Review Summary: A young band from India with a lot of potential put out a credible first release.
Goddess Gagged won't be a name that many of you will have heard, unless you like Protest the Hero (where the band get their name). The 5 piece from Mumbai have gained a lot of domestic attention since the summer, as well as getting a brief mention in UK newspaper The Guardian's feature on upcoming acts around the world. But their album "Resurfaces" has gathered a lot of positive attention from those who have heard it and will do when it is scheduled to become available worldwide in 2012.
The standout in this album is frontman Siddharth Basrur's singing ability, which fits wonderfully with the music. The songs contain a good mixture of aggression and calmness which is present throughout, with tracks such as "Modern Machines" and "Visionary" exemplifying this. The influences of Karnivool and Architects shine through a lot, as does the djent sound that's become so popular in the past year or so.
A couple of faults can be found. The album is very same-y in places, and the breakdowns sometimes seem as if they'd been put in randomly at the last minute (such as the one at the end of "Sink Or Swim"). "Inspire" is probably the weakest song on the album, it struggles to keep my attention throughout and is the only song where I feel the vocals may be a little out of sync with the music, which itself is fairly disjointed. The album closer, "Preliminary Stages of the Master Plan", is also one of the more challenging tracks to keep your attention to, but at the same time does finish the album quite well.
Ignore these faults, though, and the album is truly fantastic for a début from an unsigned band. Despite being fairly repetitive in some areas the music will keep the listener's attention and is a very relaxing progressive metal/post-hardcore album. Album picks: Modern Machines, Visionary, Sink Or Swim.
Goddess Gagged are:
Siddharth Basrur - Vocals
Arman Menzies - Guitar, Vocals
Devesh Dayal - Guitar, Vocals
Krishna Jhaveri - Bass
Jeremy D'souza - Drums
