Track Premiere: Lucifer X Thrash Remorselessly With “Xtreme Tech”
Welcome to the first edition of a new column, Obscure Asia, where I’m going to shine a light on the Asian underground! And what a way to start it by exclusively streaming a track from the upcoming debut EP of Lucifer X — a relatively new but totally cold-hearted thrash metal troop — hailing from the historically and archaeologically significant burg known as Imphal, the capital of the Indian state of Manipur.
The northeast areas of India are prominent for their strong stirring underground brutal death metal scene. The atrociousness, aggressiveness, and vehemence exist in the music and live performances of most of the brutal death metal bands from those areas are enough to rip you to shreds. Let’s rather stick to Lucifer X instead of concentrating further on the aforesaid brutal death metal scene; the quintet from Imphal quite surprised me with their fierce style of thrash metal music. The production boasts a modern vibe, but any connoisseur of thrash metal music can easily detect their influences — they’re clearly rooted in Kreator and some bay area thrash metal acts like Exodus, Dark Angel, Death Angel, Testament, etc. The EP Project Xtermination will be the first release from these cutthroat thrashers, yet they have already performed at various gigs since their formation in 2012.
Before penning anything about “Xtreme Tech”, the 04th track of the EP, which we are streaming exclusively here for our readers, I’d like to share the band’s own thoughts on the song:
The lyrical theme of the song mainly focused on the downfall and degradation of human existence brought by the advancement and abasement of man-made technologies, and warfare in the current society.
Surprisingly, I can sense a link between the sonority and the lyrical theme of the track. The wah- driven solo at the beginning of the song forewarns the listeners of the imminent hazardous, neck-wrecking doses of riffs, accompanied by the violent raspy roar from the frontman. Oh my fucking lord! The riffs are intense, spine-tingling, and demand you to bang your head. The arrangement of the drums and production is probably alleviating the actual frenetic nature of the music, but picturing the live version of this track, I can only imagine myself getting caught in a never-ending, vicious kind of mosh pit. The remaining tracks of the mini album are as overpowering as this one — one or two of them are arguably more so.
The 05 tracked EP will be released on 26 September — at the fifth edition of Road to Rampage — a metal gig where Lucifer X will be playing alongside some other bands from India. Pre-order your copy via Vitality Distribution.
And you are likely to enjoy the previously released track “New World Order” from the same EP.
Thanks for tuning in! See you soon with more fresh cuts from the Asian Underground!
