UMUR "Guiltless" is the 4th full-length studio album by US sludge/ doom metal act Indian. The album was released in April 2011 by Relapse Records.

The music on the 7 track, 40:56 minutes long album, is filthy and raw sludgy doom. The vocals are rather extreme. Very aggressive/raspy and at times desperate sounding vocals delivered with a caustic conviction. Unfortunately the vocals are a bit one-dimensional. The music is bleak, bleak, bleak. The kind of album which leaves no hope and all you can think about during the playing time is desolate wastelands and abandoned urban ruins. The band make great use of haunting guitar dissonances to create an atmosphere that spells utter despair. Indian very skillfully change pace and move from one section to the next without ever destroying the basic mood of the tracks and upon listening to the full album, "Guiltless" comes off as a very consistent and powerful album.

The production is powerful and raw. Always on the edge of feedback and distorted to hell.

"Guiltless" is one mother of a bleak and sludgy doom metal album. It´s the kind of album that threatens to rip you apart with it´s convincing delivery but at the same time keeps you entertained because the tracks are so damn well written. Indian use very few tools and a pretty basic rock instrumentation of two guitars, drums, bass and vocals to create the haunted, bleak atmosphere on the album and I guess I find their simple approach charming and extremely well executed. A 4 star rating is fully deserved.

J-Man Indian's Guiltless, the band's first offering on Relapse Records, isn't a particularly easy album to dive into. The dense soundscapes, brutal atmosphere, and sheer inaccessibility can make for a difficult first few listens. Even after plenty of repeated spins, Guiltless still can come across as a harsh album - those crazy vocals from Dylan O'Toole are definitely difficult to get used to. I can't say I was too impressed by Guiltless (mainly due to its lack of memorable hooks and variation), but it's still highly recommendable to people who enjoy more extreme forms of doom/sludge metal.

The music on Guiltless mainly consists of extra-distorted heavy and doomy riffs, energetic drumming, and crazy screamed/growled vocals. I do certainly have to applaud Indian for having discovered their own sound and coming across as quite original. Unfortunately, the main setback the of album lies in the department of "memorable compositions". Guiltless is so focused on utter filth and disgust that it leaves a very small mark once it's over - I have a great time while listening to the album, but I have a tough time picking out more than a riff or two once the running time is over. Maybe Guiltless demands more spins than I've dedicated to it - this certainly is an inaccessible album, so it would definitely take an adventurous listener to really understand the release. I'd definitely encourage any fan of filthy sludge/doom metal to take up that challenge!

Despite my subjective gripes with Guiltless, it is still a high-quality product that unquestionably will attract a large fanbase. The irresistibly raw production, strong musicianship, and great atmosphere outweigh the sub-par compositions in the end. Indian's fourth full-length outing may not frequent my listening schedule in the future, but it's still worthy of a solid 2.5 - 3 star rating. Bands with this much raw energy are just a lot of fun to listen to, regardless of the "beef" behind the compositions. I have a feeling these guys would be great fun to experience in a live setting.