Veering back on course, Conditioned: Human kicks off with Changing Skins and you’re immediately exposed to the brand of metal that Myndsnare subscribe to: offbeat death metal with inclinations towards thrashy sections and progressive breaks. There is a palpable latter-era Death influence running through the entire album in all aspects of songwriting and through all instruments involved; particularly reminiscent of Symbolic and ITP to a small extent.  Parallels maybe drawn to upcoming third wave technical death metal bands like Man Must Die, Vedonist, Illogicist and so forth.

Sadly, as much as I would’ve liked it to, the album doesn’t click with me. Seams are exposed at the very start when the throaty snarls fade in along with the guitars and drums. The vocals don’t fit with the music at all. I would’ve much preferred lower pitched gutturals rather than what Myndsnare have going on – which is something akin to a high Schuldiner-esque squawk. These vocals are definitely an acquired taste – and by the sound of things, a taste I do not want to acquire. Over the course of the album however, I learn to ignore the vocals and let the other entities take the front seat. The next most noticeable facet is the drumming. A lot of Gene Hoglanisms constantly happen in this department. It is most certainly fast but not all proficient in composition. The snare almost always follows the guitar leaving little or no space for any sort of groove. There were plenty of riffs which I would’ve really liked, if the drumming had been to my anticipation. It wasn’t that I was not surprised by the departure from my egoistical aspirations on Myndsnare’s part – hell I love me a thrilling surprise as much as the next guy - but most of ‘em were not pleasant.

Now, we come to the riffs. There are a couple of cool ideas on the album. But a majority of them fall flat – for example, there is an acoustic riff which sounds like a rip off of some Papa Roach song on Use The Pain (smack after a cool thrashy riff) complete with rimshots and those vocals – literally, an aural assault, nowhere near the good sense of the phrase. A lot of the offbeat riffs seem very contrived as if an eighth note had purposely been removed or added at the end of every 4/4 riff composed solely for technicality’s sake. As stated, a lot of the riffs are Death-lite, with the change-bass-note-keep-melody-same card (which is in heavy use in the metalcore realm) being played to maximum effect. The guitar tone changes ostensibly haphazardly and the alteration is very evident removing points for professionalism and more importantly for hindering the flow of the songs. The wah-wah/flanger effects used for some of the solos and leads (title track for example) did not bode well with me – the solos in themselves are nothing exceptional with speed being opted over composition and composure. The bass guitar however is mixed quite well and the bass-play is intelligent and very commendable. I like the bassist’s loose/jazzy approach to the genre despite keeping things tight. Some more bass-drum complementary interplay would’ve surely been appreciated. All said and done, 20 minutes into the album I was already snoozing save for a riff here or there which I would find to be mildly interesting.

There is no disputing the fact that Myndsnare have talent. I just hope that their next release goes down better with me. The release of this album is definitely a step in the correct direction for Indian metal in general. But the last word is that this is a mediocre album where there is not much enjoyment to be had. I will not be re-visiting the album. If you’re really passionate about anything solely technical (going through that technical phase) in nature and would like a taste of what India has to offer, only then would I advise you to buy the album.

Label - Demonstealer Records
Year of Release - 2008