Indian Handcrafts – Empress In Decline
Self released – 2022
Rock, Metal, Noise, Garage, Punk, Sludge, Stoner, Psych
Rated: *****
It’s there once again. I talked about it with Diamond PR from The Same River; but seeing it in writing on the Indian Handcrafts bandcamp page shows that the feeling is global. Cause Right before the world grinded to a halt, the Indian Handcrafts three invited producer Toshi Kasai to their filthy basement recording studio named The Bethlab. There they would go on to make one of the strongest and fiercest statements about the human condition and the state of our civilization, one that is without any doubt in anyone’s mind, struggling. “The name Empress In Decline came about during the pandemic. When we were on shut down and looking at mortality on a global level, we felt it was representative of the time and what the planet had been going through for years with climate change, civil disobedience, and everyone at each other’s throats.” And there’s nothing political about those statements, it’s universal and it’s brought with fury and fire and a whole lot of sludge and noise. But all that ruckus is so layered and with so much progressive dissonance, you can spin this endlessly and till infinity and you will still discover new stuff. The record immediately starts off with an amazing smash and grab track called Bait And Switch; relentless grinding bass work by the new addition to the Indian Handcrafts clan called Leland Burmania. The fact they took this cat on board, opens up so much of the structuring for the other two. Four minutes long the opener begins with this scary computerized bit before the drums start their short build up, and then the ruthless attack begins! It’s kamikaze time! And it will immediately get your blood pumping and make the adrenaline shoot out of your ears. O’ man, that vocal work by the three of them after the half time mark, amazing! And if that first track doesn’t crush you into submission, it will surely happen with the following track Criminal. Opening with that double guitar, those drums, setting you up for a proper lift off. And fly you shall! Alarming! Alarms! Rapid dominance is what Indian Handcrafts is all about on this record. The perfect transition into third track Crisis Breeder is definitely not felonious but absolutely magic! Four minutes and forty seconds, that second part, with its searing and chafing guitar, those layered pushed back vocals, that massive machinal bass, pulverizing everything to a mash. Stunning! Title track Empress In Decline will shock and awe! And in fact, the entire record does, overwhelming, spectacular, and simply brilliant!
(Written by JK)
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