Varaha – EP

Varaha’s first EP is a fucking BANGER.  Wrote this when it was released back in 2016.

Chicago has one of the best, yet overlooked metal music scene.  There are so many talented artists out there working their asses off to create their views of beauty, sorrow, angst, or whatever through music.  It is all within reach of music fans; as long as one is willing to find it.  I am one of those people, and the newest gem I have found is absolutely stunning.  This gem has a run time of less than sixteen minutes, but its’ impact on me has resonated itself as if I have listened to a whole full length album.  This is Varaha, and their self titled EP is something quite special.

Before I talk about the tracks themselves, I must tell you about their live performance.  Over the weekend I had the opportunity to see Varaha open up for Finnish legends AMORPHIS, and their live set completely slayed.  From the moment they walked on stage, they had the attention of every single person in the venue.  They were tight, and their sound was massive.  What a joy it was to see these guys play.  Seriously, this band has worked really hard to perfect their craft.

Varaha is comprised of three tracks; it begins with the track “Cubicle”, which fans of bands like Russian Circles and Deafheaven will eat it up like Sunday dinner.  Ethereal and spacey, yet elegant and classy.  The second track, “La Mela”, is a short interlude featuring Chicago’s own Bruce Lamont wooing the listener with his bendy sex whistle. I highly suggest checking out Bruce’s other projects where he plays the saxophone in Brain Tentacles, Yakuza, and Corrections House.  The third and final track on Varaha, “Ghost” goes back to the shoegazey, black metal/post rock sound that Varaha has perfected and this track totally gives out the feels, man.  

Wow, what a powerful EP Varaha is.  Will someone please just fucking sign these guys so we can be graced with a full length release?  Oh and visit their bandcamp and spend the two dollars on this, or five if you want a hard copy.  You will thank me later.

Tracklist

1. Cubicle
2. La Mela
3. Ghost

Lineup:

Fabio Brienza (Vocals, Guitars)

Joel Hollis (Guitars)

David Swanson (Drums)

Bryan Gold (Bass)

Check out Varaha here:

https://www.facebook.com/pg/varahachicago

https://varaha.bandcamp.com/