Sunday 23 March 2014

SHASHANK SUNDAY: AN INTERVIEW WITH UNDYING INC VOCALIST

This man is a powerhouse of some badass vocals. He is vocalist of 'Undying Inc', a band that makes me fucking angry and makes me fucking happy at the same time! FUCK! So yeah man, I had a talk with Mr. Shashank Bhatnagar, who has given some of the most brilliant answers.

This guy is interesting and a great person to know! Check out what he had to say on a lot of things here.



I: Favourite food?
SHASHANK: Primarily anything baked, sauteed, boiled, or grilled.
I'm allergic to sea food & the likes though..

What do you do for a living?
I am a Cafe/Restaurant owner, Vocalist for "Undying Inc", Freelance Jingle Singer/Composer, & a Property Manager.

You had a drop in the middle, when you were no longer part of the band, and now you're back. 
What happened back then?
Musically, I started working on 3 projects simultaneously.
Dropped 2 by the time I joined UI back. Still working on that one project. Details will be out soon.

Your most brutal fight/moment of RAGE!?
All I can remember of it is, my body/clothes being red with blood, blue/black with several bruises, one big 12 stitch scar on my head because of a sealed soda bottle, & a hurt lower back due to which I was bed ridden for 2 months.
Pretty much the same, or worse for those 5 boys, yeah.

What do you have to say about getting 23948765934 good pictures after every gig you play?
Thank you to those awesome photographers. Without you guys, we are just ear candies. :P

Women love you. Do you love them?
A Big Fuckin Yes!



All time favorite quotes and words to live by.
"Live life stronger than hate & death" - Zakk Wylde
"I will fuck you up before I break your face" - Me to a random batch-mate in college :P

Idols/people you look up to.
I'll name 5 : Philip Anselmo, Tom Araya, Devin Townsend, Zakk Wylde, & Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson

Favouritestest bands?
5 Again;
International: Slayer, Pantera, Meshuggah, Iron Maiden, Behemoth
Indian: Bhayanak Maut, Scribe, Zygnema, The Circus, Fuzz Culture

Favourite Indian musicians, or people you've loved jamming with
Guitar: Biswarup Gupta, Keshav Dhar, Adil Manuel, Arsh Sharma, Prashant Shah, Akshay Raj Purohit, Venkat Raman, Amidstya, Sidharth Kadadi, Takar Nabam.
Bass: Reuben Bhattacharya, Ravi Satpute, Lt. Clarence Gonsalves, Shakti Singh, Krishna Jhaveri.
Drums: Yuvraj Sengupta, Nishant Hagjer, Mayank Sharma, Reuben Pachuau, Varun Sood, Rahul Hariharan, Virender Kaith, Shardul Mehta, Srijan Mahajan
Keyboard: Akshat Taneja, Anubhav Misra
Vocals: Vishwesh Krishnamoorthy, Girish Pradhan, Jimmy Bhore, Sunneith Revankar, Noble Luke, Ryngkat Jyrwa

How was the gig the day before?
It was awesome. I could see a lot of dust, hands & horns up in the air, breaking barricades, kids stomping grounds, kids flying & beating the shit out of each other.
Ah! A sweet sight indeed.



Do you think our country/ the metal 'scene' lacks anything in particular? (for example: unity, supporting bands and attending gigs)
I'll just want to give more positive inputs, rather than telling you what is wrong.
Things are getting better with time, staying positive & focused is a promise "being a musician" comes with. The day this industry will have fans who would like to support their favorite bands on a monetary front, things will be different.
The best that can happen as of now for the scene, which might happen eventually;
1) Buy your favorite band's CD/merchandise, cause if you won't, nobody else will. This is the only way they can keep working on their music & stick around.
2) GIVE INDIAN BANDS AN EAR BEFORE JUDGING THEM BY GENRE : This happens so often, people actually judge bands based on their genres rather than actually listening to them. They would listen to, & LOVE/RESPECT international bands from across genres, but when they hear about Indian bands from different genres, it gets more dramatic than stupid soap operas on TV.
An ear lost is a potential fan lost. You never know what music hits you when, be a little more open-minded when it comes to Indian bands.
3) Go to your favorite band's LIVE shows. Gate fee adds vital value to your favorite band's presence. Every time a person isn't willing to pay gate fee to enter venues to see their "favorite" bands, the band suffers. Even though that band has enormous number of fans online/offline, but this is where they fail and venues don't want to bring them back (one of the reasons) cause they have no monetary value.
4) Push your favorite bands for festivals you deem fit. Get in touch with your local organizers & educate them about bands, if required.

Your most amazing moment on stage:
Being onstage is the single most amazing thing in my life.

What should we expect from Undying Inc this year? 
An "Ironclad" EP with 3 songs, & 1 massive surprise.

Listen to single 'I R O N C L A D' released last year.



Undying Inc on FACEBOOK and SOUNDCLOUD

\m/ MAAAANIMAAAAAAAALLLLL \m/

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

Saturday 22 March 2014

ENTOMBED METAL FEST SPECIAL: Q&A WITH PRIMITIV

Today at Entombed Metal Fest volume V, you will witness something very ancient. It isn't old school, no! It's Primitiv. This is like some major stone age shit. Primitiv is a five-piece (6th member is live guitar player) metal band from Bombay.

I did a little interview with these guys, and I'm sure the band is nothing we've heard in the past five years in Bombay. Make sure you catch them live tonight at Vashi. For more details on EMF vol. V, please visit the link at the bottom of the article.


Metalsphere: Hi! What do you like to eat? (yumzlalala)
PRIMITIV:
Riju: Seafood. Loves midnight buffet post Jam
Kiron: Spicy Biryani of all kinds
Avirath: Doesn't eat. On a Diet
Raj: Eats, shoots & leaves! (for Delhi)
Nitin: Archaeopterygidae (small, winged theropods or primitive birds)
Pushkar: Momos 

Tell us about the band (a brief history of how you guys got together)?
Nitin: Rajarshi & Riju who have been part of Albatross earlier had this idea of starting a band which talks about the "brutal stuff which happened in the stone age". But when he started conceptualizing the theme of the Primitiv universe & writing the initial drafts for the songs he realized the potential it had.
He then sent it over to me & three of us got together to write down the first three tracks - Lords of the Primitiv, Taurus & Demon of science.
Raj was also part of Hellwind along with Kiron (guitars) & Pushkar (drums) who then completed the first lineup. Since Raj is currently busy with his work life we have drafted Avirath 'Wrath' Kadam as our Live guitarist. He is quite a livewire!

And you've got a dinosaur on vocals. The last time we saw him was the All-Stars gig with DR and much before that with Morticide. How did Nitin decide to make a come back?
Nitin: Let's say I'm guest vocalist who decided to overstay his welcome! :0
Since 2009 I have done guest vocals at various tribute gigs (Type-O Negative, Slayer) and also with bands/friends like Zygnema, Albatross etc. Post-Morticide, I did a short stint with Reptilian Death and a longish spell with Sledge (Hyderabad based Thrash/Death band) so I was never really out of the scene. Riju's Primitiv universe concept really excited me to be part of a regular band yet again and I love playing live hence I could not resist jamming with the new breed of  talented musicians from the current scene!


Why not old school, why Primitiv!? :P
Nitin: Well, the idea was to basically conceptualize and form the ultimate old school metal band. So it evolved from the fact that ‘we’re more old school than other old school bands’.
We are, therefore, primitive. 
If you like Celtic Frost, Obituary, Morbid Angel and early Sepultura, you’ll probably like Primitiv.
Even our song structures are extremely simple yet intense!

What's the age gap between the youngest and oldest member in the band?
Pushkar: Let's just say that we cover three different generations of Indian metal! ;)
Our vocalist made his live debut in the underground circuit when Avirath was busy watching Kuch Kuch Hota hai at a single screen somewhere in Manpada!

What should we expect from you at Entombed metal fest?
Pushkar: We are excited to play all the four originals live especially Lake Rancid, which is all about hellish monsters created from chemical and magic! ;) Besides that some kvlt covers.

P.S: Pushkar loves me but he doesn't know it yet.



Should we look forward to any releases this year?
Pushkar: Our first release Taurus has got a great response from all quarters of the metal circuit and we will be hitting the studios to record Lake Rancid which should be released towards the end of April. Our current plan is to release singles and we are commissioning artwork specifically for this new track. 


Listen to Taurus here: 



RSVP for Entombed Metal Fest vol. V here.

Visit PRIMITIV on FACEBOOK


Tuesday 18 March 2014

NEW SHIT IN MUMBAI! ZYGNEMA, ENTOMBED METAL FEST, MIDHAVEN, HEADBANGER'S KITCHEN

Zygnema has released a new song titled 'Shell Broken Hell Loose'

Cheggit HERE ON REVERBNATION

What I love about this recording is that the live aggression and essence of the band is captured. Even if you're just listening to it without the band in front of you playing the song, you feel like grooving the fuck out! If you like Zygnema, you know what I'm talking about!

Jimmy is easily one of my favourite vocalists!

This is a YouTube video of the song from Metal Nights, December 2012.


Arun Iyer is working on that new Devoid song btw :P

_________________________________________________________________________

While filming of the new season has already begun, there are a few Headbanger's Kitchen tshirts left. You will be delighted to know who the guests are so just shut up and buy a tshirt.


























The details are all here:
If you missed the Headbanger's Kitchen crowd funding we have these 2 awesome prints available on pre-order. Only 25 of each are available. Get them asap from www.makemymerch.in

For those in Mumbai I have got 3 places where you can drop off cash directly. Please call though before you go. The persons name and number is there.

105, Paradise 43/B, 1st cross lane,
Lokhandwala Complex, Andheri west,
Mumbai 400053.
Contact person: Rahul (9821543001)

100 Chanakya, 7th Floor,
Dr. M.B. Raut Road,
Shivaji Park, Dadar (W),
Mumbai - 400 028
Contact person: Ameya (9821024562)

1003 Rushabh Tower,
Jakaria Bunder Cross Road,
Sewri- West
Mumbai: 400015
Contact person: Vivek (9821251690)

_________________________________________________________________________

Progressive/sludge metal band called Midhaven are the only rock/metal band in India to have gotten completely signed to Universal Music. Their album 'Spellbound' is going to have a worldwide release.

This is a teaser from their upcoming album. Sounds good!


_________________________________________________________________________

This weekend, get ready to witness Entombed Metal Fest Vol. 5. RSVP on that link. There are also some ultimately limited edition passes with Prateek Keni.

Lineup, for people who do not understand logos well enough!

Reptilian Death - Death Metal from Mumbai
SHOCK THERAPY - Brutal/Slamming Death from Hyderabad
GRiMMoRTaL - Deathcore from Mumbai
Wired Anxiety- Groove/Death from Mumbai
Escharified. - Death Metal from Hyderabad
Elemental - Brutal Groove/Death from Indore
Primitiv- Stone Age Metal from Mumbai



For Passes, contact:
Sanjeev Gupta (9967771992) [Kurla-Thane/ Central Line]
Adit Khanzode (9594253935) [Thane-Kalyan]
Paresh Garude (9769820782) [Andheri/ Western Suburbs/ Vashi]
Venkat Iyer (9969767508) [Nerul-Seawoods]
Prateek Keni (9819881088) [Kharghar-Belapur]
Abhishek Gawaande (9029547791) [Panvel]

Call them.

Ya.







Monday 17 March 2014

EXTREME ENDS: ALBATROSS IN VASAI AND PARADIGM SHIFT IN SOBO!

Vasai greeted Mumbai metal band Albatross and the other competitions bands very well! The other two metal bands playing the competition also had a mostpit and some headbanging, as you can see in this Narkasur video below:



Albatross and friends were pretty killer. The special shout-out no. 1 goes to Dinosaur Rajan, as aptly titled by my buddy Anshuman. Trust me, you'd Bark at the Moon after hearing this version with growling vocals. Sorry, I was too amazed to take a video!


But then, we also had the lovely voice of Sid Raveendran on 'Holy Diver' (Dio cover)



This video ahead was a random moment at the end of 'Night Crawler' (Judas Priest cover) with Sahil on vocals and all the friends jumping around on stage.

I didn't know Sushan of Cosmic Infusion could sing man!

And the one moment no one could forget was the crowd shouting 'Sahil Sahil Sahil!' and then an equally powerful 'Makhija Makhija', asking for the demonman to come on stage!


All in all, the gig was great fun and the crowd went mad!



_____________________________________________________________________________

Mumbai's six-piece fusion/rock/progressive band Paradigm Shift judged the band competition at Grant Medical College's festival 'Astitva 2014' and had an opening band 'Tatva' before they set the stage on fire with a heavy performance. Of course, my favourites were played so I was happy.


























The Sobo peeps really don't get it haan? Basically, after vocalist Kaushik made them realise their set doesn't involve ghazal listeners sitting in the back, a few scared and obedient kids got up from their seats and went ahead. :P

The gig ended with a good 40-50min set including their incredible cover of 'Roja'.

.
Tomorrow, gig update and band interview!

\m/

SOBO: South Bombay




Friday 7 March 2014

Q&A WITH PRATEEK: GUITARIST OF GUTSLIT AND REPTILIAN DEATH

One of my favourite guitar players to have jammed with, Prateek Rajagopal is a prodigy. For those who do not know who he is, he is the guitar player of Mumbai bands Reptilian Death and Gutslit. He also has a solo project of his own which most people have no idea about.

I met Prateek when he jammed with Chronic Phobia while the band properly existed but now is more like Chronic so gaya. I was surprised knowing he was younger than me (come on, everyone know I'm not used to it :P) and he could play exceptionally well. I remember while recording, he took a solo in one take, but just for the sake of doing it again, he went for another take!

We call each other Prackticks. I did a little question and answer with him, so that people got to know this talented fucker a little more. I've also included links to his personal modern progressive solo project below.



What is your favourite food?
Prackticks: Honestly, anything Mexican. FOSHIZZLE. Especially my mum’s Mexican food. NOMNOMNOM. I do enjoy most Indian and Italian as well though. But Mexican first. And I HATE Thai food! (Ladies, take note.)

State all thy gear, in detail. 
Guitars – Schecter Hellraiser C-7 , Jackson WRMG Warrior, Ibanez Gio (That jumpstart kit guitar, I don’t even remember where it is), and a Yamaha F370 Acoustic
Processor – Line 6 POD HD500.
Software – The DAW I use is Cubase 5 and for drums I use Superior Drummer. I’m still a noob at this whole production stuff though J

Tell me about your first time in India and where you’re from?
P: I’m born and brought up in Muscat, Oman. (Superb place, you guys should visit!) This is the first time I’m actually staying in India ( 1 ½ years passed actually) and it’s been pretty nice so far.  It definitely has its ups and downs, but it’s alright. It took a while to get used to, especially infrastructure and what not, but that’s life. :P

What did you come to India for? Do you plan on going back?
P: I came here for studies (yup, I’m sure many of you guys are like – WHY INDIA?!?) , but most of us NRIs have a wrong notion about how things work here, and I’m not even joking. Anyway, I’m studying BMS in NM college.. I’m in my 2nd year.  I don’t plan on going back, for good at least.  I’ll work here for a bit before going for my post grad abroad (still tentative, of course).  And I’m sure by then my parents would end up coming back to India. (I’ll definitely keep going during vacations though, as long as they are there!)

What did you like most about India?
P: THE ROADS. Lulz.
I think the good scope for pursuing what you love/anything for that matter is really good in India. It’s pretty damn dynamic that way! Lots of things happening every moment! Aaaaaaaaaaand I love the exchange rate xD

You play for two pretty different bands – Gutslit and Reptilian Death. You also have a killer modern progressive project which is highly underrated. How do you manage projects that are so different from each other?
P: Well RD was on hiatus for a while since Vinay was sick. And this happened when I had just joined Gutslit. Vinay has finally recovered, so only now will I be able to actually judge how difficult it is to manage different bands.(Though I don’t think it should be an issue at all). In terms of managing the writing bit, I haven’t started writing anything for RD yet, it’s only been Gutslit and my solo stuff. It is a little weird to write grind/brutal death and then think of new ideas for a modern progressive metal project(or vice versa), but it’s good fun. Keeps you going. :D


How has your ride been with your bands so far?
P: Pretty amazing. I never thought I’d even play an outstation show till I joined these bands :P It’s cool. Plus I get to meet so many cool people. It’s cool how I saw a Bhayanak Maut LOG 11th hour cover on youtube and I saw this guy with this massive beard (Vinay) in 9th or 10th std, and I knew about this ‘Demonstealer’ guy because of Workshop(on Channel V Launchpad) and his big band ‘Demonic Resurrection’ etc etc and I knew how prominent these guys were in bringing up the scene and stuff. Never thought I’d actually play with them in the same band someday. Especially considering I’m pretty young compared to these oldies! Gutslit is giving me some crazy exposure as well. It’s fun!

Tell me about all further releases that are planned.
P: RD – Writing begins end 2014, if I’m not wrong. (for the 2nd full length)
Gutslit – We’re releasing an EP soon, hopefully sometime in the next 3 months. Gonna be Br000talz.
Self – After I release the Gutslit stuff, I shall work on this full on. Done with 9 songs currently, 1 more and I need to polish/finalize my previous tracks. I guess it’ll take a while, hopefully by end 2014 or early 2015.

Who are your favourite Indian musicians?
Guitar – I really like Akshay from Scribe. Sanju from Devoid is an epic guitarist as well. Nishith Hegde is kickass too!!
Bass – Ashwin Shriyan from DR/RD and Gurdip Singh from Gutslit/Agnya. Both mad bassists.
Drums – Viru from DR/Scribe, Aaron Pinto from Gutslit/Providence, and Mayank from Atmosfear/Zygnema
Vocals – Aditya Barve from Gutslit, Sunny and Vinay from Bhayanak Maut, Neerav from TimeFrames(Manipal band – check them out), Shashank from Undying Inc.
Keyboards – Ummmm.. I’ve heard Mephisto from DR is good. And the Chaotic Years keyboardist is pretty sick as well!

Which musicians have you utterly enjoyed playing/jamming with?
P: I love jamming with the Gutslit guys. Like honestly. We get these crazy doom and black vibes sometimes which are KICKASS! :P I also loved jamming with you and Pritesh. Hah :D Sadly I haven’t jammed too much with other people. Wish I did!

Who do you look up to as a musician/guitar player? (your idols)
P: This is easy. Dave Mustaine, Mikael Akerfeldt, Steven Wilson, Misha Mansoor, JOHN GALLAGHER, Matt Heafy, Tosin Abasi, Keith Merrow and Ola Englund, Devin Townsend

Where do you see yourself 10 years from now?
P: Blah. Working in some corporate with a family and shit. Hahahah. Hopefully earning enough to fund my music and if not play in bands, make music for myself. J

Do you want music to be your life? Otherwise too, what are you studying to become?
P: Who wouldn’t? Lol. Too bad it’s pretty difficult to make a living out of it. Let’s see, though.. never know what might just turn up! If I could get to even this little level without expecting much, I’m sure something CAN be possible. :P I’m studying management. I’d love to have my own business someday, it’s been my childhood thing. Lol. If that doesn’t work out, something finance related. (probably banking)

One message for all the ladies, and the fans.
P: Can’t think of anything cool, so I’m gonna be cliché and go all ‘thanks for supporting me’. Lol. <3
And if you like what you hear, check out the rest of  my channel on Soundcloud. CHEERS NIGGAS.

This song is my personal favourite:



Prateek's new song that he posted just yesterday on Soundcloud: 



This is Prateek on Facebook and Soundcloud

GUTSLIT and Reptilian Death

All the best dude. I hope you make it big. Much love! :*


Wednesday 5 March 2014

Q&A WITH PROVIDENCE - BAND SIGNS TO JLF-PROMOTION

I take pride in announcing that Mumbai based five-piece thrash groove band Providence is now signed to JLF-Promotion, a Germany-based booking agency, part of the 'Euroblast Collective'. 

After the band just got a new manager Sumit Suvarna of MetamorphiK and new vocalist Vivek Bhatt (Asylum), the band has had yet another dose of good news! 

This is what JLF and Sumit had to say:

JLF: "JLF Promotion is happy to announce that another metal act from india is going to be officially part of the JLF Roster. "Bombay based Providence are one of the most promising metalbands, of the pulsating and thrilling indian scene. We are looking forward to a successful collaboration." says Julian Parusel - Head of Booking, JLF Promotion

Sumit (MetamorphiK): "JLF signing Providence is my first assignment with the band. Providence is one of the best Indian metal bands in my view. And more than the music, it's the attitude that really defines a band. It's their attitude that really made me want to work with them. Even the Swedish band that I book, Deathember loved them. And it's gonna be awesome to have Providence on the same European booking agency as them and Inner Sanctum."

I've done a small interview to make this more interesting. Check it out! 





What is the band’s favourite food? (I always ask this, and the answer is mandatory!)
Providence: Dayumn!  Seekh paratha from Fareeds. We totally vouch for it. If anyone wants to try it, it’s in Behrambaug, Jogeshwari (W).

You’ve come a long way. From all of us hanging out in Vasant and B69, to bagging many Metal Awards and opening for Mega-fucking-deth, when’s the next meteor going to hit us!?
P: Ahh Vasant! How we miss that place. It’s been quite the ride in the past 4 years, man! We really don’t know what’s next. Things are happening at quite the pace, sometimes we can’t even handle the announcements! Remembering the time when Aaron said “Boys, we are opening for Megadeth” and we were all like “FUCK OFF AARON, IF THIS IS A LIE YOU’LL BE BURIED IN THE FUCKING JAM ROOM” To “dayum so that happened!”


It’s all news news news with a new vocalist, manager and now JLF! You just played a tod-phod gig on Sunday. So much has happened so fast! How do you feel right now?
P: Sunday’s gig was fucking br00000tal! We can’t wrap our heads around all the awesomeness. I mean, 4 years back if someone said  that we’d open for our favourite band and get signed to a booking agency from Europe for European gigs we wouldn’t have believed it. We started to have fun, everyone knows about that infamous (awesome game btw) party at B69 and Scam Machine and how Providence came into being. So yea, still reeling from all the awesome moments!

I’ve heard in an official announcement yesterday that Vivek Bhatt (Asylum) has been announced as the new vocalist of the band. What made you decide that Vivek was the right man for the job after being without a vocalist for quite a while?
P: We’ve known Vivek because of Asylum and the whole scene. When we were looking for a vocalist, Sid (Zygnema) and Arun (Devoid) recommended him. We didn’t pay attention at that point and then we jammed with him…and did he deliver, man! Pretty kicked that he joined the band. He’s an awesome dude and he has the dedication needed to be in a full time metal band. 



Sumit Suvarna (MetamorphiK) is now your new booking agent too, and we’re glad to hear this. Are you excited to be on MetamorphiK along with several other acts?
P: Sumit’s attitude towards things in general made us want to work with him, We are probably the only Indian band that he handles and he’s proved his place in the scene with all the tours he lined up as a booking agent for all the international acts that he’s gotten down!

I’m supposing a change in management was a necessity. Is it going to weigh off most of the worries you’ve probably had in the past?
P: Absolutely! The thing is, when you manage your own band, you do it from the heart and not from the head…which backfires on many occasions! We’ve learnt from our mistakes and hopefully a change in management will steer us in the right direction.

How did the signing with JLF-Promotion take place? (best post-birthday present in a while for Shezan)
P: Haha! He got his present way in advance. Like 16th Feb advance! We are pretty happy about getting signed to a booking agency, It’s a new chapter in our career, let’s see where it takes us.

Obviously, being on an international roster is a big fucking deal! Any plans on touring in the near future? (locally or internationally)
P: No idea yet! We are discussing plans with JLF and setting things up. But one thing we are clear on - Album is priority. We won’t be doing anything till our album comes out! Hopefully things pan out the way they are meant to be and we can do an international tour with our new release. It’s still a while away though.

Have you started tracking for a new album? By when should we expect a release?
P: Not yet. We’ve finished half the material for the album. Our aim was to track in March. But because of the lineup changes it got delayed. We hope to hit the studios sometime in June. 
This one is for the fans, and all the love and support we’ve received!


As mentioned in a NOTE ON FACEBOOK, they've made an official announcement on the first look at the album artwork and title as well. 

This is JLF-Promotion's official website.

This is Providence on Facebook and Soundcloud

\m/

Tuesday 4 March 2014

MARCH METAL NIGHTS - HIGHLIGHTS

Here are a few highlights of what happened at the Blue Frog Metal Nights featuring Bhayanak Maut, Providence and Chaoskampf. There are mini-clips for those who missed my Instagram insta-uploads! :D

I'm sorry I missed much of the Chaoskampf set. But here is their setlist. Their vocalist (JUST LIKE I SAID IN MY PREVIOUS POST) (I TOLD YOU SO :P) is stage-named 'Vladmir' in Pune band 'Syranox' also starring Bob Alex of Noiseware. 


Oh, his real name? Utkarsh Golatkar! xD


Chaoskampf setlist:

1. Supernova
2. Dimensions
3. Bow Down (Born of Osiris cover)
4. Rise and Reconstruct
5. Unbreakable (Veil of Maya cover)
6. Beyond Death

With bhaari low-growls and a tight enough band, these guys killed it. 


Providence also, with new vocalist Vivek Bhatt of Mumbai-based band 'Asylum' did a good job on stage. He is the band's permanent vocalist since Karan Pote (ex-AbraXas and Noiseware) left the band. Sunneith Revankar continued on guest vocals with the band till the Megadeth gig in Delhi a week before that. 


Providence setlist:
1. Talk Shit Get Hit
2. Watch them Fall
3. Prosthetic-Scarface-Prosthetic (Mayank Sharma version




4. Old (Machine head cover)
5. This is Now (Hatebreed cover)
6. Heretic Anthem (Slipknot cover)




Bhayanak Maut was fucking surreal. I have no words. Special mention to the drum and bass guitar locking perfectly. Ishan (bass guitar player) was no short of compliments and marriage proposals that night! Rahul Hariharan (drummer) is growing into a beast with every passing day!

With BM's setlist, please note that some song names from the upcoming album are subject to change!

Bhayanak Maut setlist:
1. MNS Massage Parlour
2. 100% Blasted Beyond Belief
3. I Am Man. Yes, I Am.
4. Genosis (Peter Gabriel-era)
5. Ranti Nasha Hai, Bhosdikay.
6. Perfecting The Susu Suture
7. Ungentle (Dance-Mix Version)
8. Dear <Whoever That Hot Girl In The Audience Was>
9. (Never trust a junkie who wants) Just One Fix
10. You Must Dye For Science
11. All Glory To The Beard (Chakna KLPD version)
12. Tit 4 Twat

Watch BM vocalists Vinay and Sunny bang floor tom!  




Of course, Shezan's birthday cake had to be cut. It was fucking delicious. The 28-year-old (ahem ahem oh ladies! Find him on Twitter @ShezanChikna - yeah really.) was photobombed twice consecutively when I tried to capture the Vanguard cake. The uppermost piece was strictly for drummer Aaron Pinto, who was unavailable because of Gutslit playing a show on the very same day in Bangalore, while Mayank Sharma (Zygnema, Agneya) filled in for him. Cake Credits: The sister Sherish Shaikh! 

See the Kanti-bomb. Fucker ruined the picture. TWICE!







So having said all of that, 
I have two gig updates for tomorrow. Old-school metallers Primitiv and quick rising Pune thrash death metal band Halahkuh will be headlining Atharva College of Engineering's Show No Mercy. The entry is FREE so go for it if you aren't headed to Hard Rock Cafe for Wolfmother! :) 

Cheers, more coming! 

Stay fucking metal.

Saturday 1 March 2014

HAPPY BIRTHDAY PRAKHAR: A TALK WITH HALAHKUH'S STUD


I would like to wish Prakhar Soni, vocalist and bass guitar player of four-piece thrash death band Halahkuh from Pune a very very Happy Birthday! He turns 22 today (LADIES!) and is lucky enough to play a gig today at DA-IICT in Gujarat, the dry state, along with Mumbai bosses Devoid, Wired Anxiety and Winter Gate.

Halahkuh would like to say, "We wish our muchchad frontman and Kayden Kross lover Prakhar a very Happy Birthday."

And as guitar player Chinmay Bokil would appropriately call him today:


Halahkuh now has a new booking agent, Mr. Roydon Bangera, Devoid's manager.

I asked Prakhar a few questions about himself and the band. Here's our telecon.

I: Hey dude, Happy Birthday man!
PrakhSoni: Hey! Thank you thank you.

I: So ya, what's your favourite cuisine? (because hey, food's important)
PrakhSoni: Italian

I: How was the Delhi trip, Inferno and the whole Delhi experience for Halahkuh?
PrakhSoni: It was surprising that we got an opportunity to play Inferno Metal festival with a mammoth lineup of international and Indian bands because it was quite unexpected. Subhrajyoti (guitar player) and I just thought we'd register and see what happens, and on checking at one point, we were 200 votes ahead of the other bands, which felt great! We'd all wanted to play in a different city. I'd kept telling these guys about Delhi, which is my home town, and praised the weather which was perfect on our visit. I played a gig in front of my parents for the first time! It was a case of brilliant timing as Megadeth was playing MTV Xtreme the next day too. RSJ (Rock Street Journal) took great care of us and did a good job with the gig as well. We were very happy.



I: What in the world does DA-IICT stand for?
PrakhSoni: Dhirubhai Ambani... Institute of Information and Computer Technology

I: Okaayy.. When did you start playing bass and doing vocals?
PrakhSoni: I started playing bass in the 8th standard (8th grade) which was in 2006 and vocals after our previous vocalist Rahul left, which was in 2011. The band had only played a few competitions back then.

I: What is special about Halahkuh? What keeps you guys together as a band?
PrakhSoni: I think even though we do not listen to the same bands, we somehow manage to come together to make the same music. As members of a band, we have that certain chemistry, a common goal that we want to achieve through our music and try to jam as much as we can. As people, we try to enjoy the simple things in life like watch Hindi movies, drink tapri ka chai and not hide anything from each other. Before I'd met the other three guys, it was good to know that they also had the same mindset as I did.

I: Would you like to make music your career?
PrakhSoni: It depends on how everything goes. I love the thought. Although, when it comes to surviving as a metal band in India as of now, a day job is still a compulsion and it comes with a lot of sacrifices. With Halahkuh, we are sure that even when we do get jobs, we will always set enough time aside for the band.

I: Since you are in Gujarat, the dry state, I must ask... Found any alcohol yet?
PrakhSoni: Ermmhaha..No. But I do hope some arrangements are made for tonight!

I: Do you have any message for ladies (if any) who read my blog, and everyone else?
PrakhSoni: Yes. And you have to quote this. "Pratika is one of the most humble people I have met who goes out of her way to help individuals, and as I mention again, we wouldn't have got our tickets to Inferno if it wasn't for her."
To all our fans, look out for us and a big thank you for believing in us the way you've always done. Please read this blog, or WE WON'T THRASH YOU ANYMORE!

This is a video of Halahkuh live at Inferno Metal Festival:


Halahkuh will be playing in Mumbai at Atharva College's 'Show No Mercy' on the 5th of March 2014 along with Primitiv. The entry is FREE.

Find Halahkuh on Facebook and listen to their music on ReverbNation. For bookings, contact Roydon Bangera.

P.S: Do not miss the dreadlocked hottie in the band. ;)

Cheers!