Hanging heavily in the air these days is something truly noxious, even if it’s not visible. Bengaluru’s mind-bending metal band Orchid turns from the sci-fi horror of their debut EP (2016) to something more socio-politically conscious on their full-length album Miasma.
The eight-track album continues the four-member band’s relentless aural assault that recalls everything from progressive metal to death metal, mathcore and more, but it somehow takes things up a notch.
If you didn’t think this was possible, you only had to go to one of their shows over the last couple of years to see they’re one seriously ticked off unit. Miasma is pure, abrasive chaos that spirals and tangles itself at many turns, occasionally offering a way out with its ambient, wavy movements.
Between the barrage of twisted patterns, the opening track ‘Obsolescence’ chooses to lead with a pulverizing riff from Vinay Prasad, as vocalist Kaushal LS wastes no time in setting his mode to full-blown anguish.
At six minutes, ‘Obsolescence’ takes on propaganda and the forces of mass production and consumption, but it’s followed up by equally exhorting tracks like ‘Solipsist’ (about the entertainment and social media culture that sucks us in) and ‘Master Supreme’ (about exposing godmen as corrupt).
These two tracks run at two and a half minutes and one minute, respectively, but it feels more and more like Miasma is crafted to be heard all together in one sitting.
‘Dead End’ then runs for about seven minutes, aided by a psychedelic/ambient portion, followed by a jazzy interlude led by drummer Mayur Nanda, bassist Rahil Ahmed and a surprisingly sparkling keyboard solo by Aadarsh Subramaniam that changes the mood entirely.
The descent begins soon after, though, Orchid’s harsh reminder that our job culture is toxic. “The hazardous infliction/It spreads through the cracks/Productivity comes first/But at the cost of what?” Kaushal screams. While ‘Identoid’ offers what is by now a familiar Orchid sound, it takes aim at religious propaganda and manufactured news. ‘Sugar Pill’, builds up for more than a minute before going for the jugular of what is presumably homeopathy and pseudo-science.
If there are songs that perhaps act as a good introduction to Orchid, it’s the dissonance-drenched ‘Zero- Sum Game’ and the mathcore leaning rager ‘Disassembly Line’, all of which expose the malaise of modern existence.
Get the album on maneatingorchid.bandcamp.com