We have our hands on a new Warwan song, called Zanjeer which was published on 30th April and it had somehow managed to stay off our radar for a while. Well, it’s never too late for an entree in an All you can eat buffet anyway.
Now I have reviewed Warwan before (and I am afraid I’ve become a huge fan myself) and it does have all the typical characteristics which I have grown fond of – all in all, an emotionally charged memorable songs that pack a punch. Talking about punch, this one does recoil like a .357 Magnum. Periphery and Tesseract influence is yet again looming right around the edge and yet the song does manage to establish a class of its own.
It showcases plenty of engaging and meaningful lyrics as usual, and the verses hit hard and the chorus cuts deep. People going through a rough patch in life would find the lyrics to be quite relatable. The song isn’t too long or too short, just hits the sweet spot clocking in somewhere around 4 minutes and 30 seconds. The song ‘s intro goes all-out intense and I could sense my Irises expanding the moment it kicked in (that’s metal for you). Plenty of goosebumps-inducing moments thrown into the fray and the most mesmerizing one being the moment bass drops and the chorus kicks in for the first time. Even with the complex nature of the song, there are sections specifically carved in to allow for some breathing space. Vocals quality is top-notch once more, Aditya’s vocals oscillate back and forth – gliding effortlessly across the pitch spectrum. And while they don’t go all-out experimental with this particular song, The swapping double beats coupled with brilliant breakdowns and low pitched guitar riffs worked really well with the progression. I really liked the colourful instrumental intermission that the song sports halfway through. It bridges the second verse with the first one with beautifully crafted melodious tunes. Perfect in every sense. The ending was unexpectedly subtle though, not complaining or anything. It’s just that the entire time I could sense that it was building up to something epic that is going to drop any moment now, but that’s just their way of doing it I suppose.
Now discussing the video itself, the cinematography wasn’t really something to write home about, and while I found the theme quite interesting but the implementation was quite lacking with so much scope for improvement. It was not necessarily bad per se but the inadequate production value was kind of off-putting. The video tells this overly clichéd story of a guy whose consciousness is trapped within the haunting memories of his past love interest. What happened to her is left to the viewer’s imagination, but I am assuming it was one hell of an ugly breakup. He is chained by his painful feelings which keep surfacing from the dark void left in his life and keep dragging him down (as depicted by the ever-increasing score of masked cultists that surround him, visibly enjoying their victim’s suffering). Highly abstract and subjective theme and can be interpreted in different ways.
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The camera switches back and forth between shots of the ill-fated protagonist visibly struggling to break free from his chains and escape his dingy prison cell and that of the disgruntled band members who can be seen performing in a desolate forest in the middle of nowhere. While it does make for an interesting setting for a metal song video, the idea is not something unheard of. Metal bands do seem to have a fetish for desolate forests, dark dishevelled rooms, chains and creepy masked cultists.
Though to most people music videos are quite irrelevant anyway, as its practically the music they have signed up for and that’s where Warwan doesn’t hold anything back this time around. They definitely are one of the key pioneers of North Indian metal scene and have a long way to go. Believe me, the feel factor of this song is simply off the charts. To be honest, that has always been the biggest strength of Warwan and even their average songs leave that sweet aftertaste on the back of your tongue, leaving you craving for more.
