Jyotiṣavedāṅga - Thermogravimetry Warp Continuum LP (Larval Productions)

Jyotiṣavedāṅga is the confluence of some of the most warped and extreme minds in the current Metal underground of the Oriental side of the globe. It actually makes a lot of sense to find a gathering of such musicians, despite the distance of thousands of kilometers between the places of origin of their four members. I'm speaking about Sadist (Deathmoor, SS-18, Goatpsalm, Tetragrammacide) from Stavropol, Horth (Sickrites) from Azov, AR (Banish) from Kolkata in India and Dimitry Kim (Sickrites, Goatpsalm, Do Skonu) from Ukraine. 

​I missed these guys debut, '​Cannibal Coronal Mass Ejections', when it came out, despite the great comments I read about them (as also happened with other Cyclopean Eye releases I'd like to have a listen to now). I probably didn't give them too much attention because, despite I have a real appreciation for the most bestial and noisy sounds in the extreme Metal genre, I also find quite a bunch of bands excusing their lack of ideas and musicianship into adjectives such as chaotic, noisy or bestial, so I tend to tread more or less secure ground and stick to the bands/labels I more or less know about. But it was a mistake in this case. Obviously, one thing I missed was who was filling the ranks of this new beast, as that would have changed my focus quite easily, given that Sickrites is, next to Pseudogod, the absolute best the Russian scene has offered in the last decade, and 'Irreverent Death Megaliths' is a real monster. 

Anyways, when I saw Larval Productions would take care of this release, I was even more convinced on the need to check it, as their roster is, despite its small scale, very well envisioned and focused on some of the best acts of the most savage Metal sub-genre. And actually, on a first and superficial approach, Jyotiṣavedāṅga have everything you could expect/desire from the standard Bestial Black/Death Metal sound. You know, chaotic and grinding blasting shots of diabolical savagery in a monumental wall of sound and noise: low-tuned guitars flagellating you like razors, growling possessed vocals and high-bpm'ed blastbeating drums.

They definitely share something in common with bands such as the first Bestial Raids and Axis of Advance, Conqueror, Blasphemophagher ... Maybe their sound has a slightly more Death Metallized edge than most of the bands they are related to in terms of style, that could sometimes remind of early Incantation in a more grinding form (something like a simpler version of Impetuous Ritual maybe?). ​I can even hear some slightly more modern riffing in one or two of the songs on this records that come close to some SickRites ideas or made me think about a faster (early) Bölzer.

And still, there's even more to grasp behind that first layer pure extreme Metal. Their compositions are quite rich and varied, tending to that raw and savage blasting chaos, but also compensating it with some more atmospheric synth layered parts. There also some details that distance them from the more orthodox bands in their style. They have some weird or slightly different ideas on how to handle topics like atmosphere and ambience. Starting by introducing ambient-like passages through keyboard fields in between the tracks, which could bring them closer to the pure Black Metal genre or even to the Dark Ambient scene (although mentioning Darkspace amidst their influences might be slightly excessive). 

But, most importantly, by overloading their already extremely intense shots with small doses of extreme (Power) Electronics that give an extra twist of density and chaos to their already very brutal sound. ​Although they have definitely taken some distance from the rawer and pure noisy/crazy approach that brought them comparisons to bands such as Nyogthaeblisz, Konflict or the first Tetragrammacide record.

​Quite an interesting debut from a band whose main strength is actually their potential that is yet to be explored. And one of those records you can play over and over and, despite its intensity. never get bored of it. It actually became excessively short every time I listened to it, and I'm not simply speaking about it's almost 28 minutes of playing time.

www.larvalproductions.com