Time to do the geographic thing again and select a band from a country we’ve not covered before. I was in Bangaldesh around this time of year in 2006/7 and I’d never have even thought of looking for a metal gig to go to. A shame as, as it turns out, there’s a bit of a scene there. Most of it centres around the capital, Dhaka, whence Surtur hail.
Surtur play old fashioned thrash metal, citing many favourites as influences (S.O.D., Slayer, Sepultura, Sodom… and that’s just the “S”‘s). They formed in 2012 and have recently released their debut EP Descendant of Time which you can grab from their Bandcamp page for little more than the cost of a beer (not that you can easily get a beer in Dhaka!). It’s self-released to every penny goes back to the band. The tracks are mainly written by Shadman Omee with the rest of the band adding their input to his frameworks, with the aim of keeping things very much “old school”.
From the discordant intro, you know a little extra effort has been put into this EP and the title track hits you as hard in the face as you could ever wish from a “proper” thrash song. Vocals are slightly harsh, though not heading too much into death territory.
“Maggot Filled Brain” is a slightly more laid back affair (slightly!) allowing for some breathers and noodly solos. The brutality returns with the aptly named “Demolisher”, though. In spades. This is a jackhammer of a song, thumping drums battering the listener and the pace unrelenting. Think Bestial Devastation-era Sepultura.
I can only hope that this EP sells well enough to justify the band recording a full album.
Another country covered, and I’m sure there are more bands from the area we can tell you about in the coming weeks, months and years!
