Review Summary: Atmospheric Black Metal from India
Cosmic Infusion is a long-running Black Metal band from Mumbai and its outermost regions. It’s been around since a decade, even though it seemingly disbanded in the middle. Its live shows always held promise, although much of the dynamics were lost because of incompetent sound. It was always too noisy or unclear or both. Now that it has released an album, recorded taking pains that it all sounds well, the experience is something different, unmatched.
It’s essentially a Symphonic Black Metal band rooted in the sounds of ‘Anthems to the Welkin at Dusk’ era Emperor but it’s so tastefully done, it brings early Nokturnal Mortum to mind – which is the best comparison I could give. There are elements of ‘Eld’ era Enslaved and all, what with the clean vocals and focus on instrumentation than mere keyboard drama – other wannabe Symphonic bands take note.
The production is fantastic. The keyboards permeate the music as opposed to being just a dimension to the music; at the same time, it doesn’t overwhelm the listener. That’s why, despite there being a lot of keyboards, it’s fitting because it’s beautifully done. It’s done with the intention of creating an atmosphere than a contrived effort at creating a mystical aura. Instead of trying to be that, the band uses it for atmosphere that goes hand-in-hand with the music which is progressive and not sticking to the conventional Black Metal riffing. Drums are recorded using a human, which is noteworthy because that should be the norm for all Indian releases, despite whatever challenges. Because of this, the album sounds natural, the way it should, and not synthetic.
The music is not simplistic and is layered with different moods and variations. The five songs on this EP last over 30 minutes and there’s a wealth of good moments here, some very memorable ones as well. In comparison to its counterparts, Cosmic Infusion isn’t breaking any barriers, but it’s very good at what it’s doing, at par with the late ‘90s European Black Metal bands which is a backhanded compliment because it’s right up there in terms of quality albeit sounding dated.
This self-titled EP by Cosmic Infusion is the best India has to offer where Black Metal is concerned. It does a far better job than most international bands peddling in this style, mistaking atmosphere for drama.
