Date: 2nd June, 2012 (4PM – 9PM)

Venue: YAC, Yaiskul, Imphal

Organized by: Club Musik

NOISEWARE (Pune)

DIGITAL SUICIDE (Guwahati)

MAGDALENE(Aizawl)

CLEAVE(Imphal)

RUBICONS(Imphal)

THE WISHESS (Imphal)

Line up:

Akshay Deodhar – The Vocal Viscount
Rajarshi Bhattacharyya – The Samurai of Shred
Kiron Kumar – The Creature of Riff Lagoon
Aditya Kadam- Super Commando Groove
Demonstealer – The Demon on Drums

:Stream:

1. Greetings, Albatross! Could you guys shed some light on how you came up with the name for the band?

Dr. Hex: Greeting! My brother suggested the name and I took to it immediately. It just sounded appropriate, and exactly what I was looking for at the time. Old school as fuck, conveying the nerdy imagery we wanted to portray and very very metal. And so the avian of ill omen was born.

2. Your 2nd EP, The Kissing Flies has been receiving positive reviews from all around. How’s the feeling?

Nishith: Well, whenever you write a riff or compose a song, u always want other people to like it and talk about it you know. I’m the one guy who has written the least in the album because when I joined the band all the music was already written. And getting positive reviews is always an awesome feeling. When your work is appreciated from different parts of the world, there’s nothing like it!

3. Tell us a little bit more about your Ep. and your approach towards writing the material.

Dr. Hex: The Kissing Flies is a split we’ve just wrapped up with US based band Vestal Claret, which was recently released via Roadcrew Records.  It features 4 songs from us and 1 mega track from them. Our side tells the story of a town infested with demonic flies. When it comes to songwriting, I usually think of the story, after which the guitarists write their parts. Following which me and Jay come in with our respective bits, and Bipro writes his vocal melodies at the end. We often take months to write a single song, and one such example is ‘From Ashes Comes Life’.

4. Which bands/music have influenced you into writing music for Albatross?

Dr. Hex: Speaking for myself- King Diamond, Wolf, Iron Maiden, Iced Earth, Judas Priest, Black Sabbath, Slough Feg, Ghost, Manowar, Celtic Frost, Hell, RAM, In Solitude, Metallica, etc. Everyone in the band has different influences though- me and Biprorshee and maybe even Nishith veer towards the traditional side of metal, and Vignesh and Jay towards the progressive side.

5. You guys just played some gigs recently in Mumbai, down south and the north east. How was the experience?

Nishith: It was an awesome experience… To know that we have fans across the nation is a different feeling altogether. Adjusting with the food was a problem though, Lol! It was a great experience overall! We enjoyed every bit of this tour!

6. You guys have brought in a new genre in the scene, ‘Horror Metal’. How did you come up with the concept? As performers, how do you see your music connecting with the listeners?

Dr. Hex: I’m also an advertiser, and I’ve often noticed that in advertising we tend to underestimate and dumb down content for our audience.  Albatross is my writing outlet, with no watering down of material…reflecting my interest in horror, fantasy, weird fiction, whodunits, etc.  It’s heavily influenced by King Diamond, who‘s practically invented the genre of horror storytelling through metal. Those who’re interested in the concept aspect of the music dig it I guess. Those who don’t connect with it, just don’t.  The problem with a lot of lyricists is that they try to be intelligent, when they should focus on trying to be interesting. That’s always been my aim. Vignesh and Nishith’s vast musical knowledge and Bipro and Jay’s interest in horror cinema also help us a lot when it comes to conjuring an atmosphere for the music. 

7. Are you guys gigging anywhere soon? Update!

Dr. Hex: Bangalore Open Air pre parties should happen soon. We’ll keep you posted about that!

8. Opening for Iced Earth and legendary Kreator! Your thoughts on BOA.

Dr. Hex: It’s still sinking in. Iced Earth has been a direct influence on our music, and it’ll be an honor to share the stage with them. Kreator is a phenomenal live act, and it’ll be an absolute treat to watch them play. I think this is the first gig I’m playing where I’m a huge fan of all the bands on the bill.

9. The last couple of years have seen a tremendous rise of a core-oriented music around the country. What’s your take on it?

Dr. Hex: They suck.

10. Final words to the fans.

Dr. Hex: Stay heavy! Stay true! Pump your fists with us at Bangalore Open Air on the 16^th. Horns up!

The release dates for the album are May 22nd 2012 (USA) and May 25th 2012 (EU) through Nuclear Blast Records. The album will be issued in English, Swedish and a limited edition featuring both.

Click here to view the video on YouTube.

Nepal’s leading symphonic BlackMetal band Kalodin are all set to release their new EP titled ‘SARV’. We caught up with Davin (Guitars) to talk about all the necessary stuffs that you need to know before it is officially released on May 12th.

-Hails, how you doing?

Greetings. I’m great. Thank you.

-How’s the preparation for the new EP launch going on? Tell us about ‘SARV’. What does it actually means?

We’re way past the preparation phase and now indulging in the final production stage. Its been great so far. “SARV” is derived from the Sanskrit word, ‘sarv’ which means “to kill” or “to injure”. For the past few years, we’ve been greatly inspired by the primival image of Hindu Deities and their epic stories. I figured its an intriguing idea to implement such references in our music. ‘SARV’ is used in the song entitled, “Trishula” an an euphemism that expresses a violent temperament towards attaining deliverance.

-Well we’ve heard that the band has incorporated/experimented with Sitar in some songs aswell, does that mean that we’ll have some ‘eastern influences/sound’ on the EP contary to the 1st release which was more or less a straight symphonic black metal release?

We have incorporated Sitar is just one of the tracks from the EP. It was an experimental approach to how it may sound with such themes being merged together. We do have further plans to release more tracks with Sitar and other traditional instruments.

-Where does, you think, the band is heading towards in terms of experimentation and the influences with this release?What can we expect with this new offering in terms of sound and the whole influence behind the songs?

The band is extremely inspired by Eastern classical scales which has a melacholic depth to the music. This EP is a an experimental approach to what we may end up doing in the next record. The sound is definitely going to be fucking sick considering the 82 hours spent in the studio for the whole production, trying to make the best sounding record with a great engineer, Coleton Paskert. There are 4 tracks in the album, each differing from the other. As mentioned, we are heavily influenced by Hindu deities, namely, ‘Shiva’ whom we wrote about with a twist in the lyrical pattern that expresses infuriating manifestation of the Deity in the song,’Trishula’. Other songs have their own theme and its best if you’d listen to it and ‘decipher’ it for yourself.

-Most people, in Nepal, thinks that Anti-christ/religion and Satanic themes (concerning Nepali Black Metal bands)are such cliches and something to laugh about and that whenever a band do that they label the band as fake and not real. Well I personally find it quite amusing to see them gettin offended so easily with these stuffs because at the same time they are listening to bands that sings about cannibalism, baby eating, raping, mass killing and whole lots of fake/imaginitive stuffs but they never complain about them. What’s your take on this matter? Do you think it is because we still are not very free thinking or offhand when it comes to religion or is it because we are raised/forced to follow all the dogmas of it?

I believe in respecting the effort one puts in for the passion. Music in general is a fucking miracle! In all honestly, we are least bothered by what anyone have got to say as long as they feel the music truly. Anyone can ridicule what you do. Instead of obliging, the time can be well spent in producing more music for those who appreciate our vision.. Religion has got nothing to do with their boredom/ignorance.

-Ok, lets get back to the Ep. What about the recordings? You happy with the sound?

Its amazing, yes!

-We guess the Ep will be released independently. How hard/easy is it to do it all by yourself without the help of proper record lebels and distributors?

Yes. Its always difficult to produce DIY, independently. Its great though! You get to see all your members and the crew working their asses off just to put some audio in a CD and distribute with the hope that someone out there would feel exactly what we felt, writing the music. There’s internet and that decreases the workload. We’ve been managing all this while without the aid of any record label and we do not have that many distributors either. And its nothing to complain about. With labels or no, we’d still be a fuckin force!

-There’s an Ep launch gig on May 12th with hordes of other bands. Are there more promotional campaings to look forward to? How do the listeners get hold of the EP residing to other parts of the country?

There may be more to come in the near future. As of now, May 12th is all we’re looking forward to. We’ll be selling the audio in Itunes and those residing outside the country can get theirs online.

-Well thank you for your time, we wish you all the best for SARV.

Thanks!

Kalodin EP album, “SARV” Track list:

1. Fallen Empire
2. Ov Creation
3. Pathless
4. Trishula

AVAKA is towards its mission of identifying and enhancing the rhythm amongst the beats of the musically mad student population of Kolkata. It is maidenly venturing a live program by student bands, showcasing nostalgic hits of the musical rages of the erstwhile decades, 60’s onwards of all genres.

Our plan – to invite, hunt, screen, select, train the musical student souls and give them the stage, the platform to perform, and bring alive their dream. The mentors we had with us last year ranged from Mr. Nondon Bagchi (drummer of Hip Pocket), Arunava Chaki (guitarist of Purple Asparugus), Priyanka Roy (drummer of The EE Teez) and Dana Roy. After weeks of training at the jam pad the students performed at Gyan Manch (8th of May, 2011). This year we have booked Vidya Mandir as the venue for Avaka’12.

Our dream is to bring alive the dreams of fellow dreamers. To live this dream on this ground, we obviously would be required to have material resources at our command. This is an event by the students and for the students.
This year we have selected 9 student bands out of the 16 bands that auditioned. We hope we are able to make Avaka’12 even bigger!

Thank You,
Aradhita & Sruti.”

Links-

Facebook Page

Event Page

The Imphal Metal Convention which was held on the 14th of April at YAC ground, Imphal, was not just a music concert where popular bands come and play. It was a convention where senior musicians were invited and a photo exhibition of yesteryears rock bands of Manipur took place apart from the conventional rock concert. It also marked the official reunion of Post Mark after 18 years, which pioneered the metal scene with their album “Stamp on you”, that was released sometime in late 80′s/ early 90′s.

The bands that took part in the 1st Imphal Metal Convention: Metal Age Reloaded Festival 2012 were-

1)         Post Mark (headlining act)

2)         Yonsample

3)         Azure Delusion

4)         Cleave

5)         Sandrembee

6)         Dead Mobster

7)         Chem Weed FM

Here’s a brief review of what went down that night-

Sandrembee opened the metal convention with a cover of Meshuggah’s classic ‘New Millennium Cyanide Christ’. They had some glitches here and there but they did manage to stick to their guns, by the end of the song the crowds were screaming ‘Meshuggah! Meshuggah!’. Their other song was “Metal Age”, a tribute cover of Post Mark’s original.

Dead Mobster, a death-core band from Imphal was the next band to perform. Their tight stage presence and performance proved that they were indeed the rising star of metal in Manipur.  Their set-list included ‘Recreant’ (Chelsea grin), 18th (original song based on June 18th massacre of Manipur), ‘Killers don’t cry’ (original song), ‘Entombment of a machine’ (Job for a cowboy)

The next band was Azure Delusion, a math-thrash metal band from Nagaland. They delivered a powerful performance with raw stage ethics and hand banging.  Their set-list included ‘Roots bloody roots’ (Sepultura), ‘Refuse resist’ (Sepultura) and ‘Hammer smashed face’ (Cannibal Corpse).

They were followed by Cleave, a popular band in the scene with a new line-up enthralled the crowd.  They had a keyboard player minus a guitar player and yes, they lived up to their name. The vocalist with gothic-black metallic face paint blended so well with their ”progressive seclusion metal”.  Their set-list were ‘ART’ (a song based on HIV/ AIDS), ‘Instantly silent’ (A slow song based on fantasy), ‘Incepting me own’ (an instrumental) and ’7 years devastation’ (based on Burmese invasion 1819–26).

Chem Weed FM was the band that followed.  This Imphal based progressive metal band surely is arguably one of the most under-rated bands of Manipur. Many who witnessed them perform at the convention praised the guitarist, drummer and the vocalist. Their set list were Demons nightmare (original track), Ghost walking (Lamb of God), Walk With Me In Hell (Lamb of God).

Next was  Yonsample, the acclaimed Kolkata prog/tech band. Right from the very first riff they captured the crowd with their pure hard-edged performance.  By the end of their allocated set-list the crowd were screaming ‘once more’ and yes, mosh pits were noticed when they started playing.  They belted out all original numbers – ‘The Instauration’, ‘Break Through’, ‘Espial Abyss Afloat’, ‘Reincranation’, ‘Passage’, ‘Chaos Theory’.

The final act was the legendary Post Mark. Already a cult band for many, they were tight on stage and also sported their unique cultural themes. Their new vocalist Uttam, a popular singer in Manipur was a welcome surprise. They played ‘Metal Age’, ‘It’s So funny’ and ‘Soar High’, all from their cult album ‘Stamp on you’,

With flashing shutter lights, muddy mosh pit formations, crowd surfing and screaming cheers by around 2000 metalheads the 1st Imphal Metal convention came to a conclusion.  From the decades old humble beginning to the many internationally acclaimed events happening in the country this Imphal Metal Convention is sure to acquire the much needed attention of the world.

In the evening, before the concert started there was a photo exhibition. Photographs of The Kids ( early 60′s), Waikhom Umakanta and Angom Pratap (early 60′s), Magnetoz (late 60s), Makhons (1971), Runway Tracks (1972), Phoenix(1980)/ Phynyx (mid 90′s), Cannibals (1985), Hell’s Angels (1985), Dark Krusaders (1986)/ Drixian Empire(mid 90′s), Brain Damage (1987), Death’s Guitar (1988), Post Mark (1989),  Heavenly Fingers(1989) etc were displayed.

Almost everyone who came for the gig made a visit to the photo exhibition stall, from the veteran to young fans, to senior ladies (who came attired in phaneks). They were thrilled to see all the photos of the yester-years’ rock stars as most of them have never seen those photos before, and many of them never knew those bands existed. Some of the erstwhile band members were overwhelmed with nostalgia as they hugged each other, and talked about the years that have gone by.

Pioneer stalwarts of Manipur’s rock – Sando Laishram, Paul Gangmei, Nutan Elangbam, Angom Pratap, Bobby Nameirakpam, Ringo Golmei, Vivek Sharma, Thanlian, Mick, Len Gangte et al were among the invitees who came at the convention. Some of them were interviewed by TV Channels; some of them were called up on the stage. Paul Kamei, the vocalist of the then Machine Head (early 80′s) and Cannibals (1985) expressed his gratitude towards honoring and reviving the lost history of rock in the state. Regarded as the best front-man, Lien Gangte (vocalist of Phynyx/Phoenix) retold the past memories of the rock artists, their struggle and experiences with limited window to the outside world.

There was also a stall where the DVDs of Rock Music Manipur vol.1 were sold. For starters RMM v1, is a compilation album featuring 37 songs from 25 bands of Manipur, that got released last month.

With no major sponsors, we suffered some financial losses. Even if it was so, the goals set out were met in almost every aspect. The talents of metal bands of Manipur were given the much needed opportunity to perform. The sound quality was improved from past events; the crowd that gathered were the real witness to it. Most importantly, the pioneer rock bands of the state who started it all were honoured for the first time in the history of Manipur. The legendary Post Mark made a gala comeback after 18 years. Imphal witnessed multiple mosh pits and crowd surfing. Also a performing band (Yonsample) was called back on the stage for another song by the crowd at the gig, something alien in the Manipur rock scene so far. The first ever ‘Live video streaming’ of a gig was done in the internet via RMM website. In the recent past, perhaps for the first time there was no sponsor logo on the stage.

The Convention was organised by The Greens, Sandrembee, Riverboat Event Management, Rock Music Manipur (RMM), a congregation of youths from the state and various parts of the world; without any affiliation with political, exoteric social connections or the corporate world. Indeed metal in Manipur is kept alive by these dedicated core fans who did all the work – putting up poster in the streets of Imphal and other districts, driving around doing the ground work – not to forgetting the sky high petrol price, ticket printing, ticket selling, printing photos for the exhibition from Bangalore, getting the band from Nagaland by road, going around to give invitation to the members of pioneer bands, updating websites, video live streaming, setting up the stage, photography, selling DVDs, and more even after the event got over. Boss (Beverage), Likla (Beverage), E-Pao.net (Web portal), Scot Edil(Pharmaceutical stockist) generously made financial contribution, besides some fans and well wishers. Many were talking about the familiarity and belongingness people shared in the metal convention. The volunteers, organizers, the rock veterans, the bands, the crowd all had a good time. The love for metal music and the message of oneness it carried put this metal convention true to its meaning, and promised more of it in the near future.

Quotes:

“Times are changing in the North-east and IMC is a proof of that. We are honored to be a part of IMC. We had no idea that there were so many people who like heavy music in Manipur and we were awestrucked by the response of the audience.”

-Yonsample (Kolkata)

”IMC was one of the most memorable shows of Azure Delusions”

- Azure Delusion (Kohima)
“You can see and hear only when you attend any concert anywhere. But in Imphal Metal Convention (IMC) you could feel it and it touched the hearts of many people, who attended the concert and also to those who didn’t attend the concert – that’s the difference between IMC vs other concerts. Last nite (IMC) made lots of records- the first IMC, the first time our very own Manipur’s yesteryears rockers/legends (cutting across all caste, tribe and nation ) were honour in front of a headbangin’ metal freaks. That was a sweet priceless gesture which money can’t buy.”

- Loon Gangte

“Manipur gi sound system se phei fate pang ngangda ngangnei. Ei di kem khangba nate ado ngasai Yonsample gi makhol do adumai na touba amukfao manipur da tadri” (We say that Manipur’s sound system is not good. I am not an expert in sound, but I have never heard the sound like that of Yonsample before in Manipur!)

- Tenzing Nandeibam

“Rock n roll was buried in the ground but now this convention has woken up everyone”.

- Paul Gangmei (Machine Head/ Cannibals)

“Me and my metal head friends had an awesome time.. we headbanged, slam danced and did some ‘thabal chongba’ for 3 straight hrs and some mins because of the energy those guys were giving out in the form of unity and the music we all believe in.”

- Rocky Sharma

“Besides listening to many bands that were performing at IMC my mind was blown away with the young folks who love metal.. they reminded me of the metalheads at Wacken Open Air metal festival that we saw via DVDs. Seeing slides show put up in the screen on stage of those yesteryears legends I was asking myself why I wasn’t born that time.. they were the real metalheads…those bands, the way they put up their dress the way they performed.. those photos are real assets that we need to kept till the end of time..”

- Prinzy Kshetrimayum

“It’s really an honor to be remembered. Wish you a very successful endeavor in the years to come. May this event keep on continuing”

- Lien Gangte (Machine Head/ Phynyx)

“The new generation should be sincere and serious and entertain-able besides showing one’s skill only. I admire composition but I prefer music that can make people understand the message they want to give. The PA system and sound engineering should improve. I like most of the upcoming bands in Manipur’s rock music scene, they are second to none. Manipur has got lot of hidden talents. We need promoters to showcase the talented bands to the audience outside Manipur”
– Sando Laishram (Runway Tracks/ Phoenix)

By:

The Greens

River Boat

Sandrembee

Rock Music Manipur (RMM) and all the volunteers.

Lucid Recess will be releasing their new single ‘Changes Are Sold’ on 4th May. The single is the theme song of ‘2nd Guwahati International Short Film Festival, 2012’ and is from their upcoming album to be released later this year.

The video of the song will be released on the same day. The video is made by Creovaent Productions, a production house from Guwahati, that has made videos of artists like Alobo Naga & the Band, Divine Connection etc.

Lucid Recess is an Alternative Metal band from Guwahati, Assam. They have released two album – Carved (2007) and Engraved Invitation (2010). They have played two times in The Great Indian Rock, in 2008 and 2010. They were awarded the 2011 TOTO Award for Music. According to RSJ Magazine (March 2011 issue), their album ‘Engraved Invitation’ was one of the top 3 Indian albums of 2010.

A teaser of the video:

http://youtu.be/bUvpn7dtgD0

*Press Release by Lucid Recess*