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Mahavatar - Go With The No!


*
=Staff's pick

Cult*
By The Numbers
Raw
Open Your Minds
Psychos
Deep Cobble*
Anger
The Time Has Come


Genre Art Metal
Lizza Hayson
Vocals
Tracks 8
Karla Williams
Guitar
Runningtime 35 Min.
-
Guitar
Label Cruz Del Sur
Szymon Rapacz
Bass
Release 15 Feb. 2005
T-Bone Motta
Drums
Country USA
Miko
Keyboards
Similar artists Otep, Crisis

Finally a breath of fresh air in the otherwise somewhat stagnant art metal/stoner scene on my side of the pond. Let me qualify that by saying that Mahavatar defies categorization in general, which is a refreshing thing, at least to this old warrior. I personally loathe and detest labels, genres amd sub-genres, because such devices are often contributors to the stagnation of any form of music or art. It becomes patently unfair to compare this band then to the other two mentioned above (i.e., Crisis and Otep); aside from all three bands being female-fronted heavy bands that step away from the nu-thrash attack of Arch Enemy, the resmblances end as quickly as they begin. However, my readership sometimes demands a point of references, so I oblige.

Mahavatar at their core are groove and hook-oriented, which is the big attention grabber for me on the first spin of this disc. As this warrior grows older, the cacophony of death and black metal gets ponderous and the monotonous chug chug of so-called "nu-metal" becomes inane. Stranded in this wasteland and often isolated from the better Europoean thrash and power metal releases, I acquiesce that even a sip of water in the desert heat is quenching. The originality of some of the more obscure material is, in these times, comforting.Go With The No! Errupts with the very catchy, edgy power- riffing of Cult, demonstrating that Jamaican born Karla Williams has a well developed set of skills on the fretboard. Demonstrated in both solo and riffage, Williams' style falls on the side of songwriting-over-wankery, which helps the overall sound of the band. Not too flashy, plenty loud, and bestowed with solid sensibilities of heaviness and melody.

Vocalist Lizza Hayson has a range that embraces primal growling, power shouting (in key) and ethereal melody. Definitely separating herself from the aforementioned Karen Crisis and notorious Arch Enemy frontwoman Angela Gossow (whose growling, spitting scream could be easily replaced by any male black metal vocalist). Hayson makes a point of ennunciating every lyric, whether spoken, growled, screamed or sung, so none of the imagery is lost for lack of technique.

As a general overview, Go With The No! Is relatively short - about half the length of an ordinary CD release, but production is tight and the songwriting is original enough that the listener hardly notices the lack of filler and fluff. Williams and Hayson, the nucleus of the group, have a healthy respect for dynamics and pacing-this is not a fast album by a long shot, but neither is it ponderously slow ala Neurosis. The keyboard work is of the ambient variety, and subdued enough to add just depth and dimension and not detract from the primary vision of the work. There are a few electronically enhanced vocal elements in some of the tracks, but the primary melodies remain intact, and the processing like the keyboards, does not detract. Tight work. I like it.

Production
Vocals
Compositions

7

7

7

 
Summary



7 chalices of 10 - Ogg The Barbarian

Related links:

www.mahavatar.net