Sabotage (on multiple streaming services billed as ‘Sabotage India’ is a thrash metal 5-piece from Bassein, about 60km north of Mumbai, India. They released an EP, ‘The Order of Genocide’ in 2019 and now follow this up with their first full length entitled ‘Pishach’, which apparently is a flesh eating demon in Indian mythology.
The band is very clearly influenced by classic bay area thrash and you could easily mistake them from being from that thrash hotspot. The album consists of 8 songs (including 1 intro) and has a runtime of 30 minutes.
It’s clear quite a bit of work has gone into the album. The songs are well fleshed out without dragging on, there are infectious vocal hooks and the guitar riffs would not be out of place on an 80’s thrash album. The solo’s are also well thought out and fit with the mood and melody of the tracks, somethings that is not always the case with other bands like the big M…
Speaking of melody, the songs are well balanced between more rhythmic sections and melodic ones, causing the listener to keep engangement up. The mix is great, especially for an independetly produced affair. Guitars are growly, drums are punchy. A bit more bass would be nice here and there, but it’s not like bass guitar is prevalent in many 80’s classic.
The opening trio of ‘Eye For An Eye’, ‘Sabotage’ and ‘Love Undead’ is some of the best thrash metal I’ve heard so far in 2024. Unfortunately, the next track, ‘Victory or Valhalla’ seems a bit out of place to me. It’s a mix of classic thrash metal with some At The Gates / Amon Amarth influences and doesn’t integrate well with the rest of the album.
Despite that, I’ve enjoyed all listening sessions of Pishach so far, and I’ll make sure to return to it during the coming months.
Score: 88/100
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