Once again Transcending Obscurity will introduce an Indian Extreme Metal band to the worldwide scene, after, for example, Toxoid, Chaos, Gypsy, Orion or Halahkuh (distributed via Transcending Obscurity or released via Transcending Obscurity India). Also neighbor countries such as Bangladesh (Morbidity) and Nepal (Dying Out Flame) have been promoted in mean time. And there is much more to come, apparently! For all acts mentioned: check this site for reviews recently posted, or reviews that will be updated soon.
Anyway… India and Metal, it isn’t (or better wasn’t, since Kunal gloriously penetrated our Western World) such logical combination, but in this band’s case, it’s even more odd to notice that the growls are done by a woman (Kratika Bagora). That’s probably why some media call them the ‘Indian Arch Enemy’.
This quintet, hailing from the city of Indore, started in 2012, and Holocaust Awaits is their first official release. It’s a nice combination of Thrash and death Metal, generally seen, with quite some retro-aspects, yet without being old fashioned either. It holds the middle in between modernistic technics (a track like Democratic Warfare simply defines what I want to say) and primal structures, with quite some goodwill from these guys and girl. When it comes to that ‘girl’, Kratika, then I cannot but mention that she certainly is one of the best female growlers I’ve heard in quite a long time. Okay, there are many chicks that growl, grunt, scream, gurgle or whatever with a conviction and quality that makes many male colleagues shrimp into nothingness, but this one surely kicks…
When it comes to 1) variation, 2) originality, and 3) technical excellence, Zero Gravity does not reach the highest regions (not yet). I guess they dwell somewhere in the middle of the spectrum. What the result sounds like is quite acceptable, but it needs more, eh, well, more of everything. An own face, some outstanding excerpts, more variation, and so on – there is something missing, despite quite some good intentions. Most of the (especially guitar- and vocals-laden) album is all right, but with nothing more, nothing that truly lifts this band up to any higher dimension. But then again, based on tracks like Screaming Agony or the slayer’ish title track, I am convinced that there can be an evolution in such positive sense… They have the skills, so let’s give Zero Gravity the benefit of doubt…