[Originally written for Metal-Archives.com]
Hailing from the Himalayas and dubbing their style as ‘ramailo’ or ‘fun death metal,’ Binaash has made quite a name of themselves in the local scene, and in the South Asian extreme metal scene at large. Four years after the release of their debut full-length “Binaashkari,” they have bestowed their fan-base with their second offering, an EP this time called, “2072 BS.” BS, short for Bikram Sambat, is the calendar that Nepal uses officially. 2072 is the Nepali year for 2015-16 AD (currently it is the near-end of 2073 BS). I assume the band, through this EP, tried to portray the deleterious fate that Nepal went through in the year, following the devastating earthquakes, and the fuel blockade in the southern border of the country.
However, having said
that, even if my assumption for the EP name was correct, the lyrical
theme of the songs in here is little at all in sync with the album title. The
themes yet again seem more fitting for the ‘fun’ death metal insignia that the
band has embraced throughout, and which helped them design a trademark or a brand
of their own. Musically, Binaash has continued to move towards the path it
stepped into in the first album, creating some fast, intense, and wicked songs—this
time 11 minutes in total—with crunchy riffs throughout. It does not diverge
much from the brutal death metal cum grindcore the band has been playing since
their inception. However, one big positive change here is the better production
of the album compared to the last one, which was pretty much a let-down that
discounted the overall listening experience.
The EP starts with
the song, “Binaash” that marches along the three-minute mark with a breakdown.
It starts slow and is unlike the other tracks, something I would prefer at the
end of the album as the sluggish and heavy outro like a glacial avalanche
pouring away. “Dentist” then increases the pace and fury of the EP, which is a
short and sweet death metal assault. “Disco Kaila le Death Metal Sunira,” which
translates to “Disco Kaila is listening to Death Metal,” then comes in, with
the hilarity in its lyrics that reminds of the Binaash of “Binaashkari.” Disco
Kaila, here, is someone who is into disco/pop/mainstream/whatever music and is
new to death metal as a whole. The song then, presented in the form of a
conversation, tries to educate him of what death metal is, and how it is
played. A cursory translation of the lyrics goes like this;
“This is called
blast beat / This is called half beat
I don’t know what they’re
called / I don't understand them
Doesn’t matter if
you don’t understand them, it’s so fun
Slow parts like this
come time and again / It’s fun to headbang and mosh to them
But it has run fast
again, as if you are thrashing a tin can / As if I am getting dizzy / As if the
music is narcotic
You bastard, son of
a bitch / You dumbfuck / If you do not like it / Why have you come here?
Listen, this one is
a slam part / It is used a lot in death metal these days / This type of vocals
is used in this style
See, the people are
having fun in the music / Forgetting all their problems / Having fun with the
music
This song is a bit
mixed styled / There isn’t just disco, there is death also”
This should be the
most widely circulated song out of the five, thanks to the lyrical music video released
by Nepal Underground a week or so ago. As explained by the lyrics, you got
everything from blast beats to half beats, and from slam breakdowns to fast parts
thrown in. Prabin Shrestha’s pig squeals also make their way into the album for
the first time. And as already explained by the lyrics, and which the band also
admits, the song is truly ‘mixed,’ with thrashy riffs and modern death metal touch
mashed in. Finally, the last two tracks, “Fuck Your Culture” and “Mindsetits
(Disease Called Human)” only elongate the brutality, with the sick crispy
riffs, and the intensity of the music.
Before the release
of their debut album in 2012, I expected Binaash’s music to be a drums-driven
death metal, with the then-drummer Rishav Acharya coming from jazz background,
and therefore his influences from jazz could clearly be traced. However, after
listening to their debut album, I was reminded that their music is very much
riff-driven, with the riffs by Prateek Neupane and Shashank Shrestha being the
foundation of their music. I also blamed the sloppy production of the album for
not letting listeners grasp the versatility of the percussions in that album.
However, for a change, in this EP, Rishav Acharya has been replaced by Bikram
Shrestha (Ugrakarma/X-Mantra et al), with background in traditional death metal
a la Morbid Angel and Krisiun as his influences. Fast and furious, his drumming
is unrelenting, with the bass drums sounding like military bullets straight up
to your ears.
Compared to the last
album, the band has also cut loose the superfluous intros to every song. This
time around the songs come straight on to your face, without any bullshit, and
give you a good aural blowjob. It is well-presented death metal with influences
from traditional death metal, modern brutal death metal, thrash metal, and
grindcore, all amalgamated in the fun death metal that the band is known for.
The bass guitar by Bijent Bikram Shah is impaling and thundering as always;
screams, growls and all the variations of the throat-job by Prabin are menacing;
and the guitars and the drums, yet again for the record, are elegant. The band
likes this EP to be dubbed fun death metal, and the dudes definitely know how
to make their music sound as if they are: 1) having fun and making us feel
through their music that they are enjoying what they are doing, and 2) making
them intense as fuck during this process.
DMN rating: 4/5
Here is the link to the EP in the band's official Bandcamp.