Ishan Dave and Abhilash Sreekumar have had a long-distance music relationship since the Mr. GnG debut single a few years back. Ishan traveled all the way from India to Lyon in France to write and record their new debut album After Us, The Flood, now available everywhere.
Joined by Gujarat-based guitarist Aatrey Bhatt (Rapscallion) on opener “Cognitive Haze,” the project prove to be fringe music, appealing to the Coheed and Cambria and Thank You, Scientist prog scene.
With a more Megadeth and Dream Theater bite, Mr. GnG experimentally riff through “Paralyse,” including a feature by Lebanese-American guitarist Rudy Ayoub. Directed by Sehran Khan, the single’s video starred the musicians performing in the deserts and cityscape of Los Angeles.
After Us, The Flood is an overall peculiar, yet addictive, record, leaning into the weird boundaries of music. There’s grunge, jazz, mathcore, classic rock, country, and musical theater in the blood of this album. It’s difficult to summarize all avant-garde forty-minutes beyond off-the-wall. It’s like a side project with members of Oingo Boingo, Metallica, and The Dear Hunter. Shout out to the mixing and mastering by Thejus Nair at Eleven Gauge Recordings (Sitar Metal, Project Mishram).