Explosively percussive and partially technical is what defines the angst-ridden Guwahati based technical death metal band MIMANXA. They are out with their first single titled Siphoneptera. Formed in 2011 and heavily influenced by big daddies like Death, Necrophagist, Nile, Obscura, their music flew from the depths with insane vocals, cool edgy rhythm riffing, and bouncing basslines. Mimanxa means The Verdict in Assamese.
The assault starts with well executed blast beats and riffs. The song clearly derives from the slamming, explosive early street-level death metal era of , Death, Necrophagist, Nile etc, so there is nothing much new. But with Ron on vocals and the guitar duo nailing some good riff’s, this song completely shows defiant, monstrously simple composition. Considering the first section, the song grows quite well and towards the middle it looses the balance. The feeling that pierces ears with a rhythm of lightning pace, stark guttural outbursts and manic ‘man-the-machine-guns’ blast beating is missing. The way guitar duo were punching riffs one after another, I was expecting more creative and technical approach. Although the band is still in their initial stage, they have indeed come up with a descent composition. They still need some more time to understand their sound and the way they need to create the technical fret burning magic and skin bashing material. Manoj no doubt is good behind the kit if this is recorded live or may be programmed but he needs to work a lot more. Bass lines are simply appreciable. They need to work more on arrangements.
Riff’s somewhat sounded monotonous but what makes this journey pretty interesting is the outro which is insane. They slow down the tempo and Ron’s vocals are damn good. His growls and screeches makes it more violent and the way riff’s and drums come up with his vocals is phenomenal. Considering the song is about 4:30 min odd, the outro surely has moshpit written all over it.
Important Points:
1. They need to develop the tendency to chug out tons of thick vomiting riffs in a way to avoid sounding monotonous. Drummer needs to work more.
2. Production is very good. Each of the instruments are heard clearly and very well mixed.
3. They are surely a band to look out for. More practice, concentration on arrangements, stuffs related to it and more gigs will surely give them precise ideas which will help them in future.
4. Vocalist is passionate and extremely talented. Guitar duos have composed stuff quite well and need more practice to write technically proficient music.
On the whole Mimanxa have created an amalgamation of early death metal sound with taste of current trend which is present in their sound right from bold rhythms to the pulsing rhythms and good percussion segments but It does struggle in justifying a third or fourth listen. They require more hard work and time to develop their own style and leave a mark. I wish them all the best in future \m/
Catch them on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/mimanxaofficial
Rating : 6/10