Coridian – Hava
(Independent)
Reviewed by Tim Gruar.
Formed back in 2015, Coridian are the brothers Raven – Mike (Guitars/Keys), Kris (Drums/Percussion) and Nick (Bass) fronted vocally by Dity Maharaj. Their CV includes work with producers and studio masters such as Zorran Mendonsa (City Of Souls/Crooked Royals), Forrester Savell (Karnivool, Shihad) and Ermin Hamidovic (Architects/Intervals). And their dance card includes shows across the motu, including their own headliner tours and performances with local high profilers like Devilskin, City of Souls, I AM GIANT, Ekko Park, Dead Favors, Skinny Hobos & Written by Wolves. They’ve also shared stages with overseas heroes such as Skillet, P.O.D, Fuel and Fozzy.
A Coridian is an ancient vessel used to hold the ashes from souls with otherworldly powers, strengths and magic, fused with roots and dirt from ruins and ancient battlegrounds. The Mayans believed that this ‘soil’ when mixed with herbs and a special cave water could give them unlimited powers and even immortality. Some believe that this may have been the beginning of the vampire. Some believe it’s a great name for a band. I’m in that camp, for sure.
‘Hava’ (Air), their new album, comes off the tail of five years hard graft releasing a string of singles, videos (including ‘Reflections’, ‘Rite Passage’ and ‘State of Mind’ – from this new album) and three e.p.s – 2015’s ‘Oceanic’ (Water), 2017’s ‘Caldera’ (Earth) & 2020 ‘Eldur’ (Fire) which comprise a concept series called ‘Elements’.
Ahead of it’s March release the band have already dropped a number of singles including ‘Wicked Game’ (a reimagining of Chris’s Issak’s classic tale), ‘Endless War’, ‘Rakshasa’, ‘State of Mind’ and ‘Co-Exist’ all in anticipation of their album tours planned for this year and the next across Aotearoa, Australia and beyond.
The tile, ‘Hava’, is loaded with meaning. In Hindi, ‘the air is the space around things or above the ground.’ In Sanskrit, it is ‘Sacrifice’. It is also the Arabic word for ‘Eve’, which is the originator of sin in the Christian Bible. And there are many more definitions, too. But my favourite comes from www.wisdomlib.org, described in the theatrical sense: “Hāva (हाव, “intense emotion”) or Bhāva is the first touch of emotion in a mind previously at rest; when the emotion becomes more intense, and finds expression in movements of the eyes, eyebrows, etc., it is called hāva.” This is the description that I think best sums up this album’s richness. There is clearly more intellectual engagement required than just 54 minutes of mindless head banging.
The album’s crisp intense sound is a product of a collaboration between the band and Zorran Mendonsa, who also engineered, mixed and mastered the music.
For Coridian, this album, musically, at least appears to inspired by popular heavyweights like Incubus and Deftones, who mix groove, big guitars and a complexity of song writing, layered over pop hooks and melody. Its solid melodic bass, grinding heavy guitar grooves and driving beats steer this ship with skill through the stratosphere.
The material for this album was written and recorded in various stages of recent lockdowns. Overall, the subject matter for ‘Hava’, according to the band’s press, “remains optimistic and carries the continued theme of growth, humanity and expression” and incorporates Indian influences, a nod to Dity’s own heritage and whakapapa.
A song cycle instrumental called ‘Algorithim’ opens the album, drawing you into a complex spiral mix of electronic symposiums, heavy guitars and driving beats. It offered promise of a journey but is merely a bookend to what’s to come and doesn’t appear to return anywhere else on the album. I’d imagine this being the curtain raiser at any live show, where it would faithfully provide the necessary impact and drama.
‘State of Mind’ is the discs first proper song and it’s a beauty. A hard, driving and melodic head banger, with emo overtones. Think early 2000’s Evanescence, Seether, Breaking Benjamin, Blindspott, A Perfect Circle. Maybe even Linkin Park. This sets the tone and style for the rest of the set. It’s 2005, again. And that’s ok.
The message seems to be about survival, facing those demons – internal, external, whatever you can do to make it through the night. It follows the true formula hard and soft, catch and release. But its incredibly catchy, too. This one would satisfy the mosh pit any day (err night) of the week.
‘Dunes’ gets darker and even heavier, but still melodic. Again, that template of hard and fast, with a slow dreamy bridge in the middle – relief of sorts for the energy explosion about to be unleashed: “Brace myself for what’s to come”, shouts Dity, in warning.
‘Rakasha’ features the sweet vocals of Michael Murphy (Written By Wolves, and yes, runner-up in NZ Idol 2004) to offset lead vocalist Dity’s manic, gravel road delivery. What I’m loving about this band is their knowledge. For instance, this song veers away from the usual destruction metaphors of the European gods and icons to speak about Indian deities we need to steer clear of. Rākṣasa in Hindu mythology, is a type of shape shifting demon or goblin and can transform at will into animals, monsters, or in the case of the female demon (Rākṣasī), into seductive beautiful women who can entrap.
‘Endless War’ and ‘Exist’ deliver on their promise of intense relentlessness. The former is a challenge to negativity. It seems the ‘endless war’ is as much of the mind as against any state. No peace to be found: “Tell me, is this how you want to live?/ There are battles in your mind, you must believe/ Countless times I see, there’s a negative disease/ That infects the rest, no one’s the best, they fall/ You take on the storm/ Would you rather be at war? You live for what’s wrong/ When you’d rather be at war”
‘Redefine’ begins slowly with a beautiful tagline guitar riff. It’s slower, swaggering duet between Dity and Jessie Booth (Ekko Park). If I was to pick the most radio friendly number on this album, then this would be it – although others have already been singled out. This is a 3-minute complex relationship song, covering the good, bad and ugly – the whole gambit. Lighters out, people, sway away now.
The odd one out here is a cover of Chris Isaak’s ‘Wicked Game’. This version avoids the haunting, disturbing eeriness of the original and applies a more commercial, upbeat treatment. I really want to champion it. But I just can’t, as much as I appreciate the effort. It would be perfect on a US talent show like Rock Star, The Voice or Idol but here, in this collection, it just seems too trite. The song should sound desperate, resigning. This version is as mushy as overcooked peas and carrots. Sorry to be so brutal. For me, I felt it just doesn’t belong on an album that contains so many great originals.
The follow on ‘Coexist’ is a traumatic redemption, with a soaring vocal performance from Dity. The musicianship on this number, as it with all the songs, is flawless. I’m in awe of the talent of this crew. Brothers Mike, Kris, and Nick Raven are in tune with each other, almost at some psychic level. As Sarah Kidd observed in an Ambient Light live review, they work “…as a well-oiled machine; the gear box of which is Maharaj, his vocals taking the band from a hum to a scream within seconds”. I couldn’t put better myself.
There are some surprises to be found later on. Like the delicate instrumental ‘The Unkindness’ which is just a beautiful wig out. Unlike the opening salvo, this one is a more fully formed endeavour that fans of Jakob would enjoy.
The album closes with the intensity of ‘Meraki’ (in Greek referring to ‘adding love’), ‘Seed III’ (the two previous parts featuring on early collections) and ‘Naya Din’ (an Indian expression meaning the creation of a new age, new days, and new nights.) – all three being epic in their own right.
‘Hava’ is complex, yet accessible. Intricate at times, but also as subtle as a sledge hammer. Music switches between a full force body blow and a gentle soothing whisper. The album solidifies further their signature style – a combination of deep, philosophical and emotive lyrics with heavy then ambient sounds. Like a series of rolling tempests, punctuated by moments of calm. False relief before the return of the devastation.
That said, there is a certain level of homogeneity through out the album, and after about five songs I was looking for more uniqueness and variety. As good as this band is, there are no face melting guitar solos or digital interludes, scratching or other DJ interventions. But what they do is phenomenal. They remain true to their cause, which I must respect.
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