Warzone

The gig was a 10 min drive from my place. By the time we reached the place, some punk band was playing. I have no idea which band it was. They played Greenday's When I Come Around. Then for about 4 hours, a lot of forgettable punk bands came and went, while we rested on the lawns outside. We went in when Human Abstract took the stage. These guys are good. They started off with a good cover of Stone Temple Pilots' Interstate Love Song, which happens to be my favourite STP song. They played a couple of very predictable originals along with two covers of RATM, People of the Sun and something else. Then to come on stage was Medusa, probably the crappiest band of the evening. After a soundcheck which went on forever, the started off with a horrible cover of some Radiohead song which I can't recall. I was just one step short of puking when they were playing RATM's Testify. It was a disgrace to RATM! Apart from one or two originals which sounded like Darude, they also played a terrible cover of Fat Boy Slim's Right Here Right Now and ADF's Asian Dub Foundation. I seriously wish these guys stopped playing.

Until that point, the name given to the gig, "warzone", was sounding pretty ridiculous. After a lot of boring/substandard/chootiya bands (Medusa!), Metakix came on stage. They were just awesome! This might sound strange, but I didn't see Metakix live until yesterday. Zomb's are the most versatile vocals I've heard in India. He's got an incredible range and a brutal growl. Its incredible how long this guy can sustain a note. I don't remember the names of any of their originals except for one, which I think was called Lone Star. Somehow, their originals reminded me of The Devin Townsend Band (which is a very good thing, I'm telling you). They played an ass kicking version of Kaiowas and Propaganda (both Sepultura songs). That was when the crowd started moshing.

Next to come on stage was the best band of the night, Demonic Resurrection. It was a delight to watch these guys play. They kicked off with A Darkness Descends. They also played Dreams of the Dead, Behind the Mask of God, Frozen Portrait and a couple of other songs (most of them off their most recent release). The band had an insane stage act. Needless to say, JP again blew our minds off. Sahil's vocals were also excellent. We can only hope for the best for DR. I hope they release more records and get to play abroad. They totally deserve it.

Joint Family (Delhi) took the stage after DR. By this time most of the crowd had already left the gig! It was sad but JF managed to tear down the place with an extremely tight and heavy set. Their originals were very nice. I don't understand why I didn't like them in Great Indian Rock. Except for Life's a Bitch, I can't remember the names of their other originals. They also played Slipknot's People=Shit very well. I'm glad I got to see the band again.

Next to take the stage were the newest extreme metal act from Bombay, Devoid. Their vocalsit had the best scream/growl of the day. Amazing stage act. They started off with their brilliant original Black Fortress, followed by Poems of Death and Devoid of Emotions. Then the vox introduced the next song as being about a Goddess, Kali, an other awesome original. They also covered Hypnosia's Extreme Hatred. I never heard of Hypnosia until yesterday. I don't mind checking them out now. After that, they played the ever so famous Angel of Death!!! The lead guitar was a little low, but otherwise, a brilliant performance by everyone in the band, most notably the vocalist. I just love his growl/screech! A couple of other bands were to follow (I think Systemhouse33 was one of them), but it was too late already and we had gone to the gig to just watch DR and Devoid play. So we left on a high note!

Finally, was it worth the money? Yes, but we could have easily skipped the first 4 or five bands. I'm not really a punk kind of guy. Evaluating these bands from a neutral viewpoint also, I don't understand the point in playing a very long song comprising of just 3 or 4 chords. I know punk is about the lyrics, but I'll pass!

First GIG in Hydera'fucking rocking'bad

This was the first time I was attending a gig in Hyderabad (my hometown). Not knowing what to expect, especially, after attending almost all gigs in Mumbai and being a regular face there, I was skeptical about how the crowd here would be like. Some of the thoughts that were in my head before I reached the venue:

- Would I end up seeing a bunch of poseurs?
- Would people actually mosh?
- Can the Hyderabad crowd actually take on Infernal Wrath's mayhem?

And guess what, all the answers turned out to be a big fuckin' 'YES'. And I was more than happy to see that Hyderabad is surely growing in terms of metal and rock.

Let me start with the opening band for this evening. As every rock show in India, even this had to start late. So I reached the venue, One Flight Down (Pub), which hosts most of the Hyderabad shows, a half hour late. Met up with JP, Afaq and other Infernal Wrath members, and one hour after the scheduled time, the gig was on its way, with Kamoflagodz. They were a very average band, with an average drummer, and a pretty good lead guitarist. They did some originals and covered Neil Diamond's 'Keep on rocking in the free world' and Iron Maiden's 'Hallowed be thy Name'. Both these songs were well done and, the rest were pretty ok. In all, a band which was pretty average, but were very tight in whatever they did. Got the crowds booty-shakin', but not the heads.

Next up were Wreckage. Never heard of this band either. These guys were another Sledge clone. That's what I felt. They played covers of Sepultura's 'Chaos AD' and Pantera's 'Mouth For War'. Pretty well done infact. There were a few timing pitches in between, which were pretty well covered and the sound was a bit bad, cause the vocals were a bit high, and the guitars really low, compared to the drums. People started moshing by now, but I was jus sitting and having my smoke and beer. Waiting for Infernal Wrath to take the stage. Finally Wreckage ended their set with an instrumental, which I really didn't pay attention to. Once their set ended, I got up, did a bottoms up for the remaining of the beer, which was almost half a bottle, and went to the stage.

Finally the band, that I had been waiting for. The only band cause of which I was here tonight. As I saw Afaq, JP, Pradeep, and Harshad take the stage, I knew it was gonna be one hell of a moshfest. All I remember was, shouting out to Afaq to UNLEASH HELL. Well, that's exactly what they did. Started out with Cannibal Corpse's 'Hammer Smashed Face' and went on to do an amazing cover of the invincible Cryptopsy, yeah, you guessed it right, it was 'Phobophile'. The crowd went totally crazy and were moshing as if there was no end to their wretched life, and they jus wanted to die there. The atmosphere was so intense, that sissy things like me bleeding cause of getting elbowed really didn't matter, and I was back in the moshpit for Infernal Wrath's original and cover of Slayer's 'Raining Blood', followed by 'Angel Of Death'. By this time, the crowd was totally exhausted, bodies battered, and vocal chords completely strained. Afaq had a great stage presence, like every time. He was right there in the middle, with the crowd, with us, moshing and screaming his guts out. JP's brilliance need not me spoken about cause you must have already must've heard about the insane drumming, fast, furious, precise and energetic. Pradeep's killing solos, crisp and sharp, and the funky bassist who played a really cool bass line before the sound check, but also showed some high speed plucking during the songs. Overall this was THE band, one should not have missed. Give and take 2 more years and I see this band making it very big in the Indian Scene, and hopefully in the International circuit (I wish they do). HAIL INFERNAL WRATH.

That was the summary of one of the most awesome gigs I have been to. One had to be there to feel the mayhem, chaos and pure rage. It was one gig that will remain in my mind for quite some time. Infernal Wrath has found many fans in Hyderabad, who would really wait for their next gig in this cyber city. Need to rest my battered body, so... peace out.