Realms of the Wicked

Indian bands off late have been going global with their blend of metal music & Air Raid Sirens are one of the newest kids in the block. A 3-piece band hailing from the Northeastern part of the country; these boys are here to stay. Realms of the Wicked is the bands very first EP & it does tick all the boxes when it comes to classical heavy metal style - Crunchy riffs, fast solos & operatic vocals.

Their music kind of reminds me of the early NWOBHM bands and the Indian metal stalwarts - Kryptos but with a touch of modernity. Vocalist & guitar player - Albert leaves no stones unturned to provide heavy hard hitting heavy metal riffs with occasional touch of melody. His vocals blend up really good with the mid-paced riffs & fast solo's. Even though the EP is only a 3-tracked, the songs are really long & brings out the heaviness as well as the subtle atmospheric melodies that gives the listener taste of both the worlds. The EP kicks off with the title track - Realms of the Wicked; which is my favorite song in the EP. The song starts off with a fast tempo riff with vocals similar to Rob Halford of Judas Priest. It brings a classic heavy/thrash influence feel to the song. The bass sound is little to less for my liking but overall the song is able to stay true to it's genre. The second & the third songs are the longest & more creative songs in the EP according to me. The tempo is not very fast but that doesn't mean the songs lack substance - trust me they do but such long songs are not liked by most people these days. But, I did enjoy both the tracks as I could really connect to the lyrics. Guitar parts are classic barrage of old school heavy metal riffing & occasional shredding. The drums in the song are mostly single bass drumming with occasional double bass fillers. Even though one can call it basic drumming but I personally feel that the drums do justice to the songs & are not very over the top. The band has not over-experimented with the music and have tried to stay true to their genre.

Overall, the band has been able to create a positive impression on me & I would definitely want to hear more from them in the near future. Only thing that I found negative in this EP was the bass lines which should have been properly levelled up during the mixing & mastering phase. Overall, I am excited to see what more the band can offer in the years ahead. If you like exploring new bands then this band should definitely strike a chord. A promising start & more to come hopefully.