Taking their name from a bottle of medicinal alcohol their guitarist saw in a hospital, Rectified Spirit actually formed back in 2005, though a breakup, reformation and several lineup changes have delayed the recording of this, the group’s debut album, until last year.
The band are part of the steadily growing Indian metal scene and that probably makes them a little more of interest than they would be otherwise, because on musical merits alone, the record falls a little flat. Musically, there’s little suggestion of the band’s country of origin, Rectified Spirit instead essentially combining metalcore with power metal and adding a progressive touch along the way.
The problem is that the various elements don’t sit comfortably alongside one another and too often sound disjointed. The choppy drumming and chugging guitars in the verses are passable in a generic metalcore kind of way, but the falsetto vocals feel awkward and the songs can seem unsure whether to go toward the technical or the anthemic, leaving them all somewhat forgettable.
