Tag Archives: Artifice

Metal Wave at Xtreme Sports Bar, Hyderabad

For all the headbangers in Hyderabad, Metal Wave at Xtreme Sports Bar brought an evening of metal music which made for a perfect Saturday on the 19^th of May 2012. Xtreme Sports Bar along with MetamorphiK and Tooth & Nail Productions had the stage set for metal bands from Hyderabad and this time around, there were new bands formed by the coming together of seasoned musicians sharing the platform with one of Hyderabad’s most popular bands and the headliners for the event – Skrypt.

Four Clover, a group of experienced musicians, who have played for accomplished bands like Sacred Groove and REALMS, came together with the objective to show that music is something that each and every individual can relate to. With progressive influences from bands like Pagan’s Mind, Pain Of Salvation and Hard Rock influences from bands like Blackstone Cherry and Alter Bridge, Four Clover kicked started the show with the groovy ‘Cochise’ by Audioslave. With Vocals by Ashok, Eddie on the guitars, Praveen on the bass and Rohit on the drums their music has progressive and hard rock elements along with some groovy tones. ‘Linoleum’ by Pain Of Salvation followed next and Ashok got the crowd into the groove. Four Clover gave its own touch to Alter Bridge’s ‘Before Tomorrow Comes’ with a bass intro. The entire band pulled the crowd in with Foo Fighters’ ‘My Hero’. The final was their first composition – ‘Dawn of Day’. The clean vocals, classic guitar tones, crazy bass and drums, and the fact that it was Four Clover’s first major gig made it just the right start for the evening.

Perpetual Void formed in February 2012 is a 5-piece thrash death metal band, the line-up of which includes Swaroop (Ex-Cerebral Assassins) on the drums, Roshan (Ex-Cerebral Assassins) and Chaitanya on the guitars, Kenneth on the bass and vocals by Pranav. They opened with ‘F**king Hostile’ originally by Pantera, which is one of the favourite bands of most heads. The rest of the set list included their original ‘Ministry of Death’, Opeth’s ‘Leper Affinity’, Lamb of God’s ‘Walk with Me in Hell’ and concluded with another original ‘Apostasy’. Their compositions were good with heavy riffs and lot of double bass drumming, and growls that reminded me of Underoath.

For all the fans of Shock Therapy, Insidious might turn out to be their next favourite since the band was formed by Jay (Shock Therapy), Aniketh (Shock Therapy) and Sumeet (MetamorphiK Productions). With vocals by Rahul(Shock Therapy), Jay and Santhosh (Cadent Slaves)on guitars, Sumeet on bass, and Aniketh on the drums these guys are influenced by bands like Slayer, Testament, Death, Motorhead, Judas Priest, Morbid Angel and Kataklysm. This was Insidious’ debut gig and they played a rather short set with Motorhead’s ‘The Game’, Slayer’s ‘Seasons in the Abyss’ and Kataklysm’s ‘Blood in Heaven’. With unusually deep growls, and influences ranging from heavy metal to death metal, their musical style is a mix of various subgenres.

This gig was the first of its kind for Skrypt especially because this time the lineup featured a few guests. Due to an unfortunate accident in which he fractured his forearms, the current lead guitarist, Joel, was unable to play. However, the show did go on with ex-guitarist of the band Ramya back on the lead. The rest of the lineup had Scenic on vocals, Ravi on the guitars, Abbas on the bass, and Rajiv on the drums, coupled with Alan (Pandora’s Box) as a guest guitarist and Ananth (Ex-Negator) as a guest vocalist.

‘Artifice’ from their EP Discord was their opening piece that was followed by other originals like ‘Constructing the Absolute’, ‘Anathema’ and ‘Supremacy’ also from their EP Discord. Their compositions are mostly thrash metal with elements of progressive and death metal. Their covers included Gojira’s ‘Clone’, Pantera’s ‘Mouth for War’, Slayer’s ‘Raining Blood’ and, on popular demand, Pantera’s ‘Cowboys from Hell’. While playing ‘Clone’, the band pulled up a guy onto the stage to headbang with them, who later dived back into the crowd. For ‘Mouth of War’, Alan played the guitars and for ‘Raining Blood’ and ‘Cowboys from Hell’, the vocals were handled by both Scenic and Ananth. As always, this was yet another entertaining performance by Skrypt.

There were quite a few glitches with the sound especially when Insidious played and a few slips here and there with the other bands. However, that did not stop people from enjoying the concert. The crowd went wild head banging, moshing, and diving from the stage into the crowd. All the four bands kept the enthusiasm of the crowd on a high throughout the concert.

Four Clover’s groovy musical style attracted the crowd, moving on to heavier music by Perpetual Void and Insidious and on to Skrypt – the perfect transition for an evening of metal leaving everyone with high spirits and a stiff neck caused by some extreme head banging!

Vini Lilian

Vini works with an ad agency. She's a metalhead who can't play metal so she writes about it. She loves tattoos!

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W.O.R.M.E Fest 2011 South Zone Prelims at One Flight Down, Hyderabad

For new bands with talent wondering how to go forward and showcase their music within and beyond their cities, here is W.O.R.M.E. – World of Rock, Metal and Electronica. W.O.R.M.E. is a platform where all the independent musicians in the Rock, Blues, Jazz, Fusion, Metal and Electronica genres across India meet professional artists, sponsors, music labels and music lovers to get opportunities, recognition, growth and exposure at a national and international level. W.O.R.M.E. Fest 2011 is an initiative held in cities across India, where bands and other artistes compete to play in the finale held in Delhi.

W.O.R.M.E. Fest 2011 Prelims in Hyderabad was held on the 18th of November, 2011 at One Flight Down, where 5 bands from Hyderabad and around showcased their talent. The headlining band and judges for the evening – thrash metal band Skrypt from Hyderabad, was evaluating bands on the parameters of technicality, lyrical style, how interesting or catchy their music is, and crowd engagement.

The opening band for the evening was -1 Degree from Ahmedabad. A young and dynamic 4-piece band, they play hardcore punk, alternative and post-punk. Their lineup includes Hait on the guitars and lead vocals, Yax on the lead guitars, Abhijeet on the bass and Siddharth on the drums. They song list included Offspring’s cover of ‘The Kids Aren’t Alright’, originals like ‘My Girlfriend’s Wedding’, ‘When I’ll Be Rich’, ‘Up and Higher’ and ‘Axe up my Ex’. With clean vocals and some heavy riffs, the opening band had a little slow start but got the crowd pumped up by the end of their stint. Their music was good but the vocals sounded a tad raw.

The next up was the Chennai-based progressive metal band 83 MPH a.k.a 83 Miles Per Hour. With Kenny on the Vox, Peter on the Drums, Aldrin on the Keys and backup vocals, Rishikant and Raemus on the Guitars, and Harshit on the Bass these guys stole the show. They played originals including ‘The Rizky Chronicles 1.0′, ‘Hold On’, ’83 mph’ and ‘Drunk’. With Priest-like vocals and intricate music, this band kept everyone on their feet. These guys by far were the best that evening. Their music was quite technical along with the vocal harmony blending perfectly. The band’s performance as a whole was tight. They were in my opinion the best in the competition.

Eagle Riders from Hyderabad are a contemporary rock band whose members are Praveen on Vocals and Rhythm Guitar, Sunil on Lead Guitar, Vijay on Bass and Bobby on Drums. With heavy metal influences, they played a cover and two originals – ‘Bring It On’, ‘Murder by Pride’ (Stryper cover) and ‘Depression Anger Pain’. Their old school vocals and modern day tones were a refreshing combination.

When you see the band, the first thing that hits you about Last Ride Home is their hairstyles! The alternative metal band from Mumbai not only worked on their hair but equally on their music. The band comprises bassist and vocalist Deep, lead guitarist and backing vocalist Shubham, rhythm guitarist Yashish and Drummer and backing vocalist Dev. Switching between clean and harsh vocals, their playlist consisted of ‘West You’d See’, ‘Face Your Fall’, ‘Scream Your Name’, ‘Unholy Confessions’ and ‘Toxicity’ . I must admit that more than their music, their hairstyles stole the show. Their music was good overall, but is still developing. However, they did know how to engage the crowd.

The final band to compete was Pandora’s Box from Hyderabad. Their genre is progressive/ thrash metal and their lineup includes Alan on Guitars/Vox, Benjamin on the Vox, Rohit on the Guitar, Aditya on the Bass and Andrew on the Drums. Their vocal styles switched between clean and harsh vocals. One of Hyderabad’s favorites, these guys played only their own compositions – ‘Trepidation’, ‘We meet again’, ‘Zorn’. The music was pretty intense. However, their clean vocals sounded better than their growls.

The evening ended with Skrypt taking the stage – Scenic on the vocals, Joel and Ravi on the guitars, Rajiv on the drums, Abbas on the bass. Their opening piece was ‘Artifice’ from their EP Discord after which they played ‘Scarred’ that got the crowd in the groove. Their latest composition ‘Oceans Alive’ was a crazy 14-minute piece which was very melodic and very technical. Joel’s insane solo in this piece made jaws drop. The rest of set list was ‘Anathema’, ‘Beyond Conflict’, ‘Supremacy’ and finally ‘Constructing The Absolute’. It did not end there. On public demand, they covered Pantera’s ‘Cowboys from Hell’.

Throughout the competition the crowd enjoyed the performance of different bands. However, when Skrypt began to play the crowd went berserk. Though the turnout was not phenomenal, they made up in the intensity with headbanging and moshing especially for Pantera’s cover.

Two bands are selected from each city. The winners from Hyderabad Prelims to share the stage with other bands in Delhi were 83 MPH and Pandora’s Box. The perfect way to begin the weekend for metalheads in Hyderabad, W.O.R.M.E. Fest not only gave musicians a platform to present their talents, but also give another reason for metal lovers an evening to remember.

Vini Lilian

Vini works with an ad agency. She's a metalhead who can't play metal so she writes about it. She loves tattoos!

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Vladivar Pub Rock Fest at Cuba Libre, Hyderabad

For metal fans of Hyderabad, the Vladivar Pub Rock Fest was refreshing, as Hyderabad has a metal concert once in a blue moon, with bands outside India. The Rock Fest featured the Norwegian Hardcore Punk rock band, Torch who took the center stage, while Thrash metal band Skrypt from Hyderabad opened for them at Cuba Libre on Saturday, October 15^th, 2011.

The opening band, Skrypt is one of Hyderabad’s most favorite bands; the five-piece Thrash metal band has influences of Progressive and Death with Scenic Gopi on the vocals, Joel K and Ravi Nidamarthy on the guitars, Rajiv Kumar on the drums, and Abbas Razvi on the bass; these guys opened the evening with some growls and heavy music. They opened with the all-time favorite composition of Skrypt fans – ‘Artifice’, ‘Supremacy’, ‘Scarred’ and their last piece was ‘Constructing the Absolute’, with about a half hour of Thrash metal. Joel on the lead guitar made jaws drop while the rest of the band kept heads banging. With double bass drumming, wild riffs on the bass and guitars, and crazy growls, Skrypt definitely set the mood for the night for all metal heads in the house. Too bad we could not get an encore.

When Metalcore meets Punk, we have the 5 piece band called Torch from Trondheim, Norway. They have a blend of more than two genres, including Nu metal and Emo, which is unique as the tones of all these genres are quite apart. The current line-up included Marius Forbord the vocalist, Jørgen Berg and Ola Pettersen on the guitar, and backing vocals, Tommy Kviseth on the bass, Thomas Farstad on the drums and backing vocals. ‘K-Bomb’, the most popular song from their debut album ‘Death to Perfection’ was their opening number which got the crowd enthusiastic. Their debut album was more bent towards Hardcore punk whereas the later albums progressed towards Metalcore. The set list included ‘I’m all about something new’ and ‘The Experiment’ from their first album. Their music had a blend of harsh and clean vocals, with a groovy touch. The hour-long performance included ‘Lust Trigger,’ ‘Phase Reverse’, ‘Give Life to Evolet’, ‘Creamed Cheese and Ritalins’ and ‘Hathem’ from their latest album Pt. IV: A New Beginning were all closer to Metalcore genre. Their performance was pretty good and they kept the crowd in the groove. ‘Hathem’ seemed to the crowd’s favorite. For one of their pieces, a random person from the crowd was pulled in to sing. This made Torch everyone’s favorite as they interacted with the crowd. They seemed to reach out to the non-metal fans as well. With the fans asking for more, the band finished with their single ‘Wake me when it’s over.’

Sound set up is the most important for the outcome of any event. Invariably, acoustics is what makes any event go bad. Thankfully, Nitesh, the guy on the sound saved the day, making both the bands sound great.

Metal fans are not many in Hyderabad. Though people wish to listen to good bands coming in from across the globe, the turnout is not usually great, unless it is a mainstream band. The concert was not well-advertised, which is another reason why the turnout was not too good. Most people who came to Cuba Libre least expected a rock concert to happen. However, many got into the groove and seemed to enjoy the music and more so the performance of the bands. Skrypt’s music is heavier than Torch and is quite unusual to have a thrash metal band play before hardcore punk.

The concert lasted for an hour and a half. The crowd did seem to enjoy even though there were not too many metal fans present for the event. Let us hope such surprises increase the number of metal fans and we get to have more concerts of this sort. The night ended well with Skrypt being loved even more as our local band. As for Torch, I am sure they fell in love with Hyderabad and are surely taking home more fans from here.

Vini Lilian

Vini works with an ad agency. She's a metalhead who can't play metal so she writes about it. She loves tattoos!

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