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Varying atmospheres, but undoubtedly heavy.-
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| Indian: Guiltless |
Doom Metla, Sludge Metal
Relapse Records
April 12th, 2011
- No Grace - 6:39
- The Fate Before Fate - 4:53
- Guiltless - 8:01
- Guilty - 4:28
- The End of Truth - 5:29
- Supplicants - 2:26
- Benality - 9:03
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| Review Information |
Release length: 40:56
Review posted on April 11th, 2011
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| | Overall Score: 8/10 |
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| Discography |
Discography covers all information available up to day of review and is updated if future albums are reviewed. |
| Full-Length(s): |
The Unquiet Sky (2005) | Slights and Abuse (2007) | The Sycophant (2008) | Guiltless (2011)
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| EP(s): |
God Slave (2004)
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| Review |
Hailing from Chicago, Illinois, Indian is a five piece Sludge and Doom Metal act that has existed for many years. The group had formed back in 2003, but chances are good many in the Metal universe are unaware of the band's existence outside their hometown. With the release of their fourth full-length effort, Guiltless, all that is going to change, as the band finds a new home with Relapse Records. The raw and slow-paced Sludge Metal produced by this band is undeniably heavy and will strike a chord on many levels to fans of this style, but aside the more notable label now backing them up, does this group have what it takes to further along their already established fan base?
One thing that the Sludge and Doom styles are pretty much always going to give the listener is heavy, crushing music, especially when they are both joined together. Indian delivers this nicely. Guiltless takes a somewhat raw production quality to the music, and a heavy distortion on the vocals that enhances the screams to make them sound a little more inhuman and menacing. The band's ability to throw some melodic chords in here and there, such as about three minutes into "The Fate Before Fate" really shows some nice dexterity from the band, but what really works best for them overall is the slow, Doomey Sludge Metal they play.
It's pretty hard to pick out certain songs on here, as they are all about the same intensity, but the one thing that stands out is the variety of speed on here, which does wind up being minimally different at times, but enough to take notice and seriously alter the vibe of the song. The album starts off with a mild mid-tempo Sludge pace that gradually closes on a slower Doom Metal pace, but in the case of the first track, "No Grace", it feels more like it's Droning then anything else. "Guiltless", however, starts off slow, bludgeoning the listener with heavy music that feels like the band is lashing out at you musically, hammering away with chains as the atmosphere of the song plays on the listener's emotions, setting up a hopeless, slave-like feeling that goes with the impression of audio assault with chains and other blunt objects. This atmosphere really pushes this song along from the start, building up intensity thanks to some of the ambient sounds from guitar distortion and feedback that just makes it feel more intense, daring you to skip to the next track in a sense as the vocals continue to scream and gradually feel more like someone commanding you, screaming in your face as it's daring you, but often can feel more like background screams from others that may have been caught in Indian's bludgeoning audio assault.
Sadly, that kind of environment doesn't necessarily exist on each track, but each song does have a good amount of heaviness to it with varying degrees based on the speed of the song. The only other track that genuinely stands out with a unique atmosphere is "Supplicants", which takes on more of a western sound one might expect to hear in a film where they show desolate desert lands and flats, perhaps burial spots rather out of the way from town. It also has a lightly dark sense to it, making it feel like more of something one might expect to see during a hopeless closing scene of the same description, but perhaps out of a film like From Dusk Till Dawn. It's an interesting piece to listen to, and that same atmosphere is carried over to "Belaity", though not quite as western sounding thanks to the guitars now being of a Doom Metal pace and electronic with enough distortion to make them crushing instead of setting a desperate atmosphere to the song, only keeping the general vibe of the region through the sound effects in the background that are similar to "Supplicants". Of course, this does lead to a rather suiting end for the album, slowing down dramatically and just continuing that spiral downwards as far as that goes.
The only downside is that, while the various atmospheres are great and break up the monotony of the album, many just don't feel as heavy as they could be, or they just seem to go on for a good while for no reason, or both. "No Grace" is a fantastic song to start off the album, but eventually the song will start to feel a little drawn out. The atmosphere is strong on this track, but it's not necessarily a vibe that will hold your interest, or even make you feel any way different then some of the other tracks. Out of everything, that's perhaps the most damning for this album, but it doesn't go to say these songs are bad and should be avoided in any sense.
It's clear Indian has not only taken their time with the album, but has definitely matured over the years to become what they want to be. While the album is a solid mixture and performance of Doom Metal and Sludge Metal, there are times where it does start to feel repetitive, or just not that strong atmospherically. However, given the kind of environments the band can set up through their music, there's no doubt the band has the ability to weave together a phenomenal album that will transport the listener though brutal, heavy Sludge and Doom Metal, showing they are a band to keep an eye on. Guiltless does make for a good spin, and you'll more then likely go back periodically to hear it again, so it's still worth checking out.
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Digital review copy of this release provided by:
Relapse Records.
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