AN UPDATE: KARTIKEYA AND ARSAFES

I’m thinking about having the words “Kartikeya Pimp” tattooed on my forehead. I’d have to convince my wife that Kartikeya is the name of a Russian metal band instead of a middle school cheerleader with a budding crack habit, but other than that it should be clear sailing, don’t you think?

I’m just trying to be honest, because we do write about this band a lot at NCS, and for good reason. They put the BAD in badass and the ASS in ass-kicking. Their latest release is the Durga Puja EP, which emerged last fall. It included two rewritten songs from the band’s debut album, two outstanding covers, and one new original song — the EP’s title track.

Yesterday, TheMadIsraeli tipped me to the fact that the band’s main man Arsafes had uploaded a video of himself performing a guitar playthrough of “Durga Puja”. It’s a reminder of how great that song is, and it’s just fun to watch Arsafes extract such beastly rhythms in the flesh.

The video is after the jump. It will tide us over until June 22, when Kartikeya has promised delivery of their next single (“Vayu”), which we presume (though we’re not sure) will appear on their next album, Samudra, and which will include guest appearances by NCS favorite Keith Merrow and Serbian vocalist Aleksandra Radosavljevic.

While I’m on the subject of Kartikeya, I want to mention that the band has now made all of their releases available for streaming and download on Bandcamp, which you can find via this link.

And while I’m on the subject of Arsafes, I also want to provide an update about one of his other bands — Above the Earth, which last week released their first single, “Trapeze”.

Above the Earth (previously featured at NCS here) is a collaboration between Arsafes and the previously mentioned Aleksandra Radosavljevic. “Trapeze” also features a guest solo by talented Polish guitarist Jakub Żytecki (check this out for a cool taste of his solo work).

“Trapeze” comes with a CLEAN SINGING! warning, because that’s what Aleksandra Radosavljevic does — though she does it very well. But “Trapeze” really stands on four pillars: Besides Aleksandra’s vocals, the song is carried by Arsafes’ crunchy, body-moving guitar rhythms, Jakub’s head-spinning solo, and a damned catchy chorus melody.

“Trapeze” isn’t nearly as extreme as most of the music I prefer, but it has managed to worm its way into the place in my head where unbidden strangers sometimes take up residence and make themselves welcome despite all the re-decorating. You can find Above the Earth on Facebook here, and “Trapeze” can be downloaded at a price you name via this Bandcamp link (where you will also find Above the Earth’s sweet cover of “Supercrush!”).

Now, here are the “Durga Puja” playthrough and “Trapeze”: