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!