Anup Sastry
Bloom


3.5
great

Review

by ramon. USER (54 Reviews)
March 5th, 2016 | 10 replies


Release Date: 2016 | Tracklist

Review Summary: Let the drummer speak for himself.

The enigma of Anup Sastry has never ceased to leave an odd, yet enjoyable taste in my mouth. While most bedroom musicians these days track their latest prog epic into Reaper before installing Superior Drummer, Mr. Sastry takes the reverse approach in his series of solo releases. All drums are played live, and all guitars are programmed. Which is not at all a problem, because the man has both fantastic talent behind the kit, and a brilliant mind for musical composition. While the choice of djenty guitar tone may be off-putting for some, the play style, production, and tone of Bloom really do benefit from the chunky, metallic, sterile approach. Bloom really does seal Anup as one of the most consistent musicians in today's progressive scene.

Bloom doesn't do much to differentiate itself from the sound introduced in his previous releases, but the stronger emphasis on dynamics in each track is a clear progression from the Lion and Titan EPs, which seldom escaped from the aggressive norm. Not to say his viscous riff and drum work has been abandoned completely; "Villain" is a terrifically heavy track that ends on a massive, punchy crescendo fairly akin to a breakdown. Anup does stretch his writing chops considerably in the second half of Bloom, with the two, 7-minute closing tracks. While "Memoirs, Part I" might outstay it's welcome just a tad, "Memoirs, Part II" has such a robust structure while retaining some very interesting dynamics that it more than makes up for it, and functions as a brilliant EP closer. It also ends on one of the most disgusting-sounding breakdowns I have heard in progressive metal for a long time.

The drumming work is intensely technical at times, but only when the music calls for it. The guitar riffs, programmed as they may be, are very inventive and stand alone as an individual instrument. Bloom sounds like it was written by a group of musicians, rather than just a single drummer, and in that regard, is a fantastic accomplishment. There is no denying the EP was written by a drummer, but it sounds less individualistic than the majority of his earlier outings. There aren't any solos to be found like in his previous releases that featured guest guitarists, but the pure punch and addictive nature of the guitar and bass riffs compensate without issues. All instruments sound polished to a tee when it comes to production, but everything is clearly audible, and the overall mix hits harder than a captive bolt pistol. The bass tone is also a delight to the ears and cuts through even the crunchiest breakdowns.

It is quite difficult to really grade anything Anup puts out, because from a musical standpoint, his personal projects are generally more consistent, more musically technical, and hold a stronger sense of personality than the bands he plays in. His sound has proven to not only be cohesive over his entire solo career, but he also progresses with every release; even if only slightly. And while the extremely clean production may not be everyone's cup of tea, there is no denying that Anup can write some incredibly structured, distinct, and technical metal. Bloom sounds robotic, it sounds stainless, and it doesn't try to hide it. The EP is a product of years of refinement, but it never gives up on the vim and groove that Anup so expertly conveys in every project he presents.



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user ratings (17)
3.5
great


Comments:Add a Comment 
ramon.
March 5th 2016


4204 Comments

Album Rating: 3.5

Hope you guys like the review! Appreciated all of the constructive criticism on the last review I posted, and it is more than welcome here. Personally, this release occupies a 3.8-4.0 territory, but I understand that the tone and production choices can be an iffy diverging point in the community. Hopefully this won't get the hard end of the stick purely because of this, but to each their own! Thanks for reading my review, and keep shredding m/

Pon
Emeritus
March 5th 2016


6098 Comments


For only your second review, this is beautifully done and a massive improvement on your Skaphe review. Hard pos.

Couple nit-picks:-

before installing Superior Drummer for some programmed drum work - You could get rid of the "for some programmed drum work" bit because that's already assumed given the name of the program he's using. You also need to put a full-stop after "Mr" right after.

And while his choice of 'djent' guitar tone may be off-putting for some - Try to avoid starting sentences with "and", same problem halfway through paragraphs 3 and 4.

"Memoirs, Part II" has such a strong structure - Maybe change "strong" to something like "powerful" because "such a strong structure" is like an excerpt from a tongue-twister. This is really minor though.

Other than that, it's better if you italicise album titles because if you have them and song titles both in quotations it can be quite easy to lose track of what you're referencing as a reader.

Super job anyways, keep it up :D

Also lovely dig you have there.

ramon.
March 5th 2016


4204 Comments

Album Rating: 3.5

Thanks a lot man! I really appreciate your comments, they mean a lot! Edited mentioned sections. Took me three solid tries to correctly replace titles with italics, but got there eventually. I was also a little uncertain about word choice for "Memoirs, Part II" so thank you for confirming my doubts!



And yo, I am so damn stoked for new Howls of Ebb in April. Album is gonna bring the house down. Same goes to you; VS's latest is pretty dang good

SitarHero
March 5th 2016


14792 Comments


Great review! I didn't enjoy Ghost a whole lot because there wasn't enough dynamicism and melody for my taste, but maybe this'll be a bit more enjoyable.

AlexKzillion
March 5th 2016


17954 Comments


Didn't know this dropped.

ramon.
March 5th 2016


4204 Comments

Album Rating: 3.5

Thanks, SitarHero! I'd strongly recommend his 3 EPs. I myself didn't enjoy Ghost too much either, well, not nearly as much as his EPs. This and Lion are his strongest releases, with Titan following shortly behind! Titan is his most melodic, Lion his most technical, and this is kinda like a midway point between the two.

ramon.
March 5th 2016


4204 Comments

Album Rating: 3.5

Yeah, he only posted a few updates on it. Hope you enjoy it, TheMrAlexK!

Calc
March 5th 2016


17459 Comments


no way this is good, will check though

ramon.
March 6th 2016


4204 Comments

Album Rating: 3.5

It's not gonna win you over if you disliked his previous stuff, but definitely give it a crack!

RogueNine
July 15th 2023


5676 Comments


The snare tone from this man's YouTube covers is simply the best in the world.



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