"Miscalculation & The Cosmic Catastrophe" Reviewed

Reviewer: Aniket Bach


Formed in 2006, SANDREMBEE is a Imphal based 4 piece band, consisting of,  EROZ - vocals, CHINGKHEI - guitars, THEMIS - bass, RICHARDSON - drums.
Call it whatever you want, math metal, technical death metal, alternative metal whatever else you can think of to call this kind of music - but SANDREMBEE have stormed in fine form with their debut album of skull crushing metal.  SANDREMBEE are rhythmically complex, stopping and starting as they do - it is not music that can be easily accessed by the conventional newcomers, even more so if they are alien to irregular timings, off-beats and other such progressive elements. To the untrained ear SANDREMBEE will sound like chaos with no real structure, but rest assure there is one in there.


Opening track "Plague", It may be the not-great quality stream, but you might expect the album opener to feel more bombastic, more urgent, more impacting, more: a statement of intent. That said the melody is pretty strong and the guitar-work is still pretty much good, featuring some heavy double-bass action & growls, combined with some melodious riffs. But the intensity of this song loosens your neck right from the start, as you will find yourself incapable of not headbanging to it.


The second track "Gangraped", SANDREMBEE sounded like a cross between Killswitch Engage and Meshuggah, with a galloping most partly vibe. EROZ's vox rips up the growl over the paced backing track. A striped bass/drum break hit the mix before the tempo and layers build again. But kick-ass death metal riffs & distortions which takes the song to a whole new level. The track still signals a certain forward-thinking approach to song structure, rhythm and pace – and it works.


The next track "Liquid Worshippers", demands special attention, after all it’s a cool track, building from a soft intro. It thrives on its energy and rhythmic power, but there are moments when you crave a little something more than the typical death/growl vocals and chugging guitars with vibrant double bass pedal. The arrangement features some cool use of vocal layering, and reliable choppy driving riff breaks.


"Chaotic Theory" the fourth track established SANDREMBEE's sound. This track is the musical equivalent of a nuclear bomb going off for 4mins or so. The bass and drums fit together like the gears turning the hands of Big Ben and is filled to the brim with some neck-breaking headbanging moments. It is the fastest you will hear on the album.  The vocals though, are a slight low point in this track.


The next track "The Revolt", the choppy driving riff breaks into a thrashy middle-eight and a circle-pit junky’s dream. The split harmonies are again Megadeth’s legacy: ubiquitous in the new wave of metal bands from COB to Trivium. This track is featuring some heavy double-bass action & growls, combined with some melodious riffs, followed by a good solo.


The sixth track being a Postmark Tribute Cover "Metal Age", has been covered pretty well. Consisting of few breakdown riffs and lots of groovy beat patterns. It blasts of with some more up-tempo riffing and some relentless drum rolls and double bass. Possibly the heaviest and best track of the album – replete with fan-pleasing beat down.


The track “18 Again" is bound to take the listeners by surprise. It reaches out between old school influenced blues rock, then jumps over to some of those cool, jazzy moments in it. Its one of the soothing tracks in the album.


The final track being "Thangapat Blues", being one of the enjoyable acoustic covers heard in days. The track builds and builds before drifting serenely away with clean acoustic and catchy clean vocals. A perfect album finisher.


For the duration of over thirty minutes the album certainly has its high points, but "Miscalculation n The Cosmic Catastrophe” is not without its flat points either. The album may start to become slightly monotonous to the ear. The recording was not very smooth enough. But the last few tracks shows SANDREMBEE have put every inch of their musical skills to make it sound great. As a wrap-up, SANDREMBEE sound like a band extremely serious about their music and seem to have a musical quotient that is free of influence from purist and fan boy dogma alike. As a whole, the album was pretty nice, i think everyone should grab a copy of this album and check it for sure. Visit their Facebook Page to buy the album.


Footnote: According to them they're not just a group of heavy metal freaks as they aim to highlight the socio-political issues confronting Manipur through music before audiences outside the state. For instance, one of the songs, Gangraped, describes how girls from the Northeast are raped and molested in big cities like Delhi. Revolt, another extreme metal number, is a voice against culture of violence in Manipur.
          Footnote Source