and the others who know how to act must be feeling incredibly stupid. Bullett Raja is a hamfest that had me chuckling; at no point can you take Tigmanshu Dhulia’s shot at mainstream success seriously.
RATING: 1/5
By PRAYAG ARORA-DESAI
Several weeks ago I received a text message from Aditya Mehta saying “Six beers want to be reviewed by you”. Today I drank the last of those six beers, and so it is that my journey with Britain’s oldest brewery comes to an end – for now. Welcome to this; the concluding chapter of my boozy chronicle, in which I do what I do best. No prizes for guessing.
Our subject today is Shepherd Neame’s Master Brew – “The Local Hero” is what it says on the label. Of the six I’ve tried, this one seems to be the least traditionally inspired of Shepherd Neame’s beers. There are no tales of war and pilgrimage, no timeworn recipes, no antiquity by virtue of which you could hand this to a fellow drinker and say “Drink it for the context, motherfucker!” Judging by Shepherd Neame’s own standards, I’m a little disappointed at the history, or lack thereof, that underscores this particular brew.
As a drink, though, Master Brew is perfectly satisfying. It’s a gorgeous thing to look at, in its light amber colouring and foamy head, which sizzles as it rises to meet the rim of your glass. The aroma contains a distinct, hoppy crispness followed by a kaleidoscopic hit of malts, bread and rich toffee. These notes follow through on the palate in the same exact order, followed by an unsuspecting dash of citrus which leaves behind a bitterness akin to the typical English ale. The aftertaste will take a while to develop, and does not go well with toothpaste the next morning.
In the final analysis, Master Brew is as straightforward an English ale as I have drunk recently. It’s not pushing any boundaries, or developing any new flavours. Still, I salute the dudes over at Shepherd Neame; if not for anything else, then for at least being able to recreate the beauty of your staple English ale. It certainly counts for something in a world ruled by Kingfisher and Corona and Budweiser and all that other mediocre crap.
Here’s what I got in the mail this morning. Somebody who used to buy all the merchandise put out by Indian doom-death metal band Dying Embrace, set his favourite t-shirt of the Bangalore band on fire. This was his way of protesting against Dying Embrace’s vocalist Vikram Bhat’s unbelievably childish behaviour, which seems to have grown since the act made its comeback three years ago. Many claim Vikram Bhat’s struggle for power in Bangalore’s underground metal scene and his high-handedness stem from insecurity and jealousy. Below the slideshow is what the sender of the email had to say.
Hello, Aditya. Hope you had a look at the pictures, I would like you to publish them on your blog. The pictures, as you can see are of me burning the Dying Embrace t-shirt. Now, of course, if you decide to publish them, a proper justification would be expected from my side, as to why I did it and the other main question, why do I choose to keep my identity anonymous.
The post that was published on 4th Nov 2013 has created quite a stir judging from the comments and reactions. Almost all of the accusations against Vikram Bhatt/Bangalore Doom Syndicate are right. I don’t want to come across as a know-it-all but even before the post was published, I knew many of the things that have been exposed in the comment section. I’m just a person like you who takes his metal
seriously. For me and of course for almost everyone out there, metal is more than just a form of entertainment.
Keeping that in mind, when people like Vikram Bhat who are mediocre musicians, decide to wreck the future of many other bands by creating a monarchist system, it’s infuriating.
I’m not a big supporter/fan of his band, especially after listening to the the terrible vocals in the live renditions of the songs. Buying the t-shirt of the band was a mistake, especially during the time when only a few tracks of the band were available online to be heard. When such people claim to be ‘elite’ and try inflicting this belief on each and everyone around them, I’m not the one to take it, and this is my way of saying that I have lost all respect not only for the frontman but for his band too.
Now there’s hatred, pure hatred. The way Vikram Bhat and Bangalore Doom Syndicate express their views through sharp words and actions, this is my way of giving it back to them – my actions to express my views.
If this post gets published, I’m quite sure 60% of the people will have views that’ll be against my expression and actions, 30% might be supportive and 10% won’t care and take it as entertainment. It’s alright with me, to each is own. To the lot who would actually care about this episode, I think this entire note from me is more or less enough to clear any doubts.
Now, why do I choose to keep my identity anonymous? I’ll try to be as clear as possible here: How does my face or my name even matter here, I don’t want any recognition, nor do I want to be in the line of any questions; these act is an expression of my views and thoughts and I’m not here to inflict them on others at all. You can choose to ignore them all together.
The burden of doom has been burnt.
CLICK HERE TO READ THE INTERVIEW THAT HAS SHOCKED THE ENTIRE INDIAN EXTREME METAL UNDERGROUND SCENE
