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”

\m/

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/

The World of Burzum

Slavery isn’t a thing of the past! Some say it’s sinful. But should we care? For, I am one. Yeah, Black Metal! Do I need to say more? Deadly and effective would be two words that I think are apt to describe the power of Black Metal. Burzum, Coldworld, Agalloch, Kauan, are some that I hear quite often. While there are more, for now, for this post, I will keep myself restricted to Burzum. It’s not just Black Metal, it’s Burzum.

This single man army began in 1991 in Norway. A convict, for the murder of Mayhem’s Guitarist and also burning churches, is how Burzum began. During early days, by 1993 he had released two albums. He was imprisoned from ’94 – ’09, everybody thought that was the end. But then his passion for music was so great that he recorded two more albums while serving his jail sentence during 1997 and 1999.

Varg Vikernes (yes that’s his name), released another album in 2010, his first studio production and another one is due in March 2011. Like an irremovable body armor, his music surrounds your soul. The guitar riffs, vocals and the double bass drumming is just hard to get off your mind.

Burzum – Dunkelheit

The music speaks in this!

Burzum – Jesus ‘Tod



One of the awesomest song you will ever hear, this just beats the hell of all the black metal songs, there is one comment in the video, which is  “THE most purest Black Metal song, the Dark anti Christian riffs send my heart into Darkness”, this clearly sends a message as to what it’s all about.

Burzum is live on myspace @ http://www.myspace.com/burzumofficial

Listen to this and you will say to yourself, “I am ready to die.”

 

\m/

Black Metal Krieg – Gig Review

Black Metal Krieg - India's first ever metal gig dedicated to my favourite sub genre in Metal - Black fucking Metal. I had first heard about something like this shaping up some 2 months ago when 1833 AD were on their India Tour. One of the 1833 AD guys had mentioned something about performing in Mumbai and/or Pune and making it a gig exclusive to Black Metal bands. This later took shape in the form of Black Metal Krieg at B69 in Andheri, Mumbai - where 4 black and crushing bands brought darkness blacker than hell to the city of Mumbai.

Travelling from Pune, my two friends and I were eagerly awaiting this gig like a trio of kids would wait to raid a candy shop. The 180km long journey was sweetened by the fact that we had a 20 min discussion with the band members of Dhishti - a Sri Lankan Depressive Black metal band. Being crazy admirers of the genre, we immediately got into a lengthy chat about the legends of DSBM such as Austere, Nocturnal Depression, Thy Light, Gris and others. Jayakody (vocalist) told us to be prepared for a surprise Atmospheric BM track that they would be covering. I had my guesses but what we got was something I never dreamt of. The aftermath of that performance still haunts me.

The gig went underway after 8pm and first to perform on stage were Spiked Crib from Mumbai who label themselves as Symphonic Black Metal. To be honest, I'm not a fan of this sub genre as most bands tend to forget their Black metal roots upon achieving some sort of stardom (*cough* Dimmu Borgir *cough*) What followed took my completely by surprise. They were more atmospheric than symphonic and that's something I totally dig. Special props to the vocalist, Gareth here. This guy has insane vocal chords and can belt out both DM growls as well as BM shrieks with relative ease. The keyboard player was good too. They played a good set and had to finish things off with Graveworm's cover of the Maiden classic - Fear of the Dark. I wish they hadn't, but I guess they had to do it to appease the crowd.

 

http://headbangers.in/band-profiles/spiked-crib/















Dhishti was up next and I was surprised by this. I would have wished either Dhishti or 1833 AD to headline the event as these are really mature bands who can absolutely slay when given the main spot. Anyway, I had listened to the two Dhishti tracks on their myspace page at least 4-5 times before I came for the gig and thus I knew what to expect from them. However, the moment Jayakody uttered the first few shrieks, I felt goosebumps the size of little beetles crawling up my skin. I couldn't click a single pic for at least 5 minutes as it took me that long to recover from what I had just witnessed. Their originals are at par with most of the DSBM that I listen to and they're the best band I've seen live. At the beginning of their set, most of the crowd was either making fun of their corpse paint or of DSBM as a whole. I wish I could use Jayakody's spikes to pierce their sorry dicks, but as they were halfway into their first track, those asswipes realised (or didn't) what hit them like a freight train. Next, it was time for their cover and I missed a heartbeat when I heard the word 'Dunkelheit'. I don't think I've ever been happier in my life and it was weird because an hour later, this feeling was bettered. More on that later. Kunal Gonsalves from Stark Denial joined in for dual vocals on Dunkelheit and I really do not remember anything after that other than being in a state of trance and not remembering where I was. The last track was almost brutal black metal in the vein of Marduk and my neck's still complaining from the ordeal. I wish their set would never end, but I'm so damn glad that I was a part of this great experience.

 http://www.myspace.com/dishti666

1833 AD from Delhi were next to follow and I had been dying to watch them ever since I found out about them 6-7 months ago. Their Facebook page had mentioned that they would be covering a few Black metal classics but nobody expected 4 covers and a 75 minute setlist! Nishant Abraham (vocalist) is a very good Black metal vocalist and even though he admits to not being much of a talker, his vocals kill you with in an eerie manner. His vocals are very Abbath-like and Shashank Sagar on drums is an Indian Hellhammer (although he looks like Mikael Akerfeldt) I have been digging their originals such as Inheritance Evil and Who Killed The Emperor on their Myspace page and found it even better hearing them live. After playing Immortal, Dark Funeral and Ancient covers, I thought they were done. But surprise o surprise! Nishant asked us to yell Mayhem as loud as we could. I couldn't yell. I was dumbstruck. My heart was screaming out 'Freezing Moon' but my mouth couldn't catch up. Nishant did that for me and when said those words, I threw away my camera and equipment in my friend's hands and went on to become one with the music. Freezing Moon is my favourite track across all genres and I never thought I would ever get to witness it live. My lungs and my throat were strangers to me and singing along to Freezing Moon was THE best experience of my life. They didn't miss one note and even if they did, I could care less. 1833 AD is by far the best Black Metal band in India (of the handful that we have) and other bands should look up to them for inspiration and creativity. They closed their set with Who Killed The Emperor and it is my favourite Indian BM track. I can't wait for their debut album to be out. Nishant, Sushmit, Rahul, and Shashank - if you're reading this, we need an album like right now!

http://www.myspace.com/1833ad

Stark Denial, the local boys, were the last band to perform and to be honest I had no mental or physical energy left to fathom what was going on. Kunal is a good vocalist and the band is pretty tight but I would like them to step up their game a bit. Having said that, their originals are pretty good and if they didn't have such tough acts to follow, they would have sounded killer. They covered Immortal's Damned in Black and also followed it up with a BM version of Slayer's Raining Blood with Jimmy from Zygnema brining his growls to make it a Blackened Death metal version of the Slayer classic. Also joining them was Shehzad from Sceptre. As with Fear of the dark, I understand that this was done to please the people who aren't really accustomed to listening actual Black metal tracks and I was okay with it.

http://www.myspace.com/starkdenial


The gig ended at 12.15 am and we reached Pune at 4 am. Spent more than a grand, yet came out much richer with experience. I don't know if my words and photographs could do justice to how awesome this gig was, but I tried. And 3 days down the line, try is all a person who is still experiencing the aftermath of the gig, can do.

Writer & Photography : Xavier D'souza

Wacken India

"12th December 2010 - The date for the finals of the Indian edition of Wacken Open Air at Kyra theatre, Bangalore. 8 finalists from 4 zones were supposed to be performing at this metal fest, only 4 turned up. Disappointment, one would think? Not really, as the 4 bands which did perform brought the house down with their tight and explosive performances. And who better to judge the bands than Bangalore's very own metal legends - Kryptos. And to make things even sweeter, Kryptos was headlining the event. They were probably the only 'big' Indian band that I hadn't watched live, prior to this event.

Abandoned Agony  from Bangalore started off things with their unique brand of Brutal death metal mixed with spell-binding virtuosity. I would go as far as calling them the Indian version of Suffocation. Yes, that's how good AA are. In my opinion, they should have easily won the competition as the winner gets to play at the mighty Wacken Open Air (The Mecca of Heavy metal) in Germany next year and there was no better band amongst the final four than Abandoned Agony who could represent Indian and be brutally devastating at the same time.

http://www.myspace.com/abandonedagonyind

Eccentric Pendulum (Bangalore) were next and they had a tough act to follow since AA had decimated everything in sight. They started off a little shaky but got better as their setlist progressed. Mid way through their set the skin of the bass drum developed a tear and there was a long and annoying wait of over 45 min before it could be replaced. I took this opportunity to check out Kyra and was really impressed by the venue. If only there could be more Kyras in places like Bombay and Pune, we photographers would die a content death. Awesome stage lighting, great smoke machines, large stage (by underground metal standards) and ample space for a pretty wild moshpit (more on this, later), Kyra has it all. And what's more is that since it's a theatre which is used for other art forms like dramas and stuff, it also has a balcony! Now how many metal venues can boast of that? Coming back to EP's performance, their style is pretty avant-garde and I wish they take it to the next level by adding some unconventional instruments and/or adding a female vocalist. They were my least favourite band of the evening and (un)susprisingly enough, they were the ones to walk out with the prize.

http://www.myspace.com/eccentricpendulum

Goddess Gagged from Mumbai followed Eccentric Pendulum and they came in like a breath of fresh air. Their first track oozed of atmosphere and had a complete Post-rock feel to it. It didn't feel like a metal gig anymore and the great stage lighting of Kyra just added to the atmosphere. These guys classify themselves as Progressive Rock and Alternative Rock and I'd like to add experimental, post and psychedelic subgenres to their resume. A special mention of Arman Menzies is warranted here as this dude in the dread locks mesmerised the crowd with his exceptional guitar skills and his backing vocals. If this were a Rock show, Goddess Gagged would have easily won it, but it was Metal competition and GG don't play metal and it was no surprise that they didn't win. Anyway, keep a look out for this band. They're surely going to make it big.

http://www.myspace.com/goddessgaggedj

The last band of the competition, Silver Tears from Guwahati crowded the stage with 6 members and introduced themselves as a Progressive Metal band. I'm not exaggerating when I say that they were the tightest band of the evening and were scintillating with their virtuosity and mesmerising songwriting skills. Lead guitarist Ishaan Laskar is probably one of the most exciting talents to come out of the country in recent times and the vocalist Girish gives has a sublime Russell Allen touch to his vocals. They're more Symphony X than Dream Theater in their music and are a real treat to watch irrespective of the kind of metal you listen to. Their set was full of mind numbing solos and progressive interludes, a must for every Proghead.
 

 

                                           
       http://www.myspace.com/silvertearsindia

Now that all four bands were done, the legends of the Indian metal, Kryptos came on stage. What I like about these thoroughly professional bands is that they might not be the most skillful musicians, but what they bring to the table is a rubber sealed performance which young bands simply cannot match. Nolan pours his heart out each time he performs and Ryan is a veteran warhorse on the drums. They're so much in sync with each other that it's hard to find any flaws in the music they create. It was a complete treat for NWOBHM fans and Kryptos deserve all the credit they get.

 

 

So yeah, end of the gig and EP were declared winners. One word about the crowd - 'Pathetic'. I haven't seen a more disinterested and boring crowd elsewhere. A kindergarten mosh was created when the 2nd band started playing and I was clicking photographs standing in the centre of the moshpit! Not only that, there were like a handful of people headbanging and the rest were behaving like they had come for a Classical music concert. No enthusiasm at all. Things only got good once Kryptos started playing and this led me to believe that the Bangalore metal crowd only supports bands they know and want to. So much for clichéd and over used 'Headbangalore' title.

All in all, a good gig, great venue, bad crowd and good experience. Had a good time writing this article and reminiscing the performances. Cheers!”

 

Writer & Photography : Xavier D'souza

Tree of Porcupines!

This is a hate song just meant for you
I thought that I'd write it down while I still could
I hope when you hear this you'll want to sue

The above three lines has been ringing in my ear constantly. If you ask, what is the most appealing element about this specific song is that from 0.01 to 9.15, the entire song, just cant stop listening to it.. This blog post is dedicated to porcupine tree’s best song ever.

Porcupine Tree – Hate song



The next song I want to talk about is one that belongs to progressive genre and I feel there is a hint of psychedelic rock in it as well. It is a song which takes you along with it – one of the beautifully crafted and wonderfully molded song that I have ever heard.

Porcupine Tree - Russia on Ice



Talking about a few more songs – Lazarus, Even Less and the Dead Can Dance; these songs are one of the bests Porcupine tree has composed or rather tuned.

Porcupine Tree – Lazarus



Each tune, each pluck of the guitar is something which you will love to hear again and again. I haven’t heard anything like this before which is immaculate.

Porcupine Tree – Even Less



The above song, the first string which is plucked sticks to you as a leach, sucks the blood out of veins and purifies it with the progressive metal which is being played. You can hear them repeatedly as if there is no end to it.

Porcupine Tree – Dead can dance



All said and done Porcupine Tree has turn out to be favorite band for millions of fans across the globe and there is no reason why they aren’t famous, they have done world tours like every other band, but I feel there is something special since I feel there is something trippy about their music.

Long Live Porcupine Tree

Love Live Metal

Rock Forever \m/

Alternative Rock Bands

Legendary Rock Bands? And you hear Metallica, Pink Floyd, Tantric, Disturbed, all ringing in your head. And that’s the same with music maniacs and pseudo music lovers.

Every time these people play, it’s a sensation. The upcoming newer bands would find it real hard to give a fight or even try playing the music of their standards. So that’s when they create a channel for themselves, where they will not be compared to the legends and this category is what has been known to most of us as ‘Alternative Rock’.

This began in the early 90s. Red Hot Chilli Peppers, 3 doors down, The Killers, Pearl Jam, Three Days Grace, are a few bands that have gained popularity under this channel. That’s not all. There are sub categories as well, again another channel to push their popularity.

Here’s miniscule information about the categories.

Grunge Rock: Grunge – used as slang means dirty or filthy. Inspired from hardcore punk, heavy metal and indie rock; grunge is generally characterized by heavily distorted electric guitars with apathetic or angst-filled lyrics.
Hammerbox, Alice in Chains, Nirvana, Peal Jam and many more belong here

Hammerbox – Trip



Britpop: These emerged from the British independent music scene in the early 90s and were influenced by British guitar pop music of the 60s and 70s.During this time in US Grunge was formed, new British bands like Suede and Blur launched the movement by positioning themselves as opposition musical forces. Soon many joined this form and were writing about concerns of the Brit.

Bands like Oasis, Radiohead, The Verve, Coldplay and many more followed the suit and Radiohead especially showed considerably more esoteric influences from the 60s and 70s.

Radiohead – Creep



Gothic Rock: The most notable Gothic rock bands include Bauhaus, Siouxsie and the Banshees, The Cure, etc. Gothic combines dark, often keyboard-heavy music with introspective and depressing lyrics. Gothic is kind of Death rock coupled with spooky atmosphere. There normally play sad and hatred related music.

Bauhaus - Ziggy Stardust



Indie pop: These originated from United Kingdom in the mid 80s and have roots from Scottish post-punk bands. Gorillaz was the one of the bands from a list of 100s who play Indie pop.

Gorillaz - Feel Good Inc.



I do listen to few of these bands and quite like them as these have a good amount of feel and music is good enough. Now this is a personal choice – so you can disagree!

3 Doors Down - Here Without You

Three Days Grace – Riot



Alternative Rock music has been part of my life since I started listening to them from the start and got introduced to rock and time went by got introduced hard rock and then metal. I am sure I will move on, but will always remember my start that began with Alternative Rock!

Love live Rock! Rock Forever!!

\m/

Make up your mind…

Have you ever wondered why is it that a particular song comes to your mind and you feel like hearing it again and again and again? There might be two probabilities in most cases: the music or the compelling lyrics. But there are songs which do not fall in either of the two categories but instead have an added quality to it, the vocals.

One such band which I can recall when it is this third probability is Coheed and Cambria. Their way of singing has been my weakness and some of their songs stick on to me like glue.

Not many have heard about these guys and not many people follow them. Their lyrics aren’t strong and their music is almost mediocre. To be frank, the band is very vulnerable when it comes to lyrics. These guys have released four albums with a not very exceptional sale record. But they do have a few brilliant compositions.

Formed in 2001 in New York, the band is known for their progressive rock, punk rock, heavy metal and post-hardcore (Hardcore punk rock).

What I am talking about is their song “Welcome Home.” The song starts with plucking of the guitars providing an intensity which strikes the brain and flows down to the foot, till the entire body sways with the music. This is no trance I am talking about. There is some kind of energy which flows within when you hear. May be you too will also experience the same while you listen.

Welcome Home



Now this song is very well written, especially the lines which go

One last kiss for you
One more wish to you
Please make up your mind girl
Before I hope you die.

I particularly like that line, who would have thought about “please make up your mind girl, before I hope you die”, after that the guitar goes on till the end, giving a really nice ending to the song. They should have done this often, and as per Myspace and Facebook their new album has been pretty well written and composed. I hope to see the bright side of this band. I am waiting…

Rock Forever
\m/