VAJRA – The Mirror

The lead single “The Mirror” off of New York City based Vajra’s forthcoming EP Ikralla features haunting, relentless Prog Rock elements highlighted by lead vocalist Annamaria Pinna’s impassioned delivery and a strong, thick, modern metal production.

As a band that has honed its sound throughout countless live shows, the tightness and consistency that one would expect of a band that has carefully ironed out its chemical seams, is found here without any weaknesses. Fans of modern groups such as In This Moment or Lucuna Coil will enjoy the prog tinged heaviness of “The Mirror” while enthusiasts of more traditional Metal and Hard Rock will be pleased with Vajra’s overall melodic content. The band has established a somewhat new-age / spiritual vibe and style and although this may make the band less accessible to certain audiences, it has the advantage of giving them a well defined attitude with a strong direction and brandible image.

One departure that “The Mirror” makes from the typical Prog Metal approach is in its use of a dynamically soft, clean guitar mid-song instrumental passage, as apposed to a heavy breakdown or guitar solo. This breaks up the flow of the song nicely and is perhaps an encouraging sign in the road ahead for Vajra. While a 90’s-esq lack of guitar solos would probably sink the band, certainly a fresh approach to arrangements and song structures will help Vajra step out from the, currently very crowded, pack. As it gets more and more difficult for new bands to distinguish themselves from their peers, having the combination of a clearly defined image, high level album production, and consistent songwriting should help Vajra on their quest for world-conquering rock stardom.

With “The Mirror” being the first track released ahead of Vajra’s debut EP (scheduled for release this Fall), only time will tell if the band can follow up this track with equally strong efforts. Should they succeed in this task, Vajra will likely find itself playing larger and larger stages and commanding more rabid and fanatical audiences.