Soara is originally a two-man metal project from Mumbai & Siliguri, India. featuring Hannes Grossmann (Blotted Science, ex-Necrophagist) on drums. The guitars, bass, mixing, and mastering were done by Akhilesh Rao, and drum mixing by Kirill Konyaev. The songs on the album "Moksha", written as far back as 2014, finally come to life in 2025. Each track’s name, in Sanskrit, Hindi, or Bengali, reflects Akhilesh’s state of mind during its creation, with every piece embodying that emotion.
The album comprises 10 songs for 30 minutes of music. Heavy and epic entrance of Vega, a powerful opener in between Megadeth and Death Metal, to my ears, with some fantastic drumming. More epic ambient is the following track, Chint - Part 1. As the title suggests, it's divided into two parts (the second one is "Jazzified", track number 9). Both are extremely interesting. I love the bass lines in the central part of the song, as well as the different moods, including a significant shift around 3:10. I love the jazz break at 2.15 of the second part.
Thik is an angry and atmospheric prog song, very much in the vein of Opeth, while Ksema changes the mood with some acoustic vibes (this is probably my favourite track, if I have to choose one), featuring melodic elements and lots of interesting details. Bishad followed the intro Koshto, and I love the melody on this one, apart from the usual fantastic drumming. The last track, Tez, starts with an almost grunge riff and becomes more and more intricate with the passing of time.
"Moksha" is a very interesting work, with a stunning performance by the duo in every aspect. The production is fantastic as well, putting in the right evidence all the quality of the instrumental parts. The drumming, in particular, is my favourite aspect of the album, always rich, full-on, and amazingly performed.
But it's only one aspect of this amazing work. "Moksha" is kind of difficult to describe with words, so make sure you give it a go by clicking on the Spotify player below to listen to it and follow the band on social media.
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