Solar Deity is a 2 piece band from Mumbai, comprising Aditya Mehta and Yash Pathak, both of whom have been associated with the death metal act Exhumation. Their first EP, In the name of Satan, gives you the taste of true raw Black Metal. The album has having 5 tracks, which clocks up to almost 18 minutes.

“For a year, I was frustrated and angry about a few things but didn’t say anything because I was feeling quite helpless at that time. I decided to let the frustration build up, and allowed myself to be as angry as I wanted, and everything that I’d been feeling for a very long time began to take shape when I announced the birth of Solar Deity on my 30th birthday”, is what Aditya Mehta had to say when we asked him about this side-project of his. Listening to their songs, I can see exactly what he means. Black metal has always been about venting one’s anger and pain through heavy riffs, blast beats and shrieked vocals, and Solar Deity seems to have accomplished it all, with skillful finesse. The traditional raw sound takes you back in time to the era of Mayhem, Burzum, Immortal etc when Black Metal was at its zenith.

The album kicks off with an intro track, An Everlasting Fire In Those Of Purest Flesh And Blood, which sets the ambience and the mood for the skull crushing Black Metal madness which is about to follow.

Boy I was right! The second track, ‘Declaration of Satanic Victory And Eternal Reign’ starts off with a bang. The intro is simply blistering. It’s a rush of adrenaline right from the start. The vocals deserve a special mention, in particular, for being absolutely raw and powerful, something any black metal fan would crave for.  The EP flows smoothly to the next track, Blasphemous Chanting On A Moonless Night, which is another treat for the fans. The rhythm structure and melody seem better crafted than the previous track.

The third track, Ceremonial Feast At The Black Temple, is a monster of a song spanning seven and a half minutes and is filled with loads of heavy riffs and tremolo picked guitar lines. There are a few sections which seem a little under-utilized, but it still kicks ass when it comes to dexterity in playing and “headbangability”! This track’s my personal favorite from the album.

The album comes to a close with another instrumental track, Last Rays From A Dying Sun Cannot Penetrate The Impending Darkness, which is again similar to the intro track, reminding you of the ambience of a darker world.

The mixing and production is indeed note-worthy. The guitars have got the perfect raw black metal tone, though one would wish the bass had a better presence in the mix. The drumming certainly deserves a special mention for the blast beats, which have been executed flawlessly. The vocals definitely were one of the highlights of the album, but we wish we had access to their lyrics.
To sum it up, it’s one hell of an offering from the Mumbai duo, and this is one band I would really love to see live. The EP is available for free download. So, like it or not, download it and give it a listen. May be you would just end up loving it just like I did!

Download In the name of Satan here