Premiere: Nangsan’s ‘Fracture Beliefs’ Throws It Back to Death Metal

Shillong metal artist Nangsan Lyngwa. Photo: Harold Thabah

Shillong artist Nangsan Lyngwa (who goes by his first name as an artist) brings back the death metal sound he was known for fronting erstwhile metal band Plague Throat, on his new song “Fracture Beliefs.”

The blistering song is from Nangsan’s upcoming four-track EP Altered Senses, which releases via Subcontinental Records on Oct. 5, 2024. “Fracture Beliefs” and the rest of the EP songs feature Russian drummer Vladimir aka Blastbeatology and bassist Arun Natarajan from Bengaluru prog metal band Eccentric Pendulum (and founder of Subcontinental Records).

Nangsan’s new song was a few years in the works. It follows his wide-ranging singles from 2023 including “Hollow” and “Forlorn Figure.” He says, “With the solo project, you’ve heard a variety of songs. But for this [EP], I waited for the right time, because I had an idea of releasing something similar to Plague Throat – that fanbase is still there, waiting for me to do something similar. I’ve always kept that in mind, that I will release something in that [death metal] sound.”

It was during the lockdown that songs for Altered Senses were made, remotely working with Natarajan and Blastbeatology. “I was looking to record an EP. I had other songs, but it didn’t feel right, man. That’s when I realized that this is the sound I’ve been looking for all this while and found it to fit into the EP,” Nangsan adds.

Thematically, “Fracture Beliefs” draws from the idea of people readily accepting different gods. Nangsan says, “You jump from one faith to another, you denounce your former god. If you have faith, you don’t do that, right? Which god is real if you’re jumping from one faith to the other? I think people all over the world are doing that – they don’t know what they believe in, they’re so confused about themselves. That’s why there’s so many fractures in our society right now.”

Nangsan’s answer is simple when it comes to those who indulge in religious superiority. “Humanity comes first and then you can believe whatever you want. Especially in our country, we’re so divided by religion,” he adds.

Watch the ‘Fracture Beliefs’ lyric video below.

The artist will perform the track on Jul. 17, as part of open-air concert Hessian Aggression: The Gathering in Ri Bhoi, Meghalaya. Headlined by German metal stalwarts Defeated Sanity, the day-long gig will also include Hyderabad/Bengaluru thrash-death metallers Godless (on their final tour with vocalist Kaushal L.S.), Sikkim noise/grindcore act Konflicts, Darjeeling brutal death metallers Estrotomy and Shillong’s thrash metallers Eternal Scorn.

Nangsan, who is also among the core organizers of the event, will step up first on the lineup to perform and then return to running the show with the team. He says the idea to do an open-air concert had been in the works since December last year and clicked when Godless bassist Abbas Razvi offered Defeated Sanity to them.

The show will no doubt take a lot to pull off – and Nangsan is upfront that they will run into a loss – but they’re doing it for the “legacy” of metal in Shillong. While Hessian Aggression – originally held in indoor venues such as The Evening Club in Shillong – will take a break after this July edition, Nangsan says he’ll continue writing music and might do a tour to support Altered Senses EP.