JOIN US Fahrenheit,Slain, Kryptos and Bhoomi, four of the better bands in the City, were invited to play Iron Maiden covers as they were thought to be the best in this genre of music.
The show was slated to begin at 6 pm but ran behind schedule by a good hour-and-a-half. The gathered crowd waited patiently. The band played crowd favourites like Aces High, The Wicker Man, Wrath child, Clarvoiyant, No More Lies and Fear of the Dark. The gathering, which was dressed in the universally accepted metal uniform of black tee shirts, screamed its approval. A chant arose. The words Iron Maiden filled the room.
“I’m here for Iron Maiden, they are my gods,” said an obviously jubilant Kevin Mario. While this was the sentiment of a part of the crowd, there were also those who were there for other reasons. Said Shristi Ghosh, “We are friends with the bands and are here to support the local boys.” Another reason, rather interesting was given by Yeshoda Rai and Avelli Glow, who are self-confessed Kryptos groupies. “We go where ever Kryptos is playing. I was not in station and came back to Bangalore just to watch Kryptos,” said Avelli.
Everybody seemed to have a good time. But the show was at a music store which is hardly designed to cater to a large bunch of metal fans with rubber necks. “The place is too crowded, too stuffy and it’s very cramped for the performers also.”
The smell of sweat was overpowering and air-conditioning could not keep up. But the crowd was exhilarated and the musicians happy.
“A live gig is worth ten practice sessions,” Tony Das from Bhoomi informed. “We have grown up listening to Iron Maiden. The first song that I ever sang with a rock band was Fear of the Dark,” said Akshay Myer of Fahrenheit. But the best comment of the evening, in regards to Iron Maiden, was from Kishan Balaji, the drummer for Bhoomi, who said: “They have a fancy plane smirk.”