On disc: Slain

 
 Before Beyond
 
- Claudia Ehrhardt -
 
 


 
 Here And Beyond
 
- Lars Bjørn -
 
 

Here And Beyond

(self-released - 2011)



 
 

 

The Indian band Slain has only a short history as they were formed in 2007, and previously released an EP called Before Beyond. Now they are ready to fill the metal sky with more of their quite special music. It's really a mix between hard rock, progressive metal and pop rock, so they cover a great potential market with their songs. It's their debut long play CD, but they perform like they have been at it for years, and already got great praise in international music magazines. Maybe there is not so much metal rock music in India, but Slain do their bit to put India on the metal map with a very good debut album. Their vocalist Judah Sandhy can go very far with his captivating voice, it's powerful and can do several categorizes when it comes to that challenge.

Soldier is a melodic metal song, but a style that most metal fans has to get used to, it's not sincerely European metal so to speak. Superhero gives us good and soft metal with a listenable melodic touch. Spread Your Wings are focused on keyboards and fast guitars, shifting between soft metal and pop, especially they like to include a chorus like it was a genuine pop song. Judgment Call is again this mix between pop and melodic metal, but it holds a good rhythm and quality. The best song on the album is Angel In The Sky, where they have a tremendous power in the guitars, a hard rock song that will surely be a great hit a concerts with Slain, fantastic song. All in all a very decent debut album from the six members of Slain, and Judah Sandhy rising very high. I'm really looking forward to their next album, and hope that they will concentrate on one style only.

 
 










Lars Bjørn


  
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Before Beyond

(self-released - 2009)



 
 

 

How many bands from India you can name? I wouldn't come up with just one, but soon this might change, coz Slain are on their way to step into the limelight. In India they played quite a few festivals incl. Rock 'n India where they shared the stage with Iron Maiden.

The sound of a motorcycle is leading you into The Armour, a powerful complex track. The opener combined progressive metal with heavy riffs and melodic vocals. The sextet seems to be influenced by bands some progressive bands, but also by powerful melodic metal á la old Angra. But you also get some 80's hard rock vibes. At Behind The Line you will hear some Whitesnake influences, this time mixed with some progressive / art rock sounds. Whitesnake meets Saga. Partly singer Judah Sandhy reminds me of Michael Sadler... As I always loved Michael Sadler's voice and Saga, I can't complain about this. Great guitar play and song supportive solos by Bryden Lewis and Manek D'Silva while Jonathan Wesley delivers the melodic playground with his keyboard. At More Than Conquerors you'll find a dash of late 80's / early 90's melodic metal, a very catchy tune. Not really like Mr. Big, but well performed and way better then many bands of that era. Trixter on a higher technical level spiced up with some progressive elements. Last, but not least you'll get the ballad Star (demo). This is obviously a demo track, but only the sound quality shows that, coz the piano-based ballad is done very well. Hopefully this one will see the light of day with a better production one day... A bit of Joshua Kadison... and Bad English.

This single is just a kind of appetizer for their upcoming full-length album Here And Beyond, and I can't wait to hear more from these guys! To check out Slain, visit their website and download this single!
 
 










Claudia Ehrhardt


  
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