With the group formed two years ago, a full-length album release and performing live remains a priority
Anurag Tagat
Jan 08, 2021
Artwork for The Silent Offensive’s debut single “Hands Where I Can See Them” by Anish Sundaran
It’s been a little over two years, but we’re finally getting promised carnage from metal band The Silent Offensive in the form of their relentless debut single “Hands Where I Can See Them,” which released on January 3rd.
The group — comprising vocalist Sunneith Revankar (currently part of Undying Inc), erstwhile Shillong metallers Aberrant‘s guitarists Imti Kharkongor and Jerry Nelson Ranee and Arunachal drummer Teji Toko — have already navigated recording delays, a canceled live debut (at crowdfunded gig series Control ALT Delete in Mumbai in 2019) and the departure of bassist Reuben Bhattacharya. Kharkongor says, “Where do I start? It has definitely been long since we announced our getting together as a band. We’ve wanted to put music out for a while now but certain things happened along the way that constricted us from doing so.”
The guitarist says they did seek to find a replacement for Bhattacharya before releasing music, but it didn’t click, which led to Ranee recording bass for “Hands Where I Can See Them.” He adds, “Another contributing factor was us getting tones right, making final arrangements adjustments to the song. Since this was our first release as a band we wanted to have everything just right or somewhere close to how we want it to be.” The song was mixed by Mumbai’s bassist-producer Ashwin Shriyan at his Mind Map studios and mastered by America’s Grammy-nominated engineer Taylor Larson, who was worked with modern metal bands such as Periphery and Veil of Maya.
The Silent Offensive certainly burst out the doors with total conviction, offering breakneck speed and visceral songwriting going over ever-changing brutal rhythmic patterns. Although the band had originally released a teaser for a dissonant song called “Paper Brace” back in 2018, Kharkongor calls “Hands Where I Can See Them” a clearer, stronger representation of their sound, while promising that “Paper Brace” will also release eventually.
Shaking off a few jinxes on their way, The Silent Offensive are now plotting a full-length album on priority. “This year has started off on a good note and we want to keep fueling that fire. Recordings and arrangements for the album has already started as well as budgeting for it. For now, we are enjoying our first release as a band and look forward to the time we get to perform the song live,” Kharkongor says.
Listen to “Hands Where I Can See Them” below. Stream on more platforms here.
