By: Richard Maw
Album Type: Full Length
Date Released: 25/03/2016
Label: Independent
A
one man band project, hailing form India... an unusual start for sure, but with
George Kollias guesting on drums this record was always going to be worth
checking out. Overall, I very much enjoyed the heavier elements of this album-
even the metalcore tendencies were well executed and sublimely played and
arranged. The more commercial choruses and ballad sections did not appeal to me
much, but there will be something here for metal fans of all sub-genres. An
interesting record with a very eclectic approach.
“This Burden is Mine” CD//DD track listing:
1). How the Mighty Have Fallen
2). An Unforgiving Truth
3). When the Hope Wither and Dies
4). This Burden is Mine
5). Frail Fallible
6). The Failures of Man
7). Where Worlds End
8). The Last Jester Dance
9). From Rubble and Ruin
The Review:
A
one man band project, hailing form India... an unusual start for sure, but with
George Kollias guesting on drums this record was always going to be worth
checking out. The first track blasts, riffs and manages to turn into a ballad
(?!) over the course of seven minutes of metal. It sets the tone for the rest
of the record. It is an eclectic mixture, that's for sure. Metal, at all times,
but never sticking to one sub-genre for too long. “An Unforgiving Truth”, for
example, strays very close to radio friendly goth tinged metal- with clean
vocal and all. Naturally, it then changes tack to a more death/doom approach
for a bridge and so on. The material features keyboards in the mix, clean and
growled vocals, lead guitar work, some great riffing and, of course, masterful
drumming.
The
changes and kitchen sink approach can be bewildering, but it certainly makes
for an unpredictable record which is full of surprises- the title track is a
maudlin kind of ballad, the kind of which Judas Priest used to write, until the guitars
inevitably kick in and the tempo lifts and the track takes on a heavier
approach. The metalcore type riffing of “Frail Fallible” and the rather
overwrought vocals and lyrics are not really my cup of tea, but none of these
elements stick around long enough for it to be a problem. The likes of “Where
Worlds End” is far too commercial sounding for me (and
features horrible synths- to my ears, anyway). Again, though, just around the
next corner is a change or a track that will suit; “From Rubble and Ruin”, for example, is a fine album track that
finishes the record with weight and aggression in the right measures.
Overall,
I very much enjoyed the heavier elements of this album- even the metalcore
tendencies were well executed and sublimely played and arranged. The more
commercial choruses and ballad sections did not appeal to me much, but there
will be something here for metal fans of all sub-genres. An interesting record
with a very eclectic approach.
“This Burden is Mine” is available here
