India has a population of over a billion, but this is not reflected in the metal department as even Iceland, with a population less than the southeast corner of Mumbai, has spawned a greater number of metal bands. As hard as they try, I doubt Demonic Resurrection or IIIrd Sovereign will ever be as popular as Bollywood films -- unless they have an Aishwarya Rai on bass --but it doesn't mean that decent metal can't arise from the subcontinent.

Newcomers IIIrd Sovereign are one of them, but only just. They perform grinding death metal, every bit as brutal as it is short. The vicious riffs and pummelling drums are interspersed with a couple of contemplative passages, and combined with guttural growls and an acceptable production, result in a listenable album. But this is all par for the course, and IIIrd Sovereign deliver little, if anything, that has not been heard many, many times before. Purchasing this CD wouldn't be a waste of hard-earned cash, but neither would one bother to buy their next album.