Systemhouse33 – Depths of Despair

3rd June 2014 0 By Suzie Rottencrotch

Systemhouse33 are one of those Indian metal bands I’ve been following with interest over the past few years. Based in Mumbai, these guys have been together since 2003, and during that time have released 1 EP and 3 albums of “experimental thrash”. I was therefore thrilled when all round cool guy Kunal Choksi from Transcending Obscurity sent me a copy of their 4th album for review.

Opening track ‘Abstraction’ is an eerie and brooding instrumental soundscape that wouldn’t sound out of place in a horror film. It lures the listener in… before the pulverising heaviness of ‘Depths of Despair’ kicks in with its nonstop groove, shouty vocals, dissonant chords, and jarring musical changes. It’s incredible stuff – Pantera meets Slipknot, with elements of thrash, death, and industrial metal combining to create a brutal noise fest.

The rest of the album continues in a similar vein, with all the tracks sharing the same overall sound and feel, but with subtle differences. At first it sounds a bit repetitive, but with each listen you discover new things hidden in the music, and the uniqueness of each track becomes more apparent.

Final track, ‘Armistice’, is another atmospheric and instrumental soundscape that finishes things off nicely, and help the listener return to normality after being battered by the sheer heaviness of the previous 5 tracks.

With Depths of Despair, SystemHouse33 have created an album that is refreshingly different from the generic death / thrash stuff that a lot of the younger less experienced bands are producing. My only complaint about Depths of Despair is that, at 22 minutes in length, it’s too damn short and feels more like an EP. But I’m being picky simply because I’d like to hear more from these guys!

If you’re a fan of heavy skull-crushing metal then do yourself a favour and check this album out!

Score: 8 out of 10