Head banging to heavy metal

loud set

In a City that has hosted some of the best metal acts over the years, the scene for the local bands isn’t as active as it used to be.

But other than some of the bigger metal festivals and gigs, smaller ones like Sonido Musical’s ‘Garage Jam’ try and do their best to maintain the love for the genre. The first edition of Sonido’s ongoing metal series ‘Death Metal Fest Part 1’ was held at the store’s garage recently. It saw a decent turnout checking out ‘Scally’ and ‘Desecration Winds’ while technical death metal band ‘Nihilus’, who were also supposed to play, couldn’t perform.

“The reason for starting ‘Death Metal Fest’ was to support bands that are playing this genre. With death metal being very heavy, not many venues programme it. We plan to have this once a month or once in two months and feature bands from Bangalore and other Indian cities. In fact, some bands from Kolkata and New Delhi have already written to us saying that they want to perform,” informs Arwen, the organiser. 

Of the two bands to play, ‘Scally’ was the no-nonsense, angry bunch of hardcore punk/death metal musicians who ranted little, played a memorable set and left the audience wanting more. An underground band that emerges quite rarely in the scene, they were a hit among the head-banging crowd. 

Keeping a more old-school approach was ‘Desecration Winds’, who performed 80s and 90s death metal with originals like ‘Salvation Crypts’ and covers like ‘Boneyard’ by ‘Impetigo’ and ‘No Guts, No Glory’ by ‘Bolt Thrower’. 

“Personally, it was a great experience for me as it was my first jam there as a guitarist. We got a 30-minute slot and played in front of over 50 people. For bands like ours who are just starting off, it’s a great launch-pad to be heard,” said Jayanth V, the guitarist. 

   Abhiram, the band’s vocalist, added, “This was the band’s first gig and the exposure we got has kicked off our career. We’ve had a lot of people messaging us and congratulating and it’s all thanks to the organisers.”

The crowd too had a good time. “I stopped by when I heard growling from the garage while walking down the road. I’ve never seen any of these bands but they were loud, tight and really awesome,” said Sam, an audience member.