What’s a gamelan? Well, I’ll let Mr Wikipedia do the leg work here:“Gamelan is a generic term for traditional musical ensembles of Java and Bali which comprises predominantly of percussive instruments.”
Yeah, so I can already see some furrowed brows out there in internet land… how would that work? Metal and traditional music? A recipe for disaster surely?
Niskala clearly wanted to find out if the fusion of metal and island jamming would work, and you know what, it does. They’ve got enough Bali vibe to give you the taste of coconuts in your mouth, but also enough metallic zing to get your armpits moist.
Despite geographic differences, you’ll pick up the tribal vibe of old Sepultura, and although I’m sure the lads in Niskala will hate me for saying it but there’s a touch of Slipknot in there too.
I don’t bring in the Slipknot comparison purely for the masks and the fact there’s loads of them in the band; it’s also thanks to the addition of extra percussion. And let’s be honest, whether you appreciate Slipknot or not, the musicians are all tight as a noose on their instruments and they chose to wear masks as a marketing ploy and it worked, so who’s laughing now? Not me, I’m poor and they’re loaded.
I don’t know if gamelan infused metal will make as much cash for Niskala as metal has for Slipknot, but I’ve got a feeling they’re doing it for the love rather than the cash. And that’s the proper way around isn’t people?
Niskala hail from Manchester which has always been a hot bed for metal and anything hard really. Hard drugs, hard people, hard guns. Etc.
Niskala’s Bandcamp page has three tracks on it (below), my favourite is Sarebi.
With a lot of attempted crossover type things you don’t get enough of either genre, but with these guys you really get the island vibe and you certainly get the metal beef. When I first came to listen to Niskala I was expecting disappointment, but you know what I got? I got a lovely smile across my face and it don’t get no better than that does it ladies?
Here’s Niskala’s Panak EP…
See? I bet you smiled underneath your frown too didn’t you? Here’s your deets:
