Review Summary: A catchy little find that combines a solid grounding in rock with the intensity of hardcore punk.
Every local scene is chock full of different sorts of bands, and these local scenes vary wherever you go in the world. It’s always intriguing to go into another country and explore what’s popular, and what styles of music the whole music scene is centred around. On my recent trip to Ireland, I poked around a little and came across a few different bands, Vimanas being one of them. What would be an appropriate description for this band is rock with a thrashy punk influence, and a little bit of metal here and there. Overall, it makes for a catchy and slightly heavy listen, whilst still remaining accessible.
The thing I liked most about Vimanas is that they managed to pack in a lot of catchy, heavy, and bass-orientated riffs into the short EP. It retains its ferocity throughout, along with sounding very groovy, and then combines this with softer moments. It’s executed quite well, and due to its progressive nature, stays interesting. To be honest, the band that I most likened these guys to would be Converge, although a more rock-orientated and tame version of them.
As I mentioned before, the bass is very prominent in the album. It’s mixed so that the bass in a lot of moments actually sounds louder than the guitar itself. The production is decent, not the best I’ve heard, but good enough to be able to take enjoyment from the music. The production gives the EP a unique sound, which coupled with their groovy thrash rock raises Vimanas above mediocrity. To name-drop again, the production is quite similar to the heavier songs on the Smashing Pumpkin’s Melon Collie and the Infinite Sadness. Think of songs like Jellybelly, Zero, Where Boys Fear to Tread, and X.Y.U, and you can assume what the guitars and production sounds like.
The vocals are similar to Converge again, a little less extreme though, and there are moments when he’ll lower his voice into what seems to be singing. He does have a unique voice, and it goes very well with the music. His screech manages to add a particular intensity to the heavier moments, and then he captures the melancholy of the softer moments with his soft, yet emotive voice.
Each song follows the same formula of shifting between heavier moments, and softer moments. However, whether or not the music is heavy or soft, it’s most often very catchy. The riffs are well thought out and as a 15 minute EP, is very enjoyable. I think that an entire album of similar songs like this would eventually get boring, but 4 songs is just about right. There are some great breakdowns on here too (listen to the last half of The Punishment), which definitely keeps the interest alive. Obviously this isn’t a major release, but it is a nice little EP to have, and would probably appeal to a wide-range of people.
I had one but it's not working. The search continues.
