Stadium Arcadium

Well, here is it, the double disc epic that I have been waiting for! Sadly, thats where the excitement ends. This album has simply failed to surprise me. There are freaking 28 tracks on the album! Unfortunately, a sizeable number of them sound like filler. The playing of both Frusciante and Flea sadly comes across as lazy. I miss those freak-out bass gallops of Flea which are nowhere to be found on this album. That said, a few songs are actually good, the kind of stuff you'd expect from RHCP, although as already said, a majority of the songs simply pass by. The sound is too bland for my taste and to add to it, all the songs are either mid-tempo (by rhcp standards) or beloew mid-tempo! I don't know if its just me, but a few songs on this "epic" sound like rip offs of earlier RHCP material. OMFG, I should stop typing now before I get depressed.. I just wanted to love this album :((

I'm going to keep listening to it though, hoping that it'd get me going at some point.

Goodbye To Romance:Standards For A New Generation

That's the name of Alex Skolnick Trio's first recording. For those you who don't know Alex Skolnick, he was the guitarist in Testament during The Legacy/The New Order era. This on the other hand is a total guitar driven jazz/funk record! It'd be a shame not to mention the amazing rhythm section, which completes the trio. I guess, this could well be an introductory jazz lesson for most newbies (and I am one). Its interesting to see a metalhead, who has played in one of the thrash monsters play jazz. We also get to hear an amazingly funky jazz rendition of the great War Pigs (by Sabbath, you dumbass!) and also a beautiful version of Dream On (Aero-fuckin-Smith :) The other songs could also be renditions of other artists, but I'm not familiar with them. Give these guys a try!

Apart from Goodbye to Romance, I've been listening to Usfret (by Trilok Gurtu) atleast a couple of times daily. This is the first time I've heard Gurtu's work and man, its just out of this world. This is a funk meets indian classical meets jazz album. Shobha Gurtu's hindustani vocals are intense. There are lots of awesome intstrumental interludes, lots of jams with saxophones, guitars, bass, tabla, drums, flute etc. So, those of you who want to take a break from teh hedbanging can go ahead and listen to these bands.

An other band that has been blowing my mind is Mahavishnu Orchestra.. but more on them later. Until then, meh.

Textures - Polars

Very few albums leave you mind-fucked after just the first listen. This is one such album. The band is called Textures and the album, Polars. It is very difficult to put into words what we have here. It won't take too long before you realize the quality of the musicians in question. At first Textures might seem like a Meshuggah clone. But according to me, this band is everything Meshuggah can and can't be, and more! Meshuggah albums are never so easily appreciated. This is not to take anything away from the Swedish metal gods, but its just that one has to spend a lot of time listening to the albums again and again to get a hang of the music. I couldn't imagine falling in love with a Meshuggah album after just the first listen. Anyway, coming back to Polars, there are a lot of ambient sections in the album, which perfectly compliment the heavier sections. The album infact ends with a 14 mins long ambient track, which is probably one of the best "calm" endings ever composed.

The talent of the band shines through in the extremely awesome title track which is 19 mins long. Its definitely not an album for everyone, but those of you into bands like Meshuggah, Tool, Strapping Young Lad and the various side projects of Devin Townsend will immediately identify with the music. This 8 track, almost an hour long mammoth of an album is like a dream come true for me and thousands of extreme-metalheads. Such refreshing and exciting metal is very rare to come by and please please listen to this! I have read comments and reviews on the net which claim Polars to be the best album to have ever come out of The Netherlands. I really cannot back that up, but I agree that this is one of the most beautiful albums I've heard in a while.

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.

Vicarious!!!

I downloaded the new Tool song "Vicarious" about an hour back. I've listened to it 7 times back to back until now. Here I am writing about it! The track totally kicked my ass. The good news is that it sounds like a track off Ænima! Amazing vocals (of course!) and riffs. A brilliant breakdown with trademark Danny Carey drumming. Shit, shit! I can't wait for the entire album. Will post a complete review then.

Stoned Immaculate

Okay people, this might be totally dumb. Which band do you think is more psychedelic, The Doors or Pink Floyd?

Teevra Aandhi

I recently rediscovered Indian Ocean. I first listened to them when we covered "Maa Rewaa" in a fusion contest in our college. My music player hit Kandisa in the random mode and I realized I hadn't heard enough of this awesome band. Indian Ocean is our own desi jam band. Apart from their 3 awesome albums, they have also made the soundtrack for the movie "Black Friday". That film and the OST just blew me away completely. "Opening Pre-Blast" is one of the creepiest pieces of music ever written. My salute to the band for making great music and more importantly for staying true to their music. Four rock solid albums. They say, support the Indian rock bands. Well, this one's also Indian, support it!

An other album that I have been listening to endlessly is Quo Vadis' "Defiant Imagination". Their vocalist has this amazing growl and he can continuously growl for 20 seconds (yes I have timed a couple of his growls!). Vocals apart from that are pretty average death metal vocals, but the instumental department is just out of this world. If you like technical, fast, brilliant death metal, this is the perfect band for you. One more highlight is the bass playing of the almighty Steve DiGiorgio. The bass lines are just out of this world, typical SDG fare. He killed on all the Death albums, but I'm amazed at the speeds at which he plays on this one. The recent Sadus album (SDG's own band) was a disappointment for me. It is good, but not brilliant. So, all of you into metal, check this out

Freedom, Freedom, yeah right

RATM!!! Watching their live videos is an amazing experience. Its definitely some of the most aggressive music ever written. I don't know what exactly gives their music that heavy as fuck sound, but its just pure thrashing madness. Put Zack's screams, Morello's trademark scratch-riffs, Tim's funky bass lines and Brad's drumwork in a blender. What you get is this mind blowing motherfucker called Rage Against the Machine. Those who have heard their music know what I'm talking about. Those who haven't, go fucking shoot yourself in the head.

Opeth......Revisited

Last night as i sat down to have whiskey with Sridhar, Opeth's Bleak was on. It was beautiful, very peaceful, blissful and i felt totally mystical. Opeth always get this feeling out of my, otherwise, monster like mentality :P . We sat in my room, with glasses in our hands, sipping away slowly, with a puff once in a while and listening to Opeth and the magic that Micheal Akerfeldt created. The tracks that followed were even better, Harvest, Dirge For November, and finally reaching the last track Blackwater Park. By the end of this album (Blackwater Park ) , I was in a total state of trance, lost in my own world , all alone surrounded by colourful psychedelia. I'd easily say Opeth is to Death Metal , what Pink Floyd was to Rock 'N Roll. All their songs have mellow verses, followed by heavy parts. Its as though my soul is reasoning out with me, when i listen to these amazing works of art. Yeah , art. Thats what i would call Opeth's music. Simple riffs, yet melodic to the highest level. Though, every musician doesnt show off their acme, they compose stuff which amazes me till date. I have never been bored by an Opeth song. Never skipped an Opeth song and never will. No amount of adulation can be enough to describe Opeth. I'd say load ur playlist with an Opeth album, switch off the lights in your room , lay back in ur bed, chair or wherever u feel is comfortable and listen. Come kill me if the music doesnt enthrall you. I'm ready to bet my life.

mvikred

GIR , The Mumbai Leg

Well, well well .... wat do we have here .... GIR once again. Being my 3rd GIR, I entered the stadium with great expectations. The venue was jus perfect for an all free gig :) Andheri Sports Complex. Large open space and amazing sound :) The first sight gave a good impression. Lets get on way with how the bands performed, alright? Medussa, the band which was supposed to start off backed out and left more time for the remaining bands, which was absolutely great, cuz i personally hate Medussa and their shitty groove box. So i'd say, the start was good, No Medussa! :P
So the band that started the most insane show in the recent times was none other than, apan ka, mumbai waala Demonic Resurrection. And they were tight ... amazing, melodic, totally kick ass. Sahil's vocals have improved, his growls had more depth this time. The guitaring by pradeep was very good, nothing really exceptional. The guy on the keyboards was amazing. But one person i really went to this gig for was, JP. DR's drummer :D I was backstage, behind the drummer when JP was playing. Irwie got me in, btw. Thanx man. All I was doing behind was just havin a look at JP's footwork and cymbal work, upclose. Learning a lot of things. Their song frozen potrait stands out , I just love it :) Mellow breakdowns and then the brutally fast paced parts. Surely this night was gonna be one of those concerts which i wud remember.
After DR, i came back into the crowd with my friends. And next up was Split. They started off with a U2 cover. I really dont know the name of that song (not a big fan of U2) .... this band was very ok (Edit: the song was Vertigo - Sridhar). They had this really annoying bass guitarist, who kept talking rather than playing songs. Not one of my favs. Their vocalist gets a special mention for sure, he had a really wide range of vocals. Impressed me in every song. Great going man.
The night was still young, and i dint headbang yet :) Though DR was 'headbang'able, I was busy backstage. So the next band was Joint Family. Having watched them live twice before, i was expecting a lot from this band. Last time i saw them, they made the crowd go crazy over RATM covers. So, with those images in my head, I got ready to totally headbang. Even the crowd was expecting some heavy shit. And believe me, the crowd formed the largest moshpit I've ever seen, jus before the first song of Joint Family. And once they started with their original, the crowd jus went crazy and moshed and headbanged. It was as though everyone was suicidal. But it doesnt fucking matter. They were having a blast. The drummer of Joint Family was tight and good. But as their set progressed, they sounded very montonous and boring. This time around they didn't really impress me at all. They were sounding like jus another nu-metal act from my neighbourhood. Vinay of BM came on stage as a guest vocalist for Slipknots PPL=SHIT and the crowd obviously went crazy. Their originals werent that great and all sounded somewhat similar. Bottomline, they were disappointing, though they were tight.
Next band was Prestorika. Ahhh, wat a band. I saw them live a year back in Livewire. I totally enjoyed their set then. I was expecting something good here. And , just when I was mentioning to my friend the kick ass show that they did at livewire, they started off with 'Enter Sandman' and I went crazy, the crowd went crazy and for the first time in the night, I was in the largest moshpit ever in India. It was fun, me and my friends moshed like crazy fanatics. And then they did a few OC's which were totally amazing. Their guitarist Lokesh was one helluva guy, crisp , very fast paced solos. He was amazing. Then prestorika played 'Holy Wars' and 'Hit The Lights'. And they ended their set with an OC. I'd say they were the tightest band tonite. Crowds favs and absolutely mind blowing.
Prestorika gave way to the much awaited 'Freak Kitchen' from Sweden. They started playing their orignals, doing some amazing work. They were tight, and knew what they were doing. Experience clearly showed in their performance. The vox/guitarist Mathias was kinda funny, and the bassist dude was jumping all around the stage, crazy motherfuckers. They were damn tight and wat impressed me was that they were a 3 member band. Pretty crazy huh ? I really didn't enjoy their originals but I can say that they are good. It's jus not something i like , thats all :) Mathias, with his gutti gutti (Edit: wasn't that "Goody Goody"? - Sridhar) chant and some really crazy, funky guitaring, a good drummer, and a funny bassist, Freak Kitchen showed what they were made of. They had marks of a tight international band written all over them and their music. They had some good originals like porno daddy and others which I can't recollect.
So the night ended. 4 hrs of metaldom. There cant be anything better to do on a weekend. GIR was well organised, and had good crowd. Foreign chicks, desi chicks and many metal heads (which make any gig a great gig). There was food, water and to top everything smoke was allowed. Everything was done professionally and perfectly. It was known that the show wouldnt start on time , so we have to leave that one flaw out (its jus an innate quality of Indians, can't really be helped ;) ). To describe the show in few words, amazing, mind blowing and fucking crazy. If you missed this, then go kill yourself .

mvikred

Remakes

When I was in 12th (as in, in and around phase of my life), I had a theory that remixes are when you just add new beats and all, and remakes are when you remake the whole song. It seemed kind of sensible, since it followed from the words themselves. Anyway, this post isn't about that :P

Here are a few pairs of songs, each consisting of an original non-rock song and it's interpretation by decently (!) well known bands:

.1. Diamonds and Rust : Original - Joan Baez, Interpreted by Judas Priest.

The Judas Priest version, is well....funny! Unless you've heard Judas Priest exclusively atleast for a few hours, there's no way this version could even begin to compare with the Joan Baez one. Near the ending, when the JP waala starts singing "Diamonds! Diamonds! Diamonds and Raaast!", I almost start laughing. However, if you do get into the feel of things (if you're in the metal mode, so to speak), the irony and biting sarcasm in the song does glimmer a little.

The Joan Baez version, on the other hand, is amazing, to say the least. It's haunting, and the anger, the sarcasm, the sadness, it's all there and you can imagine the pain of the person the song is about. It was supposedly written by Joan Baez for Bob Dylan after their affair. And the pain is all too apparent.

.2. Turn the Page : Original - Bob Seger, Interpreted by Metallica.

This is a tough choice to make. The feel is available aplenty in both the songs. Strangely, however, while the Bob Seger version seems to convey the desperation and hopelessness of the person the song is about, the Metallica song invokes almost the opposite feelings: hope and determination!

The drums in the Bob Seger version are way too cool! They're silent for the most part, simple and totally in sync with the song. I love the way the hi-hat is used in the first half of the song. It's simple enough for even someone who doesn't know how to play drums, but its "value addition" to the song is amazing! Metallica waale drums, are well...normal Metallica waale drums.

Other Metallica "interpretations" : Tuesday's Gone (where they haven't changed much, but they've done a marvellous job), Whiskey in the Jar (the Metallica version rules anyday! Thin Lizzy clearly had no idea how amazing his song - supposedly a folk tune- could be!)

.3. Wicked Game: Original - Chris Isaak, Interpreted by H.I.M.

This song was what prompted me to write this post in the first place. The Chris Isaak version is amazing and all. It keeps playing in Mocha HN btw. Everyone keeps going gaga over the vocals and all. It is a nice peaceful song, and with feel and all. I loved the song and it was almost perfect. Or so I thought.

Then I heard the H.I.M version! It's amazing! The drums, the guitar! Pure unadulterated rock! It's like Chris Isaak got the song all wrong, and the original version (the way it should have been in the first place) is by H.I.M.

Other things I haven't considered:

Pink Floyd and The Ramones - Another Brick in the Wall (it's obvious who's better, but the Ramones did do a respectable job)
Alien Ant Farm and MJ - Smooth Crminal. No real feeling in the song to talk about, so it's ok :)

And Parikrama's version of Sweet Child of Mine at Kala Ghoda with Violin and keyboard and no drums (slowed down, mellow) was also very cool :)

One interpretation I refuse to comment upon is Slipknot trying out Bullet the Blue Sky by U2! :P

Vicious Circle

I've wanted to write about this a while now. In gigs, you always see people who get excited when they hear a band covering Metallica, Pantera, Slayer etc. I'd like to see Indian bands that play more original comps. There are two sides to the issue actually. Firstly, you need a mature open minded audience that can appreciate original music. The second issue is that the music has to be ORIGINAL in order that the crowd likes it. For example, if you take Zero, you see that they have a very distinct sound to their music. You also see people asking for PSP 12, Old Man.., Christmas in July etc. You would also see most people sing along with the band. On the other hand, if you look at Sceptre's originals, it feels like you are listening to another run of the mill average thrash band. Its a totally different thing that the band can play Angel of Death or Reign in Blood note to note. I still feel that the Indian rock scene is in its very nascent stages. When will we see all original setlists at gigs? I don't see it happening in the near future.

Again, there are multiple sides to this issue. Firstly, bands that do create good original music move on to other stuff for lack of market/audience/sales/record label backing and other assorted shit. A band making a brilliant album might end up selling a few hundred copies. This again depends on whether the Indian rock fan base is loyal or not. If you heard a good album by an Indian band, would you buy it? Do you like any Indian band? If so, do you own their CD? Or are you happy listening to the mp3s on your computer? Secondly, Indian bands don't stick around for too long for some reason or the other. One needs time, patience and experience to write good music. And the ones that stick around for too long suck :) Some bands like Parikrama and Vayu that have existed forever and have yet been able to write just one or no decent song all their life. While I cannot claim to have heard all the bands in the Indian circuit, I've heard bands like Zero, TAAQ and Zebediah Plush that have written good "original" music. I have also heard some promising original singles from bands like Acrid Semblance and IIIrd Sovereign. Only time can tell us if they can actually come up with a good full length album. What is frustrating is that all this is a vicious circle. Bands might not even get gigs to play if they went with an all original setlist.

Lets just hope that the scene just gets better. I hope next time I go to a gig, I wont hear people shout Metaaalllica, Slayaaar and I also hope the bands play good originals. Vicious Circle you see..

Valentine Massacre

We reached the place on time, but the gig started two and a half hours late! I was cursing myself for going on time, but it didn't matter at all, because the gig was a killer. One of the most brutal gigs I've been to.

The first band to play was "Amidst the Chaos". I don't remember much of their setlist, except for a very ok-ish nu-metal original and some covers which included a bad cover of Tool's Stinkfist.

Second up were Bruteforce a band that claims to play old school thrash. Their setlist included more than just old school thrash. They played some kick ass covers like Domination (Pantera), Holy Wars (Megadeth), Children of Decadence (COB) and some song by Ensiferum, if I remember right. There were violent moshpits during Domination and Holy Wars. While they nailed all the originals perfectly, their original was again, not a very memorable one. It was about some reservations in the private sector or some such bull-shit. The drummer deserves a special mention. He was good. The vocalist needs to improve though.

Next up were Exhumation. This is the second time I'm seeing this band . And unfortunately both the times, the band had some problem with the sound.
I'm not very familiar with the kind of music these guys play, but they were awesome. I hear that they played some Vader. The vocalist was just brilliant.

Next up were Redemption. I was seeing them for the second time. Despite all the hype, I didn't like their music too much. The vocals were too monotonous. I don't remember the setlist except for one *hold your breath* Meshuggah cover. That was just very bad in my opinion . First of all, how can you cover Meshuggah with just one guitarist? The song just didn't have that punch. And secondly, the vocalist was screaming away in one constant pitch. I'd say first get your act right and then cover Meshuggah.

Time to smoke. It was weird that smoking was prohibited in the hall where the gig was taking place. Anyway, I think we should be happy that we have some place in Bombay where we can have metal gigs. By the time we came back, Infernal Wrath was on stage and this was the band of the night for me. They just destroyed. They covered Cannibal Corpse (I cum blood is the only song I remember), *OMFG!!!* Cryptopsy's Phobophile and played a Slayer medley which was just insane. JP, the man on the drums was just mad. This was also the first time I saw a vocalist walk into the moshpit with the mic (you need balls for that!). People ripped his shirt off and the guy kept singing like a mad dog.

Sadly, we couldn't stay for the last two bands Metakix and Bhayanak Maut, the band for which we went to the gig! Anyway, it was one hell of a gig. Metchulll!

Storm of the Beast

Its 3 AM. Here I am listening to possibly the greatest thrash metal band to have come out of Europe. Yes biyatches, its Kreator!!!!!!!! You listen to the first few riffs of the album and instantly know that its a classic Kreator album. I remember the first time I heard the band, which was about 2 years go. I was listening to Endorama and I never really gave the album an other listen thinking it was some Gothic shite. About 1 year after that, I heard Extreme Aggression and I was completely blown away. I knew it. That was the shit! I now know their first three albums note to note :D I have to explore their other albums. I've heard that they experimented quite a bit on their later albums (damn!). Anyway, I'm hoping that the rest of their catalogue kicks ass too and shit I have to fuckin sleep. later...

Acoustic Dusk

Looong time since I posted :D

Anyway, here's what I thought of this time's AD. Views are of course, strictly personal, and shouldn't be taken seriously if they go against your own views ;) Maybe the Staccato group is a better place to post this, but I like this blog far more!!

The first meeting (that I attended) : People were discussing publicity etc. and I knew I wouldn't be working for this AD. Acoustic Dusk for me (and Pursha) was this place where people who liked music just came and sat down (or stood up and shook their heads and drank like mad) and listened to music. This whole stuff about slots and lights and big posters (it actually did seem like a copy of InSync) was totally against the feel I had for AD. Especially the slots, which I'll come to later. I remember, in my first year, this guitarist fellow (don't remember his name) generally came up on stage and said he wants to play Babe I'm Gonna Leave You. NCR got up and said he could do the drumming. So they played that song and they played Tunnel of Love. The whole informal atmosphere, everyone having fun (Golu's antics!), it was all so amazing!!! From the first meeting, I could see that wasn't going to happen this time. People were thinking big :(

The subsequent meetings: I didn't attend any. Didn't do any work since I believed it was all against my principles (Ok Fine! I was just lazy!). Just concentrated on trying to prepare for my songs. For Why Not?, I was playing some 9-10 songs, all simple, straight 4X4 beats, except for Fade to Black.

Acoustic Dusk: The first band I played with, halfway through Fade to Black, before the lead, we were told that that the song was going to be cut off midway! I couldn't concentrate at all after that! I kept losing the beat. To add to my trouble, the rhythm guitarist (which was the only thing I could hear clearly on my monitor) was constantly losing beat as well! Anyway, we were stopped this way. NCR's band couldn't play Romeo and Juliet. Why Not? played 5 of our 10 songs.

But overall of course, it was a grand AD, with proper organization etc. It wasn't informal at all. I mean, every band was practically shooed off stage! Maybe it was necessary, maybe they could have spanned it across two days, whatever. But AD Rocked!!

Now for the music :D

I loved my band the most, obviously! We played simple songs, but we played them well :) I was happy I got praise for my extremely complicated drumming (maintaining a 4x4 beat for 5 minutes!!! That's gotta be hard!) on one of our originals! 2 AM came out very well. Atleast I enjoyed it thoroughly. People said I was actually smiling and shaking my head on stage. I didn't notice it, of course :) Playing on stage is amazing!!!! I made, on an average, two mistakes per song, but I'm the drummer, and almost no one notices the drummer ;)

Of the other bands, there were lots of amazing people playing! Songs that I remember as being the best of the lot:

1. Brimful of Asha
2. Hallowed be thy Name
3. Bulls on Parade
4. Cliffs of Dover (I just looovvee the song!)
5. Shiver
6. Losing Shine and Bad Poem (our original! :D)
7. Tubthumping (from the girls)

The worst song: With or Without you. This might seem biased, since U2's my favourite band . Basically, the band meddled a little too much with perfection, adding a lead, changing the drums, etc. I just couldn't handle it ;)

This was the first time I paid attention to double bass when it was being played live. Thanx Reddy! :D It sounds amazing! Raj ka original was amazing! He'd said you would play Quit Playing Games. But Rahul kicked you off stage, didn't he? =))

There's so much that can be done with double bass! But, like you said, there's still I lot I have to learn with single bass. I do hope I get an app. When I get back here after my PhD, I'll be the best drummer in the world :D

So anyway, it was an amazing AD for the audience, I guess, with lots of bands putting in amazing performances. But I still think we lost more than we gained with a well publicized and well organized Acoustic Dusk.

Ahh commercialization ;)

Bastard

I first heard Ocean Machine around 8 months back, when I was doing my summer internship. Ocean Machine is one of Devin Townsend's (the Canadian mad man responsible for Strapping Young Lad) side projects. I again heard the album a couple of days back. Its one of the greatest albums ever made, I tell you. People talk about genius all the time, but this is pure fuckin genius, believe me. There is one track (titled "Bastard") on the album which might just become my all time favourite track! I think it already is my all time favourite. Devin Townsend might become my all time favourite vocalist too! Never before has any song moved me so much. It feels just incredible when I listen to the album. The album is simply brilliant. The music is very unique, bordering on rock, metal and ambient. I have been trying to get hold of everything that Devin has ever released. I'm just 2 or 3 albums short of completing the discography. You have to listen to the music to believe me, he is one heck of a musician. I say again, pure fuckin genius!

My Idol

Billy Cobham ... he's my idol ... an amazing jazz drummer , with many techniques in his pocket . Jus check out his work in Mahavishnu's Orchestra ... totally mind blowing stuff

mvikred 

Twisted Music

Wow, this has been one really long break from blogging. In the meanwhile, I have been listening to bands like Isis and the like. Ever since I heard Mastodon, which was a few months back, I have been on a quest to find bands with similar water-y themes. So I ended up downloading a bunch of albums by Isis, Pelican, Godflesh, Converge, Botch and Neurosis. While not much technique goes into writing the kind of music that Isis writes, it does take a vision to make music like that.
One band that has been on my playlist for a while is Necrophagist, a German death metal band. Believe me, music doesn't get more technical. They play the most twisted tunes. They are extremely fast and the most demented mind on the planet wouldn't come up with guitar solos as sick as the ones these guys play. So, if you think you've heard all, you should listen to Necrophagist.
Recently, I came across a thread on the forums of last.fm about extreme vocals in metal. Its really sad that a lot of people don't listen to metal because of the vocals. It takes getting used to the vocals before you start liking the vocals. Even in the end, its not necessary that you like the vocals, but thats the small price one needs to pay to enjoy some of the most beautiful music ever made. Before I digress into some other random topic, I stop here! More later..

Down with the 'Death'ly Pschedelia

Yeah , that was the exact feeling when i heard Cynic's 'Focus' . I've heard it a few times earlier, but this time it was beautiful, amazing and spectacular...totally mind-blowing. It was like I was lost in some kind of a beautiful world. And death metal bringing out this kind of effect was truely unique. The cover of Focus makes one feel, as though lost in some kind of a trance. Well no wonder the music had the same effect on me. The artwork precisely described the music. I've got only one album of Cynic, but after this album, I would try to get hold of some more. The growls along with some 'chant'ly kind of voice giving backing vocals sent me through the dizzy lanes with colours changing every now and then. The feeling was wonderful. One should listen to this album to know what i exactly mean. I dont know much abt the band or the members, but now i am gonna read up on them. Its really strange that jus one Good album in a band's career makes all the fans retrospect their earlier work, which if they dint get a break would've gone un-noticed. Who would have heard of earlier works by Edge of Sanity before Crimson, who heard of Nile's works before Black Seeds of Vengeance ... many such examples can be quoted within 25 years of metal. They are so many bands that do amazing work but are not known to everyone. Hence i request all the metal-heads to give these new and up-coming bands a chance, listen to their music and 'if' done well spread the word around. Untill you come across such a band , keep listening to metal and listen to 'Focus' for sure :)

mvikred