Hyderabadi death/thrash metal outfit ‘Godless’ released their maiden LP ‘States of Chaos’ on the 19th of November. The five-member group has stormed onto the indie metal soundscape with great aplomb showcasing their explosive and unfaltering rendition of the death metal genre, mixing it with recognizable traits of thrash metal and their own ingenuity to win the hearts and commendations of hard-core metal fans all around the world.
‘States of Chaos’ features 9 tracks that delve into the multifarious levels of our dreamscapes, the psychological disquiet and the terrors that haunt us in our subconscious. The band delivers on the ominous and portentous nature of the album through fast-paced, intense tracks that arrest the attention of the listeners from the get go. The band used different locations and studios to record particular instruments and aspects of the album, the engineering being spearheaded by the group’s very own Abbas Razvi. The group employed the services of the Hertz Studio in Poland, responsible for bringing the vicious sounds of metallers like Behemoth and Vader, to provide their LP with the added punch with the studio’s mixing and mastering capabilities and heritage. The heightening sense of unrest sprinkled all over the tone of this album has been perfectly visualized in the artwork delivered by New Salem.
Since its inception back in 2015, Godless has seen a gradual and much deserved rise in recognition and relevance in the Indian independent music arena. After finding the ingress point through the traditional forms of metal, the band perfected their own unique sound over the course of their first two EP releases that showcased their blend of death and thrash metal elements that pay homage to the greats that heralded these genres into the world of music. With their latest release, the band returns with a furious implementation of their personal concoction of a thrash-death metal blend that elevates both the genres to a new height. It is a testament to the skill and ingenuity of each of the members all brought together in a stunning coherence. The album jumpstarts in terms of tempo right from the beginning and speed and ferocity of their sound is sustained till the very end, keeping the listeners reeled in and glued to the journey. There is a plethora of classic yet unique elements one would expect to find in a frenzied LP such as this in the form of impressive break-downs, trouncing riffs and striking blast beats accompanied with an apprehending growl from the vocals that seals in the entire experience. The band released a music video for the lead single ‘Netherworld’ which, according to the band, “speaks of a person trapped in a world between worlds – slowly losing his grip on sanity, making peace with the fact that he may never break free from it”.
In its short time of existence, Godless has proven to be one of the frontrunners among the Indian metal acts, consistently winning the admiration of fans and enthusiasts of the genre and their appearance in the Wacken Open Air, considered to be the mecca for metal bands the world over, corroborates that fact. A truly stunning combination of five talented musicians bringing an unexampled rendition of the genre, Godless would be an act to follow closely in the coming years.
