KASCK Release Debut Album The Universal Lie: Pune Thrash

Three years after the Deal With The Devil EP, KASCK land a full-length on German label Witches Brew — and it is fast, mean and built for the pit.

KASCK have spent three years being the Indian thrash band people kept recommending to each other. On 17 October, the Pune trio finally gave them a full record to point at. The Universal Lie is out now, and it does not waste a riff.

Made in India, brewed in Germany

The album arrives through Witches Brew, the German label that has quietly become a home for new-school thrash worldwide. Its pitch for the record — "Thrash Metal made in India and Brewed in Germany!" — is about as on-brand as label copy gets. The limited CD (catalogue BREW201) is out through Witches Brew, vinyl through Elastic Stage, and the digital version is on Bandcamp and streaming services.

That route matters. An overseas thrash label pressing a debut from Pune is the kind of thing that, a decade ago, would have been a long shot.

Seven tracks, no filler

The tracklist is lean: "The Universal Lie", "Divide By Design", "Terror Of The Night", "Be Quick Or Be Dead", "A Bastard's Tale", "Saviour" and "Oblivion". "Be Quick Or Be Dead" is an 81-second blur; "A Bastard's Tale" stretches close to six minutes and gives the band room to stomp. Videos are already out for "Divide By Design", "Be Quick Or Be Dead" and "Terror Of The Night".

The playing is what you want from a trio in this lane: chugging, aggressive, played like it is costing them something. Mayank Katare handles guitars and vocals, Vishal Prabhu plays bass, and Rahul Singh drives the whole thing from behind the kit.

The road to the album

The record follows the 2023 EP Deal With The Devil. In between, KASCK toured Malaysia and Singapore and became fixtures on India's heavier circuit, including a Wacken Warm Up Party set in Bangalore. A debut this tight feels earned by that mileage.

For a scene that keeps producing heavy bands but too few full-lengths, The Universal Lie is a welcome statement: Indian thrash, fully grown, on a label that ships worldwide.