Vimana – The Collapse EP

I always get nervous when beloved musicians start new bands. The new group is a rolling die—will it retain the qualities you like about Band Guy X’s past work? Or will he zigzag off in an unanticipated direction?

But Vimana warrants no nervousness. This band features the talented Zac Joe, who formerly played guitar and wrote songs for Cephalic Carnage. Joe’s old band has lost a step since his departure, judging by their most recent album (reviewed here).

Vimana also features drummer Eric Brown, who plays in Vale of Pnath and, weirdly, Swashbuckle. Swashbuckle is a joke band (I hope), and the affiliation had me wondering if Vimana would carry on with Cephalic Carnage’s trademark goofiness. So did Vimana’s Facebook profile, which lists their genre as “death metal/grindcore/progressive/tickle fights.” The cover (gears! tentacles! boobs! Photoshop!) reinforced the impression.

But Vimana’s self-financed The Collapse EP is not a goofy record. Vimana’s grindy tech death features no humorous samples, tongue-in-cheek pastiches, or hooks to speak of. They plow through their litany of riffs with their heads down. The songs don’t pop right away, and the production is loud but plastic. It’s a worrisome combination at first.

But if the humor is gone, the weirdness remains. You can find it in the band’s name, which refers to mythical aircraft from ancient India. More importantly, it’s all over their riffs, which are as weird as any CC material. Joe and his cohorts break up the thudding with off-the-wall tapping explosions that border on preposterous. There’s life on the songwriting front, too—colorful codas and dynamic shifts, as on closer “Fire Is Born”.

Vimana is still figuring out their identity, but that’s okay. The Collapse EP is a strong starting point. I’m excited to see where their muse takes them.

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HEAR THE COLLAPSE EP

BUY THE COLLAPSE
Bandcamp (Digital download )