Artist: Xector
EP: Beyond Oblivion
Label: Independent
Recorded and Mixed by: Siddhart Kamath
Release Date: 18th August, 2012
Metal has long been a medium of trying to portray ones feelings, whether it is frustration, love, anger or just a simple message for a cause. Xector is a Metal band, hailing from the self-proclaimed metal city of India – Bangalore. Initially started as Spitfire in 2006 by guitarist – Suhas, the band had to break up due to some problems. After three years with a fresh line-up and with some gained experience and maturity, the band resurfaced as Xector. Late in 2011, the band hit the studios to record their EP – Beyond Oblivion, which was released during Freedom Jam in Bangalore on 18th of August, 2012.
The current line-up for Xector is : –
Ashutosh – Guitars
Suhas N – Guitars
Charan Reddy – Vocals
Parik – Bass Guitar
Arjun Nechiyil – Drums
The EP, Beyond Oblivion, consists of four songs –
Wild Impulse
Shadow of God
Delirium
The Great Sorrow
Wild Impulse is a very fast paced technical track. The first thing that hits you while hearing this song is the vocalist clearly struggling to deliver the vocals. Some work needs to be done on the technique because in some parts the vocals are terrible to say the least. Coming to the other aspects of the song, drumming has been super tight as well as the guitaring. Though, I would personally prefer the bass to be a little high on the song.
Shadow of God is more of a Power Metal composition. Even here there are issues with the vocals, it simply doesn’t fit in with the music, a heavier, more reverberated sound would compliment the music well. Guitaring is again top class, along with the drumming. The machine gun riffs and double bass drumming are fused to total perfection. The bass is clearly better in this track, with the thump hitting you hard like the drums.
Delirium and The Great Sorrow are basically one song in two parts. Delirium starts off with an eerie psychedelic intro which paves way for a dark-middle eastern scale riff. The main riff has a slow, really dark thrash sound with the vocals trying to match up with the riff. For the first time, the vocals seem to be matching with the music and though the high pitched notes still have some compatibility issues. Tight drumming and guitar work as usual. The song ends with a psychedelic outro which then transforms into a melodic/power metal riff, and The Great Sorrow begins. This track is in my opinion the best in the whole EP in terms of musicality. The intensity makes one headbang and run into the moshpit. The drumming is killer, Arun’s legs must have been on some narcotics, crazy stuff to say the least. The guitar solo, a chaotic melody of morse coded tapping gives rise to the part from 4:15 to 4:44 which is undoubtedly the best part in the whole EP where one literally travels into another dimension, hypnotised and hallucinating uncontrollably.
To wrap it up, Charan needs to focus on his vocal range. Maybe a change in technique or adding a little reverb and delay to the vocals can help. And the intensity of the vocals is missing clearly, that has to be worked on during live performances. Guitaring and Drumming have a very tight relationship, no complains in that area. Arjun is a beast behind the drum kit. The bass does need a little more space; I felt it was slightly left out.
Final Verdict – The EP is like a brand new car. It has all the machinery one needs to be on the road, but lacks the horse-power to be a monster drag racer. Some level of fine-tuning is required and then they’ll be good enough for the big race. But before taking the big step I would advise them to work on their songs a little, because you can have a car, but you can’t drag race until you know how to drive it properly.
Best wishes to Xector for the future. Hoping to hear more from them. Cheers!
