Where Talent and Conviction Unite

The year is 2010. Mankind is under threat. A dark power that reared its head in the scorching summer of 2005 AD is now preparing for its final attack on the world. Only the chosen warrior can save mankind.

Who is this chosen warrior? Well, that is not important. What is important is that 2010 AD is definitely the year that Demonic Resurrection, one of India's longest-lasting and most indefatigable metal bands conquers the world. 4 years after they released their 2nd full-length album 'A Darkness Descends', comes the 3rd part of the Darkness trilogy, 'The Return to Darkness' (the 2nd was their EP 'Beyond the Darkness'). Released (as usual) by vocalist/guitarist Sahil Makhija's own Demonstealer Records, this album has 'breakthrough' permanently tattoed all over it.

The band has gone through an art makeover courtesy of Polish designer/animator Machael 'Xaay' Loranc (of Nile, Behemoth, Necrophagist and Vader fame) who has delivered a very European look for the band's new logo. The front cover art is a craftily designed fisheye of a cityscape under siege from a group of very skeletal yet plasmic entities released by a celestial vortex. The CD itself was released as a box set containing a well-designed t-shirt, a pair of guitar plectra (one of which I've already lost), a sticker and a band poster; the last 3 items being snugly packaged within a solid cardboard 'jewel case'. The band has gone through a few lineup changes as well with new drummer Virendra Kaith and a solid lead guitarist in the form of Daniel Rego as the latest acquisitions.

The biggest difference though, is the sound of the band's music itself. The album opens with the a digitized, muffled wail loop that is soon joined by a violin chorus à la keyboard player Mephisto, who then proceeds to add a percussive bass beat. This now full-blown orchestral crescendo is called 'Between Infinity and Oblivion'. A truly epic herald of more musical greatness. The next track now cracks open- 'Where Dream and Darkness Unite'. The band's wondrous ESP strings and Mapex drum kit literally blast into a tune that reminds one of Dimmu Borgir's 'Blessings Upon the Throne of Tyranny', except the presence of orchestral keys and very well-polished death growl strike a different epic nerve in the listener's body.

This album, like this song, is a highlight of the evolution that the band has gone through musically. In essence, nothing has changed in terms of how they define their music; a mix of black, death and power metal. But while previous releases saw a more-or-less disjointed exhibition of the 3 genres, this album sees the band dissecting each genre and bringing out exactly what they do to the brain of the listener. And it doesn't stop there. They combine the mood of one genre with the exterior playing style of another. This has resulted in the band taking an overall symphonic path which only seems natural as symphonies cater to both the dark and light side of human emotion.

The whole album is a highly dynamic one. There are a lot more changes in time signature, beat patterns, vocal style and the intent behind the emotion ins a song section. Unlike on its predecessor, the band has not really aimed solely at creating an extreme sound. In fact, the great thing about this album for me is how emotionally driven it is. The dynamic nature of it has been achieved solely due to to this very fact. This has led to a lot of innovation in the sound of the band. 'A Tragedy Befallen' has a very power metal sound throughout, even though its brought out through harsh vocals for the most part. In fact, some sections seem to strike the same emotional chord as later Kamelot albums. 'Bound by Blood,Fire and Stone' sees a brilliantly executed section where a blast beat battery fuses eclectically with a digitized whisper which in turn is synchronized with a crafty channel interpolation of a series of triple-picked duets on the strings. To top it all is a beat-synchronized ambient flourish from the keys.

Every great album has a landmark track. Without a doubt its 'Lord of Pestilence' on this one. The intro is a look back at one of their signature tracks of yesteryears 'Frozen Portrait'. It features a similar flanger-drenched clean guitar intro expect this one is not just a happy tune. It goes on for about 3 minutes of an emotional roller coaster ride before blasting into a blast beat driven section. The rest of the 8 and a half minutes of this track makes the listener feel like he is sitting through a sci-fi fantasy movie. There is conflict, there is resolution, there are twists and there are emotional beats.

The album ends with 'Omega,I', a perfect closing tune for a brilliant epic. The continuity throughout the album is quite fulfilling. So is its overall duration. Every song seems related to every other both on a musical and lyrical scale (of which the latter I find secondary compared to the former in importance). Despite the huge length of most of the songs, there is never a dull moment in the album. In fact, if any of the songs were shorter I believe it would have been a cause for concern. The musicians have all grown to huge levels on this album and the new inclusions should not go away to soon, especially drummer Virendra Kaith.

And so, the Darkness trilogy comes to an end. The warrior has emerged victorious over the dark power. But the real world metal scene will now witness an inevitable rise of a new power: prepare your legions for India's own Demonic Resurrection.

The Drapery Finally Falls on India

Around 2 years ago, metal-thirsty people in India would be complaining about the complete lack of international metal shows in their country. Now, 2 years later India has already played host to big guns like Iron Maiden (who are returning for the 3^rd time this year), Megadeth, Sepultura and Ensiferum and also to numerous lesser known bands like Enslaved, Anterior, Detonation and Sahg. NOW, IIT Chennai has been gracious enough to add another feather to the already birdlike cap by roping in progressive metal goliaths Opeth.

As far as I am concerned, I was facing a dilemma between Iron Maiden and Opeth (due to limited funding from the parents). But I decided to go for Opeth regardless of how I was getting another shot at the ‘Somewhere Back in Time’ tour. Needless to say, it was well worth it. I went with 2 of my friends (and my mom’s Nokia 6300 because the 1112 model does not have a camera) and we stayed at one of my friends’ cousin’s house. But as soon as our chug-chug rolled into Chennai Central station on the 24th of Jan…tragedy!!!! I landed RIGHT on my ankle from losing balance while de-boarding. Sprain!!! I was almost ready to cry. Not because it hurt, but because I might miss the show. But some hot water and crepe bandage and painkiller took care of it so no worries there. We reached IIT the next day and what we noticed first and foremost was the TOTAL lack of ANY signs that a band called Opeth were playing. But that was OK, because good friend Alok Meshram informed us of the location for the autograph session. We got there in the total dictionary definition of ‘nick of time’ as Opeth strode into the auditorium. A long hour and lots of traditional Madrasi vigilance (from the volunteers) later, my turn came. I was TREMBLING because I had with me an incomplete sketch of Mikael Akerfeldt that I wanted signed. First up was guitarist Fredrik Akesson at the table. Drummer Martin Axenrot signed next and then the sketch went to the man himself, vocalist/guitarist Mikael Akerfeldt. The conversation was such:

Mikael: You made this? Yourself ?

Me: Yeah,but its incomplete…

Mikael: Its awesome.

The delight on my face was more than just palpable I’m sure. I then got it signed by bassist Martin Mendez and keyboardist Per Wiberg who I also shook hands with and then went WHOOPING out of there.

We were thirsty by then and that led us to reaching an already huge line for the Open Air Theater 15 minutes later than we could have reached. What resulted was an hour’s wait before the line started moving and the slow progress ensured that I got to just HEAR Demonic Resurrection from outside. FUCK Madrasi vigilance!!!!! Next up were veteran prog-rockers Motherjane from Cochin who came on stage with half their faces painted in Kathakali face paint!!!! Vocalist Suraj went on to explain how that was because they believed every person is half body, half spirit and music brings alive the spirit in you. I really appreciate how these guys have sautéed progressive rock/metal with Carnatic music. They played a longer set than required which led me to speculate whether DR, an extreme metal band had been asked to play a really short set (just 4 songs).

The time period that followed is the most anticipation-charged one at any international band gig, waiting for the headliners. There were cheers at every note played by the guitar techies and every beat from the drum techie. One awesome sight that I beheld when I turned back (I was around 4 rows from the stage) was a huge array of cellphone lights that shone like fireflies against the dark night. One of the reasons why the Chennai crowd is SO much better than the New Delhi one. But more on that later. It was time. The familiar thundering sound at the end of ‘Coil’ (from the new album ‘Watershed’) that signals the start of the epic ‘Heir Apparent’ now got everyone fighting their shivers with raging screams of ‘OPETH! OPETH!’. And slowly, they walked in, taking their respective positions and then as one huge monster played the 1^st chord of the song. It had begun. The crowd already started agitating for the mosh but then decided its better to stand and listen because they’ll get few such opportunities. And the song was played FLAWLESSLY with Akerfeldt dishing out an amazing vocal performance (though the stage sound was a but problematic at first). I took it all in; the doomy chords, the furious double bass and the death growls. After they finished with ‘Heir Apparent’,the band corrected their monitors and then played a song that I was SURE they would play in the middle of their set but drove all over us right then which is the eclectic ‘The Grand Conjuration’. It just sounded so much SPOOKIER and grander in real life, especially the verse riff! And usually vocalists struggle to replicate their studio effort live, but it seemed like a total walk in the park for Mikael Akerfeldt. After they finished, Akerfeldt 1^st interaction with the crowd turned out to be a bid for the people in front to move back and not stifle the ones in the 1^st row!!!! Hahaha!!! Madrasi vigilance snares a big one!!! After which Akerfeldt waved a sheepish ‘hello’ to the crowd and then the band went on to play ‘Godhead’s Lament’ from ‘Still Life’. The entire setlist was OFICIALLY their longest EVER played (more than 2 and a half hours) and was such:

1. Heir Apparent (from ‘Watershed’)
2. The Grand Conjuration (from ‘Ghost Reveries’)
3. Godhead’s Lament (from ‘Still Life’)
4. Wreath (from ‘Deliverance’)
5. Hope Leaves (from ‘Damnation’)
6. The Lotus Eater (from ‘Watershed’)
7. Bleak (from ‘Blackwater Park’)
8. The Night and the Silent Water (from ‘Morningrise’)
9. Deliverance (from ‘Deliverance’)
10. Demon of the Fall (from ‘My Arms, Your Hearse’)

As encore:

11. The Baying of the Hounds (from ‘Ghost Reveries’)
12. The Drapery Falls (from ‘Blackwater Park’)

Throughout the show Akerfeldt kept up a constant banter with the crowd. He is a hilarious man onstage and unlike most metal vocalists who are trying to create a mean and imposing persona, he is quite the joker. Some snippets:

After ‘Godhead’s Lament’:

“We’ve been having quite a good time in India. We saw a few temples, which were quite fascinating. We’ve been eating a lot. Our keyboard player Per Wiberg got bitten by a spider. Mendez had sex with a monkey. What was I doing? I was watching Mendez have sex with the monkey”

After ‘Bleak’:

“ Martin is throwing a tantrum. He says he has a blister on his hand. Mama”

But being the corporate shithole that India is, the sponsors Nokia HAD to play spoiltsport. After ‘Demon of the Fall’, the band went off stage pretending their show was over. Enter stage-invading Nokia compère. The idiot said he could bring Opeth back if the crowd repeated ‘Touch Opeth. Feel Opeth. Play Opeth’. Homo. And then to top it all, he called Akerfeldt onstage to talk about the new Nokia . Here’s what Akerfeldt said:

“Well phones are obviously good but heavy metal is way better. Wait, my wife is calling. Hello? Are you naked? I should play more songs? OK”

After which they played their last 2 songs. It may seem funny now,but go read Akerfeldt’s Myspace blog and read all the abusing he’s done to Nokia India. He clearly HATED all of it.

About the Chennai crowd? Well it was amazing attending a show with them because EVERYONE knew their music (add to that some Bangaloreans and its almost a Wacken-like atmosphere). Unlike the Delhites who use metal shows as an excuse for unrelenting violence. Wannabes. They’ll mosh to anything (even The Superfuzz). So if you’re from Chennai or Bangalore reading this, THANK YOU!!!!

And so I sit here, content with my fill of Opeth, writing this review. If you didn’t go there, you missed possibly the GRANDEST conjuration India has ever seen.

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