I have been friends with rocker Munz from his Kannur based contemporary metal band The Down Troddence for sometime now, but never had the opportunity to see them live. So when they came down to Bangalore to perform , i jumped at the chance to meet them and also check them out live.
after the usual meet and greet, i was told that the concert would be starting a bit late. and no bands were allowed to do a sound check. and when i got there at around 5pm, i could see only about 10 guys present, which included the bouncer, the organizer and TDT the band. hmmm
The Velvet Trap
Ok, so i have to say i am sorry coz i am not really familiar with the current trend of Indian bands. there are so many out there right now, its pretty painful just keeping in touch with whats new and whats hip
Having said that, the band took some time to get things started as no sound check was done before. This was pretty strange, coz Kyra has very good sound and bands want their music to sound just right. but i was told for 'obvious reasons' no band was allowed to do a decent sound check before the gig started.
Musically TVT sounds like a head on collision with ARCH EMEMY and METALCORE. the solos were all good, the music was tight enough and they got the response they deserved.
Check them out here on Facebook and also for better high res pics in my picasa page here
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| The Velvet Trap at kyra, 23 sept 2011 |
Verses
was the second band to "HIT" the stage. the first thing i noticed here, the guitarist from The Velvet Trap also plays in Verses. Either that , or i was seeing double. (too much coffee?)
I had read about the band a few days earlier when they were featured in the supplementary edition of The New Indian Express and was pretty intrigued by them. I think they are a Christian Band coz VERSES could be also pronounced as VERSUS. think the reference is to Verses in the Holy Bible, anyways....
Musically quite different from the opening act. Even though they play traditional metalcore, the keyboard players got quite a good vocal range and he sings in clean vocals which adds to the range of the band. their front man is the usual screamer and they both take turns to sing which was pretty unique to me since i am not a big fan of metalcore. The keyboard playing also was very good and now the crowd slowly started to trickle in.
check them out on facebook or view the entire album in HIGH RES here
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| versus at kyra, 23 sept 2011 |
Eccentric Pendulum
Another new band thats been making a name for themselves in the Indian Metal Scene. love them or hate them, there's no denying that they are always talked about on Facebook and other metal forums for being too "DJENT".
just as the band was doing its sound check, me and my buddy Sandesh Shenoy were just chilling out with our respective beers, when we were approached by a walking stick with lots of hair. (who turned out to be the vocalist of Eccentric Pendulum)
He was trying to get our attention and sell us a CD of Eccentric Pendulum's new album. even though i was interested, Sandesh was not too interested. it was like convincing the pope that Satan was a cool dude to hang out with which wouldnt really work. After a failed attempt in trying to sell his CD to Sandesh , he later offered the CD for free coz he wanted Sandesh to give it a spin, but Sandy Filth had already made up his mind. I did pick up the CD eventually (by Paying for it!) and its lying here on my CD player waiting to be reviewed (which i will be doing soon).
Musically EP are very technical and even though the vocalist vehemently denies being classified as "djent" their music is heavily influenced by chugging riffs and weird time changes. the crowd couldnt really head bang to their music but enjoyed them thoroughly (well some of them did)
A very tight act and if u like technical music , even though there are high chances of ur brain getting numb, this is food for thought. but strictly for fans of the genre, not everyones food this.
catch the facebook album here or see the HIGH RES photos here
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| eccentric pendulum at kyra, 23 sept 2011 |
The Down Troddence
now finally i get to see one of the biggest names in The Kerala metal scene. The Down Troddence was the only reason why i decided to pre pone my bus tickets from Mangalore. and if u have not watched their video for their track "Siva" u have definitely missed out on some gore. yes ! gore.... the music video has blood, guts (literally) and Hindu Mythology theme which WILL not be seen in other Indian bands. i wont get into the details of the video, except telling u that theres plenty of Intestinal Butchery going on.
so the band travel from Kerala and are given a raw deal. first, no sound check. even though they arrive at the venue a good 3 hours early, they were denied a sound check. that means, when they hit the stage, the audience had to deal with the bands sound check on stage which was pretty annoying. and when they were finally done, they were just good enough for 3 songs.
Musically, they are a great band. when i say their music is contemporary, its because the new age rocker can bang his/her head to the grooves they create. there are a few passages of breakdowns (which sometimes gives me a breakdown) but the redeeming factor is the carnatic music influenced guitar solos of ace shredder Varun TDT and the Bodom ish keyboard playing of Sushin TDT.
And with a Dynamic front man like Munz, who is an accomplished photographer, graphic designer, local politician and screamer all rolled in one, i can see they are definitely going to go places and be a big name in the Indian rock/metal scene. The only question is... will they sell out?
or
View TDT album on facebook here or check my HIGH RES pics here
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| TDT at kyra, 23 sept 2011 |
Abandoned Agony
i was fortunate to see them at the Under Grind show which happened several months ago and i was pretty awestruck by the music 3 guys churned out. the driving factor in the band is the madness drumming skills of Mr. Kamath with his jaw dropping timing and technique and precision of a skilled surgeon that makes the listener really interested in their slab of brutal technical death metal.
this however would not be their night. first the sound was not up to the mark and was pretty disappointing from what i had heard the last time. second, there was some controversy regarding entry of "ticketless patrons" into the club which was totally not needed.
but being the tech freak i am, i put all these points behind me and i watched Mr. Kamath and co nearly decimate the place. or at least whatever was left of it. The music is highly technical and not for the faint hearted. and there were a few people who tried to head bang to the music and later complained of severe neck pain. all together, i was not too happy with what they had to offer, but i ended up pacifying myself that i got to check out one of the best extreme drummers this side of the sub continent.
catch the album on facebook here or view the HIGH RES picasa album here
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| abandoned agony at kyra, 23 sept 2011 |
Cypher 16
i had never heard of them before, but since they are from the UK, which is the birth place of possibly every sub genre in metal (and metal off course) i was pretty interested.
i was told that they are a Metallica clone band and by the time they were 2 tracks down, i totally dismissed that theory. The frontman/vocalist/guitarist however does have a lot of "Metallica Moments" esp the clean vocals which reminded me of Metallica's most recent "Death Magnetic "release.
So what did the band have to offer apart from being from the UK and being labelled as a metallica clone band? well, the crowd certainly got what they paid for and were totally entertained by the virtuosity of both the guitarists and the bass player, who looked like a ANGREZI version of Jack Black, slapped that fat Warwick bass around, that even my docile friend Vamsi Kanagovi stood up and noticed.
The cool thing about wireless technology was showcased by the frontman who jumped in the "pit" and got involved with the moshers. Their tracks had several influences from heavy metal to thrash, to even elements of extreme death metal with plenty of melody. Now thats gotta impress a lot of fans..
But sadly their set list was pretty short, for a headlining act, and they had to pack up early coz they had to catch a flight to Chennai the same night.
Catch the facebook album here or view the HIGH RES picasa album here
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| cypher 16 at kyra, 23 sept 2011 |
Conclusion:
Mostly disappointed with the over all gig coz the bands got a raw deal. No sound check, zero promotions, very low turn out of max 100 people really speaks volumes about how a show gets organized these days. The Rs 300 bucks per ticket seemed a bit too expensive as none of the bands got paid (at least thats what i was told) but thankfully they did give a free beer coupon to be redeemed at the bar counter.
Musically, there's a lot of young blood there who certainly know how to play their instruments and this gig had a variety of virtuosity on display. But lack of promotion and ticket sales reduced the event to a weekly metal fest event and not something that had bands coming from various parts of the world sharing the same stage....
Hopefully things will improve....next time around
Gig Review by Bed Pan Boy
Photography by Pritham D'Souza
Good review...awesome pics...
ReplyDeleteand TDT never gonna be another sell out brother..
count on us...
we gonna make you proud p2g...
yes yes i know!!! broooothaaaaaa
ReplyDeleteHmmm, it was sad I missed the gig due to my exams, but I guess I didn't miss much except not seeing TDT it seems. Munnu Chetta, next time I shall be there. Its a promise maaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaannnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn \m/
ReplyDeleteGood review. You are right..the show was badly organized and resulted in less crowd.
ReplyDeleteMuch regards from the walking stick!! And thank you for the pics as well!! It was nice meeting you!! Any comments on the CD man?? Do let me know!!
ReplyDeleteamazing pics bro... me too love TDT, its a pity people in kerala dnt appreciate metal.. gud luck to them
ReplyDelete