Naked Earth is 5-member speed/thrash outfit from Mumbai comprising of Niel on vocals, Austin on lead guitars, Gilroy on rhythm guitar, and Melroy on the bass and Irwie on the drums. They recorded this demo of theirs comprising of covers and originals on the very first day of this year. All the 10 tracks were done in a single takes due to time constraints and keeping that in mind it’s a bloody damn-good effort. Their demo starts off with their 3 originals, the first one being "Spitfire", a mid-tempo headbangable composition. The song has very subtle tempo variations too and their drummer’s proficiency with the sticks can be made out from the word go. Austin also impresses with his solos. Next track "Voyage" reminded me instantaneously of Motorhead with a very similar song structure with a great and groovy foot-thumping rhythm to it. Last of their self-compositions is "Demon Seed" with nice mood changes starting with a very dark atmosphere, then moving into a jazz-funk mode (which gels in well too!) and speeding it up many fold towards the fag-end. The first solo on this one could’ve been much louder though! Their drummer, Irwie proves his talents again with a bit of crazy jazz-influenced drumming. The songs have different structures mutually exclusive of each other reflecting on the bands maturity. The first of the covers is Priest’s "Breaking the Law" which has been done excellently with their main-man sounding a lot like Ripper Owens. After that they perform the legendary "Paranoid" also done well though here Niel’s vocals needs a bit more of touching up. After that is Metallica’s "Am I Evil" a song done truly perfectly in every sense. It’s a reel pleasure to listen to this and will be reel treat for all Metallica fans. The rating of this band by this time will really go up but they give up more reason to be pleased as they cover "Symptom of the Universe" (NE prefer to do the Sepultura version). The last bit acoustic guitaring is missing due to the limited facilities in the studio! Neil has done an absolutely smashing job of capturing Max’s brutal voice and aggression. NE goes on to pay tribute to Sepultura properly by doing "Spit" off the Roots album. But this is their first cover, which leaves a lot, to be desired and frankly speaking was very disappointing and they should’ve worked harder on it before attempting to record it. Their version sounds very lame compared to the reel thing! Next 2 songs are "Basketcase" and "Creep" by Green Day and Radiohead respectively. I personally felt that these should’ve been left outta their demo CD when I saw the track listing. But one listen dispelled all my notions on their presence on the demo – they been done 100%!! But the guy who stood out in both of `em was, who was able to sing these songs in an exactly identical voice. It’s so good you might wonder if they were lip-synching to the original stuff or what?? Niel’s range to cover so many different vocal styles really will blow you away. NE has found a real gem in him. A very talented band this CD proves they’re definitely worth of purchase by any metal fan. The band has got a good mix too (for a change), which mars many Indian releases. But one negative aspect is that their covers sound so much better than their own stuff!! But I think this may be due the fact that the rock scene here requires you to perform covers more than originals. But that’s no excuse and their 3 songs should’ve been done better! But overall, it remains a good recommendation for any Indian rock freak. This CD can be bought from the band directly by going to www.nakedearth.8m.com or mailing Austin at austinferns@hotmail.com or calling Irwie up at (022) 8200795. For the Delhi guys you can get in touch with me at psychoray@ironmaiden.com or Tashaona at night_slayer37@hotmail.com. UP THE IRONS!