We’re going to make this one short, ok?

Back when the era of expansive, 'heavy' prog metal was at its previous peak, albums had basically two kinds of songs in it – one was a furious, neck-pain-inducing onslaught of pounding drums, big riffs and aggressive vocals. The other end of the balancing act that is a prog album was a more dreamy, laid-back and relaxed presentation with all the same elements sonically but a more introspective approach to songwriting. Lucknow-based metal project Viscous Tea is dabbling in the latter on the single ‘Crimson Tears’.

A collaboration with vocalist Kiran Vincent, this is a moody, layered song that is soaked in so much reverb that the resulting echo from especially the vocals will take days to dry. The single is very much a question of nailing an aesthetic more than choosing one particular feeling to zero in on, which actually makes it a much more relaxing and instantly accessible listen then one would think. ‘Crimson Tears’ balances its distorted vocals with clean parts seamlessly; it also chooses its ebb and flow with enough care to make sure you are not to get out of your hopefully comfortable chair during its also well-chosen runtime of four-ish minutes.

Essentially, Viscous Tea and Kiran Vincent are not going for the simmering rage of an old Deftones song or the complete and absolute dopamine hit of an old Botanist song (if you haven’t heard of Botanist, which is possible, go check that band out). They go for something right in the middle of the two, and ‘Crimson Tears’ achieves it while also being a worthwhile way to spend a few minutes during a listening session.