“We are disheartened to announce the discontinuation of the band as everyone in the band has decided to take their own paths in their personal as well as musical life. We thank each and everyone of you who has been part of Infernal Wrath’s journey through these 6 years and has shown a never ending support. Our deepest thanks to everyone at the Infernal Wrath Crew. We shall update you in case if there is any information on the band’s front.

We have few limited copies of the Infernal Wrath album Inside of Me’ with us. Kindly email admin@mixtapelive.in if you wish to order.”

Therefore, as of now, the band has called it quits. Headbangers India’s crew wishes each and every member all the best in their respective individual endeavours.

One of the most awaited concerts of the year is almost here. Swedish metal giants Opeth, who will be headlining the Kingfisher Summer Storm Festival 2012 on February 5th in Palace Grounds, Bangalore, have just arrived in India. The band met the press and answered a few questions, excerpts of which are below.

Did any foreign bands encourage you to come to Bangalore?

Opeth: No, to be honest. We haven’t talked to any other bands about being here.

Have you heard about the Bangalore music scene? It’s known for it’s rock and metal scene.

Opeth: Yes, we’ve been told that this is the place to be if you’re a hard rock/ metal band. Since early on, we’ve had plans to come here. People told us that we should come play Bangalore, and now we’re here!

Talking about ‘Heritage’, and it’s reception by fans…

Opeth: The reception for all our albums has been pretty good, including for the new one too. But I think the new one has been more of a watershed record. Maybe more so than the ‘Watershed’ album that has been dividing the fan base. Some people absolutely hate the new album and some people absolutely love it. We probably lost a few fans and probably gained a few fans. But we’re not one of those who likes to keep it safe and keep our career going. We’re in this for the love of music and the career is always secondary to our love for experimentation and our love for music.

How do you deal with the availability of downloads and piracy in music?

Opeth: That’s a reality that musicians have to cope with. We tour a lot to make up for that. We’re not staying just to touring, but I do feel that it will be great to spend more time with the greater side of being in a band and writing music. I know how to download porn, but I don’t know how to download music and stuff. I’m one of those guys who likes physical copies of stuff. What makes me happy is to see the return of vinyl… You know, people are buying vinyl these days. So we still have hopes for the future. We’ve never been a big selling band anyway. We fortunately still enjoy touring!

You’re doing a North American tour later this year with Ghost and Mastodon, which are very different styles oof music. What’s your take on that?

Opeth: It’s a tour, you know. Mastodon is one of the first few bands that I’ve been interested in. And Ghost is Swedish and they’re kind of hyped and stuff like that, you know. I like them… they sound a bit like Mercyful Fate. This tour is, as far as I understand, is a big thing in the U.S. I like the bands, but for us, it’s just another tour. We don’t go out on tour thinking it’s great being with all these bands. We go there to promote ourselves, you know, first and foremost. I was a bit wary of this tour, actually, because I can’t see the connection. But I’ve warmed up to it since. It’s going to be a nice tour.

You played in Chennai in 2009 at IIT Saarang. What are your expectations this time, as opposed to last time?

Opeth: We’ve got pretty high expectations. It was something that was still talked about- “do you remember that” and this and that… It was a good experience, a bit surreal for us. We were also judging this music contest, which was a bit strange. Like fucking Simon Cowell… you know. But, it was a great experience. The show was great, and as you know there’s a couple of things about the show that wasn’t so great. But we had a really good experience. We’re happy to come back to India. It’s great to interact with the fans on a personal level. It’s one of those experiences that you’ll never forget!

Tell us more about your side projects… like what’s happening with Steven Wilson.

Opeth: We’d recorded a record, called Storm Corrosion. He bought a new house, and he basically wanted me to show me his house. He’d said he has a tennis court and I was like “I’m going to kick your ass”. And I just went there to hang out. We’d become friends, and I guess we both knew that we’re going to write music together, because we hadn’t in such a long time. We’d sit down in the studio and we’d both great drunk. We’d drink a lot of wine. We didn’t have any idea of what we wanted to do, and we didn’t have any licks and stuff. We just started from scratch, and luckily we ended up sounding nothing like Opeth and Porcupine Tree, which I like to think is something new. It’s coming out on April 16th.

About Per’s departure from the band…

Opeth: Well, Per was fired from the band after we finished the ‘Heritage’ record. Even if I say “fired”, it was more or less a mutual thing. He didn’t really want to be there. It was a stressful relationship in the end for the band for personal reasons. He’s no longer in the band and I haven’t talked to him since he left. Just the other day we went out for a couple of beers and we saw Per, it was great to see him. He was happy. We were never on bad terms, but I think now we’re back on good terms.

About Lindgreen and Lopez…

Opeth: Well, I don’t talk to Lopez. Not that I avoid him or anything, but we just kind of drifted apart. We were never friends when he was in the band either. He disappeared from the scene for a while. But now he’s back. As far as I know, he’s doing fine. But none of us really keep in touch with him.
What are the roots of your music?

Opeth: Well, it’s metal. Very simple. The first record I ever bought was an Iron Maiden record and I got sucked into that whole scene at a very early age. And once I started writing my own songs, I got into the whole death metal and grindcore scene. We used to write improvised versions of grindcore songs, and cover songs by Napalm Death. That was our roots. Somewhere also the way, I discovered progressive rock. After that, my interest in the metal scene seemed to fade away a little bit. Some of the metal bands- it’s hard to tell them apart. In the 80s, you never mixed up Judas Priest with The Scorpions or Iron Maiden. They all have their own identities, which
in the 90s, a lot of bands just sound very similar to each other. Which is why I started looking elsewhere for new music, I guess.

To Axe : The two albums you recorded, i.e. ‘Watershed’ and ‘Heritage’, you had the freedom to do what you wanted. How do you feel about playing the older stuff, which Mr. Lopez had played, especially the groovy/ jazzy bits?

Opeth: It’s fun playing the older stuff, but I feel more connected to the newer stuff, of course.

After the interaction with the band, they once again proved that no matter how big and successful they are, humility is something that they never forget. They obliged fans for pictures and autographs, and also threw some hints around about the set-list (‘Deliverance’, hopefully?). They also signed a guitar to go up on the wall of Hard Rock Cafe. This was the first time an International band visiting India donated their guitar to Hard Rock Cafe. We look forward to a killer gig at Palace Ground today.

Watch this space for an exclusive interview with Opeth, a review of the gig and more!

Thinking. An activity everyone does by default but something metal bands of today give little time to. A well thought-out idea results in a well-executed style of music. It is definitely a lot easier said than done and cracking it in your first attempt is a tough ask but Mumbai’s Infinite Redemption seem to have figured it out. Their debut EP ‘Face of Disaster’ is the proof.

Overall, the band’s style could be classified under ‘groove’ or ‘post-thrash’ but really, that is of little consequence as far as the quality of the music goes. Right from the outset, the band’s sound has very evidently been unaffected by current dogmas and trends in metal. Their music has the right kinds of grooves made infectious by deft drum patterns and crafty bass playing. At the same time, it also has its relentlessly fast riff sections that have very simple underlying ideas, all as a result of thinking it out. The release opens with ‘Abhorrence’, where things are set in motion by a bass groove that is soon to be joined by the rest of the instruments. The song has elements of technical death metal but also the right sprinkling of a metalcore influence to keep the listener hooked. Track 2 bears the band’s name and feature’s Zygnema’s vocalist Jimmy Bhore. There is a great trade off happening between him and the band’s vocalist Rust Hammer and there are sections where both vocalists have layered their respective parts to create relevant ‘pieces with a piece’.

After these 2 tracks, the real instrumental orgy-in-the-ear’ begins. ‘Noise Edge’ fades in with guitar feedback, continues with a pretty regular ‘broken down’ riff and then silence, a bass flourish and then the sweetness of a heavy barrage of one-note syncopations harmonized by legato-ed lead tremolos. This entire switch happens in less than a second. But like every amazing flourish of art, one expects even more surprises. And surprises there are. The song then relaxes into the simplest possible 3-chord sequence, ever harmonized by the high register trails of a lead guitar and driven powerfully by a bass throb. Track 4 is the crowning glory of this EP though. ‘Shadows of Disaster’ is easily the most groovy and exciting track of the album. Everything about this track is something one has heard before but it just has a a few subtleties here and there; like a riff that sounds like the kind you could predict the drum pattern for but suddenly, its the deft new drum pattern that surprises you. The solos on this song are deliciously executed, backed perfectly by a simple syncopated riff on the rhythm section. Again, a result of thinking. The final track ‘Tyranny of the Pallid’  continues the well-placed breakdowns but also has a lot of great pentatonic shreds. The high/low register harmonies continue and finally, the album comes to an end.

The only structural defect in this otherwise robust architecture though, are the vocals. This band is yet another example of the ‘snarled’ vocals not working well but sounding more like mumbles. While the deeper death growls sound great and do the job, there is a very evident lack of power on these snarled vocals. However, that will be perfected with time, that there is no doubt about. If there was ever a promising EP from an Indian band, this is definitely one of them. The band has a great amalgamated sound and more importantly, it has the element of surprise in that it is very difficult to comfortably predict what the next few bars in a song are going to throw at you. If you like your death/thrash to have the ever-so-slight sprinkling of metalcore in it, this EP is something you cannot possibly overlook.

The EP can be ordered online by sending an e-mail to: infiniteredemption@gmail.com

Israeli progressive metal giants Orphaned Land will be playing 2 dates in India in February:

- 5th February at  the Alcheringa Festival at IIT Guwahati, Assam

- 7th February at the QBA Club in New Delhi

This is yet another example of metal bands returning to play in India, therefore placing our country quite prominently on the world metal map as a tour venue. Make sure you’re there for the never-ending ways of these warriors.

Tracklist:

1. Universal Sleeper
2. Abishtu
3. The Smiler
4. Mono Gnome
Guitar player and main songwriter, Srikanth Panaman, says: “We’ve had a great time performing these songs since we made our stage debut. After a year of playing them out and getting better, we thought it was the right time to hit the studio and put out our first album. On the one hand, it’s been a challenge to capture the live vibe on the recordings, and on the other, being in the studio and listening to the songs over and over has allowed us to fine-tune the arrangements. One of our favourite engineers/producers is going to be mixing this, so this is going to be a mindblowing experience for us.”

The self-titled album has been penned for an early-summer 2012 release via the recently formed Iron Fist Records in India. CDs and digital downloads will be the first available media, with more formats on the cards later. The CD will come in a 6 panel digipack, including a 12 page booklet, with extensive illustrations across the layout. According to Rahul Chacko, lead guitarist and in-house band artist: “The art for Bevar Sea has always been about trying to portray the spirit of the music, while using reference points from the lyrics, and incorporating a healthy dose of influence from some of our favourite comic artists. The album art is probably our most ambitious collection yet, and so far it’s shaping up pretty good!”

The band will wrap up recording, and support label-mates, scene veterans, and fellow old schoolers Kryptos for their third album’s launch party on February 18th at Kyra Theatre in Bangalore. This occasion will also see the launch of Bevar Sea’s new website, and the debut of their new song, “Where There’s Smoke (There’s A Pyre)”.

Bevar Sea is Ganesh Krishnaswamy on vocals, Srikanth Panaman and Rahul Chacko on guitars, Avinash Menon on bass, and Deepak Raghu on drums.

Watch this space for updates on the album, the single, merchandise, and tour dates.
You can also check out the band at the following links:

http://ironfirstrecords.in

http://facebook.com/bevarsea

http://youtube.com/bevarsea

http://bevarsea.bandcamp.com

bevarsea@gmail.com

Sound-wise, the one band they remind me of are Canada’s Aeternam. Groove laden melodic death metal with symphonic overtones is one way to describe it. The female vocals in ‘Persepolis’ bring to mind The Agonist, one of the more bearable metalcore bands. And all through the album there are these constant recurrences of comparisons to other bands that they end up sounding exactly like, though in parts – Dimmu Borgir, Lamb of God, Textures, Born of Osiris, Xerath and Whitechapel to name a few. But in the end, they do succeed in creating a fairly homogenous kind of sound for the entire album that fits the progression of the storyline, which is an absolute necessity for a concept album.The band seems to have gone to fairly great lengths to getting an ‘Indian/Oriental’ (essentially eastern folk-ish) sound, using keyboard samples to exert the desired effect. And though this seems justified from the compositional point of view, the execution makes it sound too crude, as compared to getting authentic sound samples/instruments (For instance, Pitbull In The Nursery’s sitar in In My Veins).

From the production point of view, the dynamics of the sound seem too restrained. The drums almost sound programmed. The bands approach towards metal seems essentially textbook in a way, which is a little ironic considering that they label themselves as ‘experimental’. A mish-mash, however well made, of generic tidbits isn’t enough to be called an experiment, at least not a successful one. One can appreciate the variety of influences though, and how well they’ve been woven together as a unified sound. The guitar riffs are catchy and the playing is tight, and the keyboard provides some good aural backdrops. The growled vocals are fairly consistent, the clean male vocals not as much. To summarize – For those excited by the ‘experimental’ tag such as myself shouldn’t be too expectant – it’s a decent album, not an obscure gem. Worth a buy if you’re just looking for some plain headbanging and some refreshing melodic work and catchy palm muted riffs.

Final rating – 7/10.

Memorable songs – Borrowed Time, Jaffar, Cyrus, Origins I(which form some kind of a collective climax for the album).

The band is currently camped at the home studio of producer Kuber Sharma whose previous releases have been with the likes of Exhumation (Consider This) and Pangea (Snails are When I was Young).

As you might remember, their previous effort, ‘Mark of Teja’, sent quite a shockwave around the country and even beyond. Their fresh, new sound not only got them a spot at the prestigious Inferno Metal Festival in Oslo, Norway, but also helped them win the Best Metal Album, Best Band, Best Song, Best Bassist, as well as Best Vocalist at the first ever Rolling Stone Metal Awards and the JD Rock Awards. Scribe was also nominated at the MTV (EMA) Europe Music Awards 2011 at Belfast in the “Worldwide” category recently.

“We hope this album can take us out into space. We’d love to see space”, hopes guitarist Akshay Rajpurohit.

In keeping with their crazy side, the upcoming release is titled ‘Hail Mogambo’. The CD will contain a dozen songs and promises to continue the saga that ‘Mark of Teja’ started. The band is looking forward to releasing the album in the latter half of 2012.

They will also be performing at IIT Madras’ Saarang 2012 on the 21st of January 2012, and will open for Vildhjarta.

Scribe fans… Headbangers India recommends you watch this space. We’ve got something in store for you!

Jack Daniel’s Annual Rock Awards 2011 Nominees:

Best Band

1. Indian Ocean
2. Menwhopause
3. Pentagram
4. Peter Cat Recording Co
5. Undying Inc

Best Album

1. Dischordian – The Feni Farm Riot
2. Indian Ocean – 16/330 Khajoor Road
3. Menwhopause – Easy
4. Pentagram – Bloodywood
5. Undying Inc – Aggressive World Dynasty

Best Song

1. Eccentric Pendulum – Mathematicians Of Ambient Waters
2. Indian Ocean – Darte Ho
3. Menwhopause – Easy
4. Pentagram – Tomorrow’s Decided
5. Peter Cat Recording Co – Clown on the 22nd Floor
6. Sky Rabbit – I Become I
7. The Circus – F.O.P.S
8. Undying Inc – Xenophobe

Best Vocalist [Male]

1. Kishore Krishna – Adam & The Fish Eyed Poets
2. Garreth D’Mello – Dischordian
3. Siddharth Basrur – Goddess Gagged
4. Vishal Dadlani – Pentagram
5. Raxit Tewari – Sky Rabbit
6. Shashank Bhatnagar – Undying Inc

Best Vocalist [Female]

1. Subhadra Kamath – Fire Exit
2. Pragnya Wakhlu
3. Suchitra Pillai
4. Samara C – The Ska Vengers

Best Guitarist

1. Arjun Mulky & Faheemul Hasan – Eccentric Pendulum
2. Prashant Shah – Exhumation
3. Anup Kutty – Menwhopause
4. Randolph Correia – Pentagram
5. Biswarup Gupta – Undying Inc

Best Bassist

1. Ruell Barretto – Bombay Bassment
2. Randeep Singh – Menwhopause
3. Makarand Mane – Pentagram
4. Siddharth Shah – Sky Rabbit
5. Abhinav Chaudhary – The Circus

Best Drummer

1. Vibhas Venkatram – Eccentric Pendulum
2. Hemendra Nath- Menwhopause
3. Shiraz Bhattacharya – Pentagram
4. Harsh Karangale – Sky Rabbit
5. Yuvraj Sen Gupta – Undying Inc

Best Keyboardist

1. Jason Zachariah – Allegro Fudge
2. Akshat Taneja – Arcane Deception
3. Vikram Ashok – Franks Got the Funk
4. Jonathan Wesley – Slain
5. Stefan Kaye – The Ska Vengers

What do you think of this list? Give us your comments in the section below.