If I'm reading my info sources correctly, this Chicago based Blackened Sludge-Noise act was founded in 2003 by the trio of singer/ guitarist Dylan O'Toole, bassist Ron Devries, and drummer Brian Lynn, and in that line-up not only self-released their 3-track 11-minute debut EP God Slave, but also their (11-track, 54-minute) debut album The Unquiet Sky, issued in May 2005 on the Seventh Rule Recordings label.
Current drummer Bill Bumgardner (whom also handles the sticks in the band Lord Mantis) then took over, and the band, still under contract with Seventh Rule, went on to release the (mini-) albums Slights And Abuse (Oct. 2007; held 4 songs for 28 minutes worth of playing time) and The Sycophant (March 2008; just over 28 minutes for 5 songs). Each release gave the band a wider momentum and recognition within the scene, and brought support performances with the likes of Wolves In The Throne Room, Locrian, and Agalloch. Things then slowed down a bit on the recording front, but in 2010 the guys signed onto the Relapse roster, and somewhere along the way the band expanded into a quintet by adding singer/ guitarist Will Lindsay (formerly of Nachtmystium, Wolves In the Throne Room and Middian; and currently still active as live musician for A Storm Of Light and his other band Anatomy Of Habit) and “Noise” handler Sean Patton. It's that line-up which released which released the critically acclaimed 2011 full-length Guiltless, and found the band new fans wherever they toured throughout the US. Shows were played with Batillus, High O Fire and Yob, confirming Indian as one of the more exciting contemporary Metal acts with a sound which is reminiscent of the era when the Doom genre was truly new.
According to Relapse, the band is recommended if you like Grief, Eyehategod, Buzzoven, SunnO))), High On Fire, Khanate, but trust me when I tell you that Indian does not quite sound completely like any of those bands. In essence, if you're into Sludge with an occasional Noise element (somewhat exaggerated in the album's shortest track “Clarify” - that title really defies the nature of the “song” itself!) and a Blackened singer, then Indian may very well be right up your alley. To make sure, check the “Music” section at (www.) facebook.com/IndianDoom, where you're re-directed to the album's BandCamp page, with a possibility to also listen to the Guiltless album. Due to the inevitable delay in reviewing the enormous amount of albums that are being thrown into our to-do boxes, I now find myself in the position where I can tell you that Indian played at the infamous Dutch Roadburn Festival last weekend, following some shows in Germany. At the moment, I have no idea what the band's up to next.