‘Pride & ecstasy’ surrounds me reviewing Bangalore based Myndsnare. Word ‘Pride’ gets a mention, taking into account their conviction towards music and tenure they have stood for. And ‘Ecstasy’ essentially relates to us featuring their subsequent release at METALINDIA. . Last upload was from another Bangalore outfit, Kryptos- ‘The ark of Gemini’.
Myndsnare with ‘Conditioned: Human’ seem to have a purpose to de-wax your eardrums. Although, Kryptos have a definite edge as they have recorded & released 2 albums in comparison to Myndsnare’s NOW debut. This aspect is worth considering similar years of existence for both bands.
When I received ‘Conditioned Human’, my anticipation from it was quite low, primarily because of couple of strong reasons 1 .Considering my low empathy towards their feeble guitar tone & vocal delivery during their LIVE performances & 2. Unpardonable sub-standard sound offered on the 3 song EP ‘A Preliminary quest’.
The above perspective completely changes as soon as I tear upon the cover; the inlay is rich in production & just shade below a futuristic ‘Fear Factory’ inlay (Hehe!). Start spinning ‘Changing skins’ KP’ showcases vocals a touch above his regular aggressive pitch. This song rolls the momentum for the things to follow. In terms of structure it’s sprinting, sharp and progressive in nature. Up tempos and single rhythm harmonization with a gentle bass under current is one of its kinds from the Indian soil. The band does best to assimilate together the world of ‘Exodus’ and ‘Death’ (of mid 90’s).The turbulence of slam-skid is arrangement is well maintained over the snare and base drum by the female drum prodigy ‘yasmin’.The lead playing after the first minute (on changing skins) paves way for a sober and radical approach & doesn’t miss the vibe of true thrash. ‘Use the pain'(track 2) has a certain set of sadistic, and groaning stench that’s released like bullet from the barrel during the fast parts and yet at the same time its got a dark anguish somewhere down below. All this can also be attributed to the lyrics like ‘Use the same old pain, The morning stars burns, Bring in the night sky, Keep your head up, Details pass you by’.Gradullly leaning into ‘Alter Ego'(number 3 on the album) one of Myndsnare’s popular songs, it’s kind’f a hovercraft that lifts up at stupendous speeds and yet remains so subtle during slower rhythmic parts, its very lashy,beaty and punchy simultaneously which is a compliment for them considering history of inability to bring together the 3 above-mentioned words. Title track ‘Conditioned Human’ has a ferocious snare work and then catches some grove during central section, moving into some persistent whammy complimented lead playing, and then gets back to its original pace and that makes it enjoyable as it displays a distinct control This is worth mentioning as the strength of the band, because on most occasions most progressive thrash bands might lose the whole essence & frame of their foundation.
‘Temporal movements’ is a head banger’s song, marching with all guns blazing it gets into a typical ‘Sodom’ zone, where the band seems pressing all buttons of aggression, and the heavy metal solo is very catastrophic and gives the sense of listening to a total thrash song(it’s little less progressive unlike other songs). ‘Layers of hypocrisy’ and ‘Visionary realism’ swing around German thrash of late 80’s, on both the songs I feel vocal tone could have been slightly thicker to make the effect superlative annihilation in nature.
‘Within a mind: mis-shapen’catches the best of ‘Yas’ on the drums, thunderstruck double bass and change-over to single paddle is highly appreciable on this one. The final nail in the coffin is provided by ‘Mirror of nothingness’ the strongest contender of being my favorite track from the album (it’s still a toss between with this & ‘alter ego’),I love this one because it catches the totality of progressive thrash myndsnare stand for, I leave you at this for you to decide the other goodness’s of the track.
WOOH! Myndsnare turn my expectations upside down with this wonderful release. Let me warn you about 2 things. Number 1, It’s a little ahead of its times and it takes 3 spins before it starts growing onto you. It took me 3 spins to conclude how indispensable this CD is in my collection. Your choice now!