Artist: Rectified Spirit
Album: Rectified Spirit
Label: Independent
Release Date: 28th December, 2012
Rectified Spirit was formed in August 2005 by guitarist Samudragupta Dutta and bassist Himangshu Borah when they discovered a common love for metal. The band came about when Samudragupta saw the words ‘Rectified Spirit’ on a bottle at a hospital where he had taken his mother for treatment. The band started performing at various local shows but after a few years of being active in the circuit the band disbanded around 2009. Samudragupta Dutta and Himangshu Borah reformed the band again in the year 2011 with guitarist and long term friend of both, Imtiyaz Alam. With newly associated vocalist Rainjong Lepcha and drummer Nishant Hagjer the band started performing again in the active metal circuit of their hometown. The band has spent the better part of the last 2 years writing and recording their self-titled debut album. The album represents the almost seven year journey of the band overcoming all the obstacles and making their musical dream of an album a reality.
The band takes influences from all the different genres of heavy metal and is in the perennial cycle of evolving their individual style with an absolutely liberal approach and without any genre restrictions. The cite the metal legends like Black Sabbath, Deep Purple Iron Maiden etc as their musical influences as well as more modern artists like Meshuggah, Born Of Osiris and Periphery.
The current line-up is:
Rainjong Lepcha – Vocals; Samudragupta Dutta – Guitars; Imtiyaz Alam – Guitars; Himangshu Borah – Bass; Nishant Hagjer – Drums
I’ll come straight to the point; these guys are the next big thing in Indian Metal Scene. They have the experience, the right mind-set and to top it all, they know exactly what they want to do. Their sound is unique, very unique. Songs like To Hold a Sabre, Blood Rush, The Magician’s Birthday, Vengeance and Mother have that 80’s era feel. The riffs and the vocals remind one of Iron Maiden or Judas Priest.
Rainjhong has a very limited range when it comes to growls, but makes up for it with his superior clean vocals. His high pitched vocal delivery reminds me of Bruce Dickinson’s trademark fire siren vocals. The only other person, who I know can do that, in India, is Biprorshee from Albatross. In a time when every other person growls his or her lungs out, Rainjhong shows there is still hope for clean vocals. The song Paradigm Lost is an example of that. Rainjhong shows his vocal prowess throughout, not a single bad patch there.
The compositions of the tracks have been chalked out really well. Along with classic tracks like The Magician’s Birthday and Vengeance, tracks like There Is No Tomorrow and Where the Ashes Fell incorporate break downs and fast tempo changes. Bloodrush has an awesome guitar solo, nice composition, clear and crisp notes (something which I would have loved in the solo of To Hold a Sabre).
I have always had a weakness for bass parts; I prefer a clearly distinguishable bass line in a song. I wasn’t disappointed as the bass lines were just the right volume for my liking. Pretty nice bass lines there, not the usual “holding a single note while the guitar does all the work” types. If the guitaring deserves applause for its complexity and composition, the bass deserves the same for filling up the gap between the drums and the guitars. Kudos to Himangshu.
Talking of drums, Nishant is one mad man behind the kit. His double bass kills. His drumming in tracks like To Hold a Sabre and Vengeance can give any pro a run for their money. Total top notch stuff from him.
The recording and mixing is flawless; the guitars, vocals, bass, drums, all mixed to perfection in every aspect. The band has a bright future and is destined to become one of the best in the country. Rectified Spirit maybe India’s answer to a world class International act, which the country lacks producing.
Recommended tracks –
- Bloodrush
- Vengeance
- Paradigm Lost
- The Magician’s Birthday
