Congratulations to MyndSnare, who have produced a real revelation of a debut album. Straight out of that notorious hotbed of heavy metal music, Bangalore, this Indian band has existed for almost a decade but have, until the release of Conditioned- Human, only released two demos. Hopefully they will record more, because this is a band that really deserves to be listened to.

They play a technically advanced form of progressive death metal mingled with thrash elements, backed up by songwriting that is original, finely crafted, and powerful. Interestingly, the first musical reference that comes to mind upon listening to this record is not necessarily the most accurate comparison. Like the UK's Biomechanical, MyndSnare have a talent for conjuring up complex yet brutal riffs that twist from one unexpected shape to the next, with a fluidity that can be truly remarkable at times. Whilst at this stage in their development the band can't quite match the pulverising heights of riffsmanship set by Cannibalized, this is compensated for by their ability to avoid sounding like the aural equivalent of a post work-out high-fiving session in the men's locker room. When MyndSnare take the intensity down a notch, they still sound like they have something to say musically, rather than dragging their feet as if it was a trip to the dentist. And even when they are at full tilt, this music has real soul to it. Conditioned- Human is a work of art for the heart, as well as the head.

The artist whose spirit MyndSnare really seem to be channeling is Chuck Schuldiner. Just like the peerless Death, they manage to squeeze a level of introspection and feeling into death metal riffs that outsiders to this type of music often think is impossible. As with Chuck's songwriting, the band does not need to throw in acoustic sections or clean vocals to generate real emotion. This is a long way from the only similarity between Conditioned- Human and later period Death. The song titles, for a start, seem to reflect the same oblique philosophising and pessimistic observation of human behaviour. There's even a track here called Use the Pain (track 2, in fact!). The most important bonds, of course, are in the sound of the music itself. Listen to tracks like Altar Ego or Temporal Movements. The plaintive, expansive lead guitar lines, the muddy mid-tempo riffs that threaten to peel off at any moment into shimmering solos or pensive breakdowns, and the occasional willingness to allow the bass guitar to come to the fore could all come straight from death metal gems such as Human or Individual Thought Patterns.

I was tempted to give it a score way up in the 90s, but at this stage the band still wear their influences a bit too strongly on their sleeve. Their myspace lists their inspiration as Cynic, Judas Priest and Death, but it's really the last one all the way, even if some of the solos suggest Priest. But this should not be taken to mean that MyndSnare do not have their own voice at all. The band have an upper musical gear that they are not afraid to show off, with electrifying blasted sections bringing an energy that even the pioneers of this style often could not match. There are so many bands in the metal world today that are unoriginal, and MyndSnare do what they do so well that at times it hardly seems to matter that they are not shattering new ground. The bottom line is that this is one of the best debut albums that I've heard in an awfully long time, from a band that deserves a great deal more than obscurity.