Scribe – Mark of Teja

Scribe’s new album comes from Grey And Saurian, the same folks who did an amazing job for Bhayanak Maut’s album, and are now beginning to emerge as one of the best Metal record labels to work with. The production on this album improves from the band’s previous effort ‘Confect’. ‘Mark of Teja’ is the 14-track album that proves the prolific nature of the band, that too coming within two years of Confect’s release.

The album theme is a fictitious story, written by vocalist Vishwesh Krishnamoorthy, which details a cloning project undertaken by a 17th industrialist by the name of Singhania. The ‘Teja cloning experiment’ was a failure and disaster, it is revealed in the album inlay and now Teja’s mark spreads secretly to humans. The theme is interpretable in many ways, and has a horror-inducing style to it. This type of literary approach has led the band to promote their album in a rather interesting manner, through videos and stories put up online.

The album opener ‘The Seed’ is an instrumental track that probably reminds all listeners of the genius instrumental pieces which are usually written by guitarist Akshay Rajpurohit. This track sets a slow, but expectant start to the album.

The next track, ‘RSVP’ was already being performed during the band’s Confect tour, and became a live favourite among fans. Hearing the studio version makes you realize why that’s so. A perfect balance between the brutality and crushing riffs and vocals that matches up perfectly.

‘I Love You, Pav Bhaji’ apart from being one of the most hilarious and addictive tracks on the album, was also the first promotional song released from ‘Mark of Teja’. Its lives up to be a short, fast and chaotic song that the band must have enjoyed writing as much as the fans will enjoy listening to. Might I add, the lyrics include the recipe for preparing Pav Bhaji, although voiced at an incomprehensible speed by Vishwesh.

‘Street Archana V/s Vice Varsha’ borrows much from the songs on the last album ‘Confect’, with the only difference being the massive improvement in the vocal range of Vishwesh. While clean vocals on ‘Confect’ were performed by Siddarth Basrur, Vishwesh readily takes over these duties on ‘Mark of Teja’, exploring vocal abilities many didn’t know he possessed.

‘M-power’ builds on the chaotic hardcore style, laced with mathcore influences that prove why Scribe is unique. Guitarists Akshay and Prashant Shah seem in perfect sync on this track; the former performing brilliantly on the light, mellow interlude and the latter churning out the brutal riffs.

Five tracks through the album, you see a shift that was mostly unexpected. But a change that would give most fans something to be in awe about. ‘Dum hai toh aage aah!’ starts on a happy hardcore note, expecting you to begin to slam dance! Vocals, again prove to be stand out on this track, showing a different style that was previously unseen, rather unheard from Vishwesh.

Thus kicks in the experimental sound on the album, with the next being an instrumental filler titled ‘Heidi’. A beautiful guitar-driven track builds into the most experimental metal track on the album, the title tack ‘Mark of Teja’.

‘Mark of Teja’ might just be the most experimental metal track from the scene, making every listener fully aware of the collective talent that guitarists Akshay and Prashant can display. Partly djent and ambient in between, this track might be bereft of vocals, but proves to be the highlight of the album.

They soon return to their playful and comic selves with ‘DemonPra’, which characteristically ends with a minute-long dark, instrumental movement. Keeping in mind the previous track, ‘Kamla’s Back’ begins in a somber mood, but by the end of it, one can’t help but feel that this is more of the same old Scribe, returning to their ‘Confect’ style. Not a bad thing entirely, though.

‘1234 Dracula’ is another hilarious track that includes lyrics such as the opening rant “Goonda Ban-ne ke liye danger dikhana mangta!” and “Xerox kute aahe?” among others. Musically, the song does a lot to boost the guitar credibility (as if it hadn’t already hit the roof with praise for the title track), with math and technical metal riffs that accompany the lead guitars. It ends with Vishwesh’s sinister laugh, probably something the vocalist has always wanted to do. I don’t blame him, though. It adds to make ‘1234 Dracula’ a standout fun track.

Scribe goes back into experimental mode with dense atmospheric/ambient music on ‘Don’t Say’ featuring modulated vocals and voice tracks set to the backdrop of a strong guitar loop.

‘Judge Bread’ is the second last track on the album, and metal roots and influences of each band member are identifiable here. Brutal, growling vocals puts Vishwesh back in the metal vocalists’ category, while also putting Scribe back in the metal category. Heavy and humourous, this track is typical Scribe.

The album closer ‘M-pyre’ is the band’s final instrumental experimental track, keeping with the dark, mysterious theme of the album.

Scribe continue to carry themselves forward in an unstoppable manner, creating music that truly deserves to be christened as unique (and sometimes deliberately misleading) ‘Indian Hardcore’. ‘Mark of Teja’ picks up where ‘Confect’ left off, its sure to keep all fans happy, not to mention attend their camaraderie-filled gigs.