When it comes to talking about rock bands in India, the context presented is often about how outdated it is all about to become or already is. Historically, Indian bands have been slow to evolve, perhaps preferring to revel in the glory of traditional high-energy rock and roll.
The reception of (traditional) rock in India indicates it is very much here to stay, even as bands and producers push the boundaries of live and recorded music. After all, it is (still) filling every open-air college festival, every other rock gathering and then some.
While that says something about what the country’s young listeners want, it is all for the taking for Chennai rock band Skrat, who have released their fourth album Bison . The chunky riffs, the apocalyptic themes and roller-coaster tempos will delight any fan of rock, and any fan of Skrat, because this is what they’ve been delivering for more than a decade. The fist-to-the-gut riffs are plenty prevalent on opening tracks ‘Chaos’ and ‘Raptor’ and then they turn to a shimmering tone for ‘Fireworks’, as vocalist-guitarist Sriram TT warns, “I can smell your fear when I’m knocking on your door.”
He is talking in the voice of the protagonist of their comic book-like universe – General Bison, who’s awakened to cull half the world’s population. The roomy drumming from Tapass Naresh adds that dance-rock element, but it is thrown together with rumbling low-end and thick riffs on songs like the memorable ‘Wake Up’ and ‘Yipikaye’. They do turn a funky, wavy bassline into something wholly sinister on ‘Red Ox Hide’, almost going from dance to nu-metal. The fast-paced ‘Siren’ only offers something slightly different from the regular Skrat fare, which gets raged up on ‘Crew’, but simmers down on ‘Bison’, an impassioned end, almost in ballad style.
Bison doesn’t always hold your attention throughout, but the heaviness is something you expected out one of the most energetic rock bands in the country right now. At a time when rock is taking more chances, Skrat seem to dive deeper into techniques and tricks already prevalent in the genre, rather than colour outside the lines. It is not so much a safe move, but more of an old trick that still works.
Get the album on skratttheband.com
