Diarchy - Splitfire

Rolling Stone (India) wrote that “Diarchy’s 2017 debut Here Lost We Lie features smouldering riffs that Rawat (guitars, vocals) ploughs into over and over until they’re stuck in your head.” The album was a promising debut and was heavily weighted in the stoner rock land led by bands such as Kyuss, Fu Manchu and Clutch. For its follow up, the catchy riffs and hooks are certainly still there, yet the band have added more layers to its sound and songwriting approach. 

Diarchy are a two piece from Bangalore, India that formed only two years prior, and have developed a ‘must see’ local live reputation. In March 2020, Diarchy released their sophomore album Splitfire, which was produced by Bengaluru producer Sridhar Varadarajan, and released on Unherd Music; however, Splitfire needs to be heard. It needs to be heard by rock and metal fans abroad, especially anyone that finds an interest in albums from Queens of the Stone Age, Clutch, Baroness, Tool, Mastodon or Deftones.

At a point approaching our third Splitfire listen, we were throwing out references (in addition to the above) like: An American Prayer (Jim Morrison), Led Zeppelin’s eastern flourishes, Adam Jones tones, that Buzz Osborne freak out at the end of the title track, the spoken word part in the Neurosis song A Heart For Deliverance, Velvet Revolver on Sunny Side Up, and even Kurt Cobain on the song Badger (Bleach era). However, after a while it becomes apparent that while these are influences, or merely points of references that have informed their sensibility, this is Diarchy, and they sound like Diarchy - and no one else.

Splitfire is a deeper album than Here Lost We Lie in production and songwriting. The band have not completely removed the stoner tag, but there is a definite sonic shift away from that doobie desert landscape. On Splitfire, there is more variety in the vocals; there is an emphasis on melody, and there are unexpected twists and turns which are more exciting that anything that has come out of stoner rock or metal for a long time. That genre has a devout following, though it also has a slacker stigma that Diarchy seem driven to evolve away from, and they have done so. Diarchy tread an incredible balance between intricate and glorious musicianship (guitar mainly), and catchy, heavy and fat early Deftones like riffs. 

Splitfire is a brave album. After the stomping opener Kamal Hossen that has Queens of the Stone Age like transitions, Adam Jones tones, Silverchair (Freak Show) moments and an old school heavy metal vocal, the band throw a huge curveball with Tirunelveli. It is a brilliant moving song, which is largely instrumental with a provoking spoken word section with intricate guitar passages, think Baroness circa Red Album. The track gradually moves and evolves, until a Mastodon (Leviathan) era stomp closes out the track and leads into Gone Too Late. It is a move that young bands do not take, yet it works. These moments happen time and time again, Home is a poignant middle point and Kraanti would not feel out of place on Apocalypse Now, which features a speech by Ravish Kumar, an after accepting a much coveted journalism award. Best Way Out is Always Through is a strange trippy Jim Morrison like number. I can picture him dancing around a campfire, a bottle of Whiskey in hand with naked women hand twirling their fringes in their fingers. Then again, I can also see Vikings taking singing turns with SWANS frontman Michael Gira before some sort of sacrificial act. 

Gone Too Late has plenty of Adam Jones bleeding through, there is also a solo that comes in at 14 seconds - who does that? The guitar and bass trade punches on the title track Splitfire, but they still coincide. Rolling Stone (India) wrote in their Splitfire article that “With the type of music we play, which is mostly riffs, the bass would mostly play the same parts.” While performing live, Prakash splits the guitar signal and has a big rig in parallel, thereby giving him the option to have both the guitar and bass outputs simultaneously. There is a brilliant Buzz Osborne vocal freak out at the end of Splitfire -  it is so very cool. The whole track (and album) is catchy, and you feel cooler listening to this. A minute of guitar on the album goes so fast, and it leaves you wanting so much more because they are written very well. Diarchy care about their riffs, they care about their craft, and the album is a musicians album.  

Splitfire never stays in the same pocket vocally or musically. The variation is at times subtle, but that makes it a comfortable listen. It is not a challenging listen, but it challenges the listener, and that balance is important. Ooh what does that remind me of? ooh how did they make that sound? ooh I wonder what they will do next? Ooh I wonder where they stand politically? I get the feeling that Diarchy have lofty goals, and if that is not the case then they should. This is a weird yet accessible album in an era that smirks at strange albums, it is an experience, it is brave and not afraid, and it is structured very well.