Korn'd

Twisted Transistor? Ahh! There you go Korn! Yes, you are right. When they announced their Bangalore concert, it was the best ever surprise.  Here’s why! I believed this wouldn't happen, not even in my dreams.

So well, when I heard the news, there were no second thoughts but to grab the tickets. Well, I thought there would be only single price tickets just like the Metallica concert tickets two years ago.  But no, it wasn't. So I booked the tickets with the least price and hoped that it wouldn't be bad!

The K-day!

Accompanied by one of my best buddy, we went with nothing but just thoughts of witnessing the concert which we thought would never happen in India. As we drove towards the venue, the huge hoardings signaled that we were heading in the right direction. We reached but were still confused because we saw about a few hundred fans, but nothing close to what we imagined. To our disappointment because of the poor turnout was just for a few seconds, for we now knew that we could stand right at the front and witness the concert.

The concert began with an Indian band (isn’t that common). They were better than most other bands which played at the other concerts. But this kind of kills me. Since we were there to listen to some good stuff and already predetermined about the music, these guys didn’t suit my palate. So I decided to sleep for a while and asked my friend to wake me up when the Indian bands finished playing. Yeah, I actually did that.

Rise & Shine

When I woke up the few 100 fans had become 1000s but it was a little disappointing sight for the performers I am sure. It was 8 PM and we were eager to hear Korn. Each passing minute was kind of frustrating. Finally at 8:30 PM, the gust of lights on stage saw the crowds rushing to capture the first glimpse of the band. The strings plucked and the crowd went crazy, mad and whatever! Nobody wanted to wait, including me. That moment, something amazing happened. The barricades between the partitions were pulled down. It just felt like music has no boundaries. Everybody started to run, we too did. Finally managed to be just 10-12 rows behind the stage. So we were satisfied.

The Eargasm Begins!

The moment arrived. It made us sing along. They played the songs which we were waiting to hear –songs like “Another brick in the wall”, “Get Up”, “Shoot & Ladders” and other hits. The second best part was they sounded powerfully insane live. The drummer was impressive – throwing drum sticks to the sky (though he could not catch it) but nevertheless he didn’t miss a beat. He was intelligent to keep too many spare drumsticks.

The heaven opened up.  This bought the temperature down and that energized us. This is one of the concerts that will stay in my heart forever. Korn is a unique band that can mix and match music, experiment to give something new every time to its fans. I am not sure if they will visit us again (really wish they do), since the crowd size wasn't great. But what I really liked about the crowd was that they were genuine fans not the wannabe fans. Did I say, this concert experience is more than a year old? Yet fresh in my memory. Guess that makes my point about the “Korn.”

30 Years of Wait

5.30 am. Heavy downpour. Had to pick up a friend who was coming to the city only for one hell good reason.The thunder, the rains, the excitement fuelled our heart to beat faster than ever. At that point of time If you would have asked why we
were excited. We wouldn’t be able to answer, because the mind, the heart, was all intoxicated.

It’s not the intoxication of alcohol or any of that sort. It was intoxication of a feeling called “METALLICA.” After 30 years of wait,finally they were here on October 30, 2011.

At 11 in the morning, we headed straight to the venue though the gates would open only at 3 in the afternoon. At the first sight of reaching the venue and we were like OMG! A huge line waiting, not knowing what to do we just decided to skip the line and head to the entrance directly. After reaching the entrance there was another crowd of people pushing and the number of people in the crowd was just adding up minute by minute. We decided to push and get through the entrances as soon as possible, so that we could get as close as possible to the stage. Some how we managed to get through the entrance with lot of pushing and yelling. So went in and saw that we are a decent place to see the concert (which wasn’t exactly that good later on).

22,000+ spectators across India were here, it’s was not for some cultural or state event. It was a concert where caste, creed, religion didn’t matter. It’s was for music and Nothing Else Matters!!

Some Indian band was performing already, which meant the show had started and we had no idea who it was, well doesn’t matter. Now there was a wait of another 30 minutes before the next band played. These guys known as “Biffy Clyro” – quite decent band with 4 albums I guess. You can read more online. Well these guys performed well and crowd really appreciated the songs played. The song I liked was called “The Captain”, I really think it’s worth listening to. These guys played
for almost an hour and 20 mins. And the next thing in mind was I need to hear this guys on YouTube. And I did that

Biffy Clyro - The Captain



Well these guys were impressive and time was ticking and people were anxious and couldn’t wait for long. The energy was going down since they didn’t know the songs but the crowd still cheered along. And after what seemed like a long long wait Biffy Clyro bid bye and brought us back to life. Many thought that Metallica would start immediately, well then the wait continued and chants for Metallica began. People were on their toes to get the first glimpse of the greatest band known to them and after 45mins of wait they came in and the what happened next is history. The crowds were hysterical, euphoric and whatever!

It’s always hard to describe the feeling which comes, it was something like the back, the legs which were all tired all of standing and pushing just vanished. Cameras and phones were up in the air to record each and every bit of what can be termed as a history to all the metal fans in India. This is one band every Tom, Dick and Harry would know and I wasn’t wrong. Kids and teenagers around me were shouting and swearing like idiots (which is kinda annoying) and many fools came to see them live and they thought it would be a walk in the park. Seriously speaking dumbest kids I have ever seen. Any which ways back to the concert now, they started with the song “Creeping Death” - And it started with a video playing on the huge
screens and while the crowd watched the band come onto the stage and started the magic with drums and guitars.

I can’t explain much as to how the show went on since it was surely an amazing feeling to see live - one of the greatest bands you followed when you were new to the metal world But All I can tell you is list of songs they played, so I leave it all to your imagination to imagine how the show must have been, because there are something that words fail to describe.

1. For Whom the Bell Tolls
2. Fuel
3. Ride the Lightning
4. Fade to Black
5. Cyanide
6. The Memory Remains
7. Welcome Home (Sanitarium)
8. Sad But True
9. A Nightmare Long
10. One
11. Master of Puppets
12. Blackened
13. Nothing Else Matters
14. Enter Sandman
15. Am I Evil?
16. Motorbreath
17. Seek & Destroy

These tracks were really nerve wracking as they played non-stop for 2 hours, the biggest concert played by any big bands that I have seen.And after all that, I was tired to death! But metal and rock lives on! And I am sure I will see many more bands live in the years to come.

Pushing Tin Live

1. Save Tonight
2. Plush
3. Ever Little Thing
4. Colours
5. Always
6. With Or Without You
7. Reggae Mix
8. Take On Me
9. Every Once In A While
10. Won’t Look Back
11. Sunshine
12. Introspect
13. Drive
14. Eruptions
15. Diamonds In The Sky
16. Are You Gonna Go My Way
17. Every Breath You Take
18. Learn To Funk
19. Good Shit
20. Beat It
21. Message In A Bottle
22. Be Yourself

That’s a whole lot of songs for one day. Well these are the songs which were played magnificently by Pushing Tin boys.

It all began at 8.30pm; the long wait for an hour had finally come to an end. Sitting with friends and telling them who Pushing Tin is and what kinda music they play, this was how it began.

Diamonds in the Sky (Eruptions Intro) HD



I was telling them they play more of soft rock and jazz, but it was one of those rare occasions when I was wrong. The band plays a mix of music, and as they term themselves as Metro Rock but I am sure it was much more than that.

The show began with a old song as per the list above. As they continued playing one by one, the cheer got louder and louder. They always wanted the crowd to sing along and they too did respond since the songs were well known. There were gifts given out, that means you have to be listening to them and trust me people were, I was one of them who won some gifts.

These guys play covers and also their own song, and one of them was “Colors”

Colors



The band took a break and while you expect the band to chill out. The Pushing boys startle the audience. Out of the blue, Romit shows of his skills with an acoustic guitar, which was something similar to the August Rush movie, as per him it was the first time he did that. You gotta watch him do that again. Then they all jam up again on stage but this time with a twist - the drummer becomes guitarist, lead guitar goes to bass and bass guitarist goes to drums and it was fun to watch them do that.

How do you feel when you get on stage and you get a chance to sing along with the band? Well I was one of the lucky ones to have that opportunity. Sitting on the first floor of Kyra Theatre and my friends were shouting my name aloud, so that I go and sing with them just pumped me up. So I began getting down the stairs and walking towards the stage thinking what should I do on stage. Shall I just swing with the music, go stand along with the singer or stand next Ashley (the bass guitarist, whom I know). I finally reached the stage and the first thing I asked was what should I do? Where should I stand? When am I supposed to sing? Do I get the lyrics? Well then Ashley told you will sing along with me, I was a relieved man then.

Standing next to the bass guitarist and then Romit the drummer starts; I was just standing and nodding my head with the music. It felt amazing to sing and you can hear the crowd roaring and singing along with you. And Vikshut was amazing on stage, he saw that the crowd always followed him and he kept the crowd going. Talking about Mark (Holy mother of God!) the solos are mind blowing, so effortless, so easy, I would say, “Man, you were born with a guitar in your hand.”

Learn To Funk




I thank my friends for pushing towards the stage and then thank Ashley and the Pushing Tin boys for the lovely show. It was one hell of a night for me. It was for the first time ever on stage and singing along with a band. It was like WOW! And to add to that, Pushing Tin says I am the first person from the crowd to come onstage and sing with them, that too a song they wrote when they started the band in 2006, I can never forget these words “Learn To Funk”

Awesome, wonderful, amazing, incredible and I can go on. It was a just out-of-this world experience which has made me to take a silent vow to go with the band and cover their live performances.

Pushing Tin - http://www.reverbnation.com/pushingtin

Long Live Pushing Tin

The Circle of Music

There are things which normally happen to each and everyone. There are times we see similarities in our lives and how we live our lives. That’s what “circle of life” is all about.
You & I, present & future, thoughts & experiences that are similar yet different.

Now there are people who listen to different kind of music, some like rock and only rock feel everything else is bull crap. There are others who listen to anything and everything under the sun and sea. And then again there are people who listen to rock for a while and then shift to something else and from there something else. For me, there are a few bands from different genres that keep ringing in my head through out the day.

1. Disturbed
2. Kauan
3. Agalloch
4. Coldworld
5. Burzum
6. The old time songs like Pink Floyd, Ozzy Osbourne, Black Sabbath and many more

Now this circle is very intriguing, since it keeps me happy and it also allows me connected with my soul through music. In 24 hours of a day at least 14 hours is dedicated to music.

The other day when I was thinking and asking myself, “What I have learned from music and what have I learnt with various forms of genre?” Well, the answer was simple, “If you like it, then you will love it and if you love it, then you will stay happy. Well, I am not saying this is the reason for happiness, what I am trying to say is, listen to what you love and it could be a reason for your happiness.”

Well these days I have been listening to an unique amalgamation of these genres. Because I try and find new bands and see if I can connect to their music. Few bands that successfully have been in synch with me through such discoveries are

1. Amorphis (will be writing about them soon)
2. Inquisition (another one to be penned)

These two belong to different genre but I like hearing them. To put this in simple words, music is the food for my hungry soul and Music is everything I know of.

“Music is the bond”

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Coldworld – The Best Black Metal I have known!

What do you think when it’s gloomy and about to rain? What is that you think when a thunder strikes? What is the feeling when air flows across your face? What do you think when the rain drops fall on your windowsill? Is there something new that I can foresee? For most, rain, thunder and cool breeze might ask for a cup of hot tea or a snooze time. But for me, the very same weather reminds me of - \Coldworld/.

Nothing beats them. Nothing at all and it’s so damn perfect. The intensity of the weather, the ability to alter your mood just like the strong rains lies with the band. The band has the power to make your imagination come true with the music creeping through your body and hitting your brains. You will realize that this is where I should be and also realize that you are living a fake life. It’s so addictive that every time you listen to it, you wanna live that life you begin to dream of.

Coldworld – Tortured by Solitude



This song is the perfect introduction to Coldworld, since it gives the hang of what I am talking about. This is most underrated band I have ever known. You won’t find a Wikipedia page simply because not much people know about it and moreover it’s a one man army band. And the guy who owns it doesn't want to publish like other bands in the world. He has his own terms and conditions which even I don't know. Anyways, what you find there (on the net) is not true. The information given is not true, It’s not a hardcore band; it’s an ambient genre band.

The next song which you must listen from Coldworld is “Hymn To Eternal Frost”, this song makes me feel thatmy leg and arms are frozen. It’s another magnificient piece music which you shouldn’t be missing. Just to add to the information what Coldworld does is “ColdWorld combines melodic Black Metal with influences from Ambient / Electronic and a breath of classic music” – Myspace General Info, you need to listen to this one

Coldworld - Hymn To Eternal Frost



Coldworld is something I would love to listen and I listen to it everyday, simply because I love it. I don’t need to say as to how it has influenced me, because music has different influences on different people.
Before I wrap up, I love Coldworld. There are few songs which I recommend to listen. Don’t get away without listening to it, because you definitely can’t.

Coldworld - Suicide



Coldworld – This Empty Life



And scariest of the lot Coldworld – The Old Ghost in the Well



And the last one I would love to listen without a miss is

Coldworld – Red Snow



Coldworld on MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/thestarsaredeadnow

Let the music speak from here onwards

\m/

Fortress is Burning!

‘Agalloch’, to define the band precisely, it’s not just one of those bands, but a band which amuses everyone who listens to it, purely because of its amazing ability to attract and soothe you with their music. And that’s how I got into it.

Formed in 1995 from then onwards they have never looked back. This is one of the finest Folkloric Doom Metal you will ever hear. Till today they have around 11 albums released and each album can never get as unique as theirs. It makes your heart beat in sync with every beat of the music. The description of music is always difficult to express. It should be felt within.

The song I got pulled towards them was

Our Fortress is Burning – I

After finishing this which ended in between I knew there was another part to it . Oh! Hell yeah, wasn’t it amazing that the part –II had some amazing continuation and even better was that there was part III, which was thundering and even better! Didn’t expect to have three parts to a song, but it all made sense in the end!

Our Fortress is Burning – II - Bloodbirds

Our Fortress is Burning – III – The Grain

It very interesting how you get inclined towards a particular choice and you start loving it more than ever. I hope and wish that I can keep pace with the Death Metal arena and write about more unknown and unnoted bands. I am sure to do that as Agalloch is one medium where in I can find what I am looking for.

Agalloch was playing in my car and friend told me, just think how amazing it would be to see them live. I can understand what he is trying to say. And he say's it's one of his dreams to watch them live.

Agalloch on Myspace @ http://www.myspace.com/agalloch

My Theme Song

And when it starts…… my arm float, my mind wonders, I can’t feel my legs, I can’t feel the gravity, its totally numb and I know have reached my land of emptiness. It’s a land where I will create things what I want to see and things I want in life. If I get all of this; which I do of course it’s my life’s theme song. Since it depicts what I want and what I want to be and what I will be.

Listen to this and tell me what you feel when you here the beats which takes you apart. Listen to it carefully, very carefully, start imagining things which you like and which you want to be. Dream of a land where it’s all calm and quite, dream of place where its you and you are the one who is ruling how the music would be in that land

Kauan - Äidin Laulu



When the singer screethes the initial words, I get this feeling that I am being taken and the music just keeps me flowing like water

Another one of its kind of music, where you can feel blood flowing from your veins to your brains, where you feel the smallest heart beat; it also makes you as vulnerable as you won’t realize what you are doing.

Kauan - Valveuni

The above mentioned two songs have the effect of dope, without being stoned and you won’t even realize your very existence.

These have stuck to me like leaches, but the difference it doesn’t suck your blood but sucks your feelings and puts it in front of you to give you a perspective of life that you have never imagined before.

Check them out on myspace: http://www.myspace.com/kauanmusic

Long live music, long live Kauan

\m/