Album Reviews :: Acrid Semblance: SOUL CORROSION EP [INDEPENDENT]

Delhi’s Acrid Semblance have made quite an impact on the Indian metal scene ever since their inception. They are one of the few bands in India, that believe in making music that they believe in, and not just playing covers at rock competitions, for the sake of ‘getting into’ the scene. Very commendable, indeed.

The first thing that strikes you about this five-song EP is the bad production. Since the band has only released this EP as a sort of preview as to what lies in store for their many fans, and not exactly to break sales records, the production could be excused. It does mar some of the songs though. Moving past the production, the next thing you notice is that Acrid Semblance has been heavily influenced by Sweden’s In Flames, and Finland’s Children of Bodom. The band’s sound can pretty much be pigeonholed as a meeting between the two above mentioned bands. Kshitish and Vikas have done a good job on the guitars, and have to be two of the better guitarists around in the Indian metal scene at the moment. And although Anubhav is an excellent keyboardist, I have to say that the keyboard parts on some of the songs could have been much better. Also, I’m not really a big fan on the drumming on this album. I’m being kind when I say that the drum parts are quite ordinary. Maybe the production has harmed the drum sound, but even then, the drum patterns could definitely use some working-upon.

The album kicks off with the emotionally charged “Baptised Within”, one of their more popular songs. “Quest For Spirituality” is apparently the most well-received song from this EP, but it does sound a lot like the In Flames’ hit single “Cloud Connected”. The main riffs in both songs are almost identical. Obviously Acrid hasnt ripped off the riff, “QFS” was composed before “Reroute To Remain” was released. Although “Quest For Spirituality” is very hard to ignore, my pick from the five songs on this album is the final track, “Acrid Semblance”, which I think is a good example of the band’s sound. The lyrics on this EP are impressive as well.

There are rumours of a full length Acrid Semblance album being due for release in a few months’ time, which will contain ten of their best songs, and the recording on that album is apparently going to be ten times better than that on the EP. On the basis of this EP, one can say that Acrid Semblance is definitely not short on talent, and they do have a hell of a lot of potential. They just need to spend a little more time on perfecting their sound (which I’m sure they realise as well). In view of the fact that this EP was mainly released as a sort of promotional tool, I’d say that the band has succeeded remarkably well in getting the message across to rockers across India, and some abroad too, that there is a promising melodic / black metal band in the country. I, for one, will be eagerly waiting for their upcoming full-length release.