Amogh Symphony: The Quantum Hack Code

Amongst the anti-piracy squabbling and DRM protection scrambles of the web-afflicted music industry, there's a rising trend of a new breed of independent musicians exploiting the collaboration opportunities made possible by the open and free nature of the internet. One such artist, Vishal J. Singh from India, enlisting the services of American drummer Jim Richman (Ex-Modulus) offers his second album under the banner of Amogh Symphony, titled The Quantum Hack Code. A concept album detailing a somewhat convoluted futuristic tale involving a healthy amount of hacking, virus-infested misadventures and abundant techno-babble, The Quantum Hack Code furthers the Amogh Symphony template of compulsively technical, syncopated metal riffing, coupled with an 'everything but the kitchen sink' approach to genre-mashing, featuring elements of funk, blues and strains of electronic and IDM ambience.

At its heart, The Quantum Hack Code is a defiantly adventurous ride, throwing at the listener every manner of complex and varied instrumental music spanning multiple genres, coupled with dextrous and versatile percussion, in a format that might not be immediately digestible. In fact, it's almost an understatement to say this album is a challenging listen, demanding complete attention, an ear for detail and a tolerance for a wide spectrum of styles. The instrumental performances on display are faultless, Singh effortlessly switching between frenzied, jagged riffing and silky funk vamps with remarkable ease, accompanied by Richman's intricate yet tasteful drum work. The inherent penchant for diversity and eclecticism makes The Quantum Hack Code far and away the most colourful and fresh album I've heard this year. Tracks like "Osiris 1" and "The Quantum Barrier Code" take the listener on a roller coaster ride with not a dull moment in sight. Unfortunately, there are a few faults that keep me from rating this album even higher.

The overwhelming amount of material packed into each song warrants a finely balanced approach to arrangement, to prevent the music from collapsing under its own weight or disappearing into a vortex of complexity. While The Quantum Hack Code does not stray that far from listenability, it's evident that further effort into making the arrangements more cohesive would have contributed towards making the album more effective. Entire passages scattered through the album, such as the funk guitar sections and blues breaks in "Decoded: Karnosis" come off as jarringly ill-fitting and out of place, even included for the sake of inclusion. On the whole, The Quantum Hack Code comes across as insistent on running into the field with all guns blazing, which makes one wonder how much more coherent the album could have been had it been trimmed of its excesses. The compositions themselves could do with more effective hooks to add to the memorability and differentiation between songs, which seems lacking at the end of a complete album listen. The production on the record is also dry, thin and somewhat raw, which detracts from the overall feel of the album, especially given the futuristic theme that would suggest a more polished sound.

These shortcomings aside, The Quantum Hack Code stands as one of the more impressive releases I've heard this year, and if marketed well, should be a definite addition to the case of Indian metal as a rising, growing scene presenting quality music that demands attention. Vishal J Singh, along with Jim Richman, has created an album of cerebral, eclectic and highly original music that with several improvements could be a genre-defining masterpiece in its own right.

Track Listing:
01. Intro - The Fall OF World Defense System
02. Dvorzhetckii's Prophecy
03. Osiris 1
04. The Quantum Barrier Code Interpretation By Mainframe
05. Polymorphic Infection: Releasing Proteus
06. X-Karna: Activated
07. The Nullification Method: ONI vs. Proteus
08. Decoded: Karnosiris
09. The Collapse Of Q-Web And Osiris 1

Added: December 1st 2010
Reviewer: Daniel Rego
Score:
Related Link: Band MySpace Page
Hits: 3459
Language: english

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