Zindan - Depth (2009)

Zindan are from Uzbekistan and play "Progressive Melodic Death Metal". I suppose that's a fair description, though it's progressive/power metal mixed with melodic death metal, not "progressive death metal", as I was hoping. The music is pretty substandard by Western standards. They use some interesting Asian-sounding ethnic music (Uzbek folk, I assume?) at times, but aside from that it's pretty disappointing. The funk bass parts (in "Facing One Another") in particular weren't a good idea. When they get heavier (the beginning of "In the Depth of Zindan"), they're much better than the typical prog/power metal sections. But in that track, then they degenerate into Metallica worship and a cheesy sing-along gang chorus. The playing is pretty solid, but not very challenging, and the guitar leads and solos are pretty amateurish. They use two different vocal styles: grunted vocals (which are okay) and clean vocals (which sound like Metallica). The production is decent, but at times could use more power and a crisper feel. Check this out if you need to hear some metal from Uzbekistan, but for the rest of us, this is pretty forgettable.

Their MySpace has one track from this album, "Truth Becomes a Lie", and two other tracks.