Namanista

Demo Released: 2004

Synopsis:

Namanista featured Pheroze as their singer, guitar player and dominant songwriter.

Band Members included:

    Pheroze Karai – Vocals, Guitars
    Dalton – Drums
    Eric Rizk – Guitars
    Michael Jessen – Bass

Check out this video of Namanista performing the song “Asphalt Green“.

Press:

“I actually called Pheroze Records after finding that the URL for the mini CD reviewed here by a band named Earthbound Smoke Ghost, was not working. I got a languid, throaty, exotic voiced message: “Congratulations, you have reached Pheroze.” Indeed – with a voice like his, I feel like I’ve arrived someplace important. Well, it turns out the name of the band has changed to Namanista, the “all encompassing” spirit and is now on www.namanista.com.

This New York City band is a subtle and delicious urban mix. I can hear the metal but also a cross-style agility – not afraid of a quiet section, a minor key or a vocal passage that slides around Persian style. They definitely tend toward the dark and moody, still they can uplift and create hopeful awe with a theatrical style and lyric. There is something dreamy about them – smoky, even, like you got dropped down the rabbit hole and end up at a mad hatter’s tea party with a big joint in your hand. The colors are throbbing and you get the opportunity to view the world through different eyes.

The drummer really seals the deal on the sound. Dalton is very confident with pulling beats out on a limb. He effortlessly adds sequences that roll without the western tradition of landing “on the ONE.” There is always this kind of lyrical, melodic reference to a grander, more organic reality. It’s comforting to see that there is more to their take on life than love and rockets.

“The tired gaze of fallen gods – the crowning of what we’ve done – the drowning of the wayward son.”

You are not sure exactly what the picture is but it’s enough to chew on even for the most esoteric mind. Namanista has a confident, sexy, metal intellectualism that could keep me up at night. I’m waiting to spin this one again on the way home. (8.5/10)” – Nikita, Maelstrom.nu