Ringside View, the band’s debut album, would be easy to bracket as a cynical observer of an increasingly hedonistic society. Imagine MMS scams, ‘lights-action-start sobbing’ reality shows, fly-by-night celebs, webcam voyeurism, televised hangings, page 3 nightouts, me-too mentalities, late night runovers and coke-laced shootouts Ringside View is all of these and more, for in it the band members have stepped out of comfort zones, and turned the search light on themselves. Intensely personal and passionately dark, the album quizzes society as much as it quizzes the self. It raises questions. Probes. Prods. Nitpicks. And seeks answers for a society as members of a society caught within a carefree free-fall. Part-investigative, part-introspective, the album consummates the band’s decade-long struggle through artistic and personal turmoil. The result is an uninhibited mix of music from grunge, power chords, rap, hip hop, funk, moody guitar lines, new age metal, and even Bollywoodish kitsch that have been carefully drafted in to go with the spirit of the lyrics. It is difficult to commit Ringside View to a narrow slot. How can you with an album that has been blended within a hot wok of international sounds, but at its very core, is about issues closer home. Look at it this way: Ringside View, all done and said, was conceived in an India where now resides the world. Choose your expression. Choose to headbang, or to rap along. Or sitting in the little corner of your room, choose to be a ringside participant. ‘Come to my place’ goes the opening line of their song, Story of my Life. ‘.I’ll show you my face/Take off my mask/You’ll see the real me’ With Ringside View, know you are invited.