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.

Return to Singapore

I fly out tonight.

I wonder what she will say to me...

I hope its a yes.

The Singapore data recovery

Hello those few and far between who make the wrong turn to my blog.I am back.After precisely 4 months and 12 days,I decided to make a return to this hallowed URL.If you haven't been able to tell from the title of this post yet (and in which case schizophrenia would be an accurate diagnosis),I am now based in Singapore.I'm here to study animation and I am loving everything about my education.Yes,contrary to the content on this blog on education,this course is easily the best treatment I have had till date.I'm at the Tisch School of the Arts Asia (yes,a branch of Tisch NYU).

To start with,it takes a complete shit on the ridiculous education system I had been subject to for the past 15 years (for more on that,please read previous posts).The assignments here are proper creations of digital art made by us,the students.The time crunch is similar to that in a real studio.The resources are fucking cool.We have Wacom tablets on every computer,3 of them with Cintiq screens.Half the computers have Digidesign Protools.The professors here really know what they're teaching.The point of education in this field here is not to teach the software,but how to use what in the software (if and when necessary) to create a certain piece of art.We are taught the origins of art,the reason behind creating certain pieces of art.3 of the professors here are/have been metal fans.One has seen Metallica live thrice and other bands like Iron Maiden,Sepultura,Sodom,Kreator,Death,Carcass etc.

The campus itself destroys.Even though its a film school,there is a lot of vegetation around in the lawns outside.Till now,I have seen cockatoos,grey parrots,a vine snake and a monitor lizard on campus.My colleagues destroy as well.There is no worry about being 'politically correct' here.They understand that it is a tool for the weak.

Singapore itself is pretty cool.So far,I have purchased 7 metal t-shirts here:Metallica,Amon Amarth,Lamb of God,HammerFall,Iced Earth,Dark Tranquillity and Arch Enemy.I have purchased a computer with crazily awesome specs.So awesome that it runs Crysis:Warhead like butter even at 'Gamer' graphic levels and 1280 x 1024 screen resolution.The residents are friendly,the place is slightly on the expensive side and there is no fucking difference between summer and winter.In short,I'm loving it here.

As far as metal goes,I have been hearing more of the old guns:Judas Priest,Queensryche etc.I've also been introduced to Singapore's very own Rudra.These guys play blackened death metal but their tunes are highly influenced by Indian classical and their lyrics are exclusively about the Vedas.Another great band I've been hearing is a Doom Gothic Metal band from Sweden called Draconian.These guys are the ultimate name (for me) in beautiful music.They combine male death growls with female serenades,on a batter of crunchy,slow,deliberate rhythms drenched in atmospheric,ambient keys.

I return to New Delhi on the 20th of December for the winter,for those interested.

Half-baked Adaptation:Coming Soon to a Theatre Near You

Hello,its been a long time since I made an original metal-unrelated post like this...oh,wait.No.OK,then its a long time since I made a post on cinema.And thanks to this current slurry of movies that are adapted from popular literature or recreation,my topic is quite relevant.


I recently saw Transformers 2:Revenge of the Fallen.I loved it.Yes,Megan Fox was in the movie and there were times I felt helpless about not being able to do anything to her...but,the special effects and animation work created magic with the Autobots v/s Decepticons battles themselves.From my wandering on the net,I have not yet come across very serious backlash against the accuracy of the story to this movie franchise (as I know nothing about it myself).Yet,a movie that recently (and after much delay) released in India before this one was the eagerly-awaited X-Men Origins:Wolverine.I was waiting for the day this movie would release and had extremely high hopes from it.Especially when I learned that among others,Deadpool is a featured character.I was raring to see the red uniformed sword master with a big mouth at his best,killing mutants for money:

What I got instead was a semi-mummified,naked-chested freak that was indestructible and was basically William Stryker's new toy.Far from the real Deadpool story (a mercenary who gets cancer and after ending up as a failed Weapon X program,gains healing abilities beyond Wolverine's).And this is just a small part of the bigger lamentation:the story itself.Wolverine is NOT Sabertooth's brother (rather,Sabertooth is Wolverine's gardener's son),he works at a lumberjack outpost immediately after escaping his home as opposed to the movie portrayal,he ALMOST kills his 1st Weapon X captor (which happens right after World War II) and many other such grievances.

Which brings me to my point:cinematic adaptations are almost completely exclusive of the real story.Directors these days just bank on a star actor portraying a character to gather the cash.Cases in point:Hugh Jackman as Wolverine,Sienna Miller as Baroness (for the upcoming G.I.Joe),Tom Hanks as Professor Robert Langdon etc.Yes,they all have a certain level of excitement in them,but when will they start doing justice to the real story?

And what about TOTAL bastardization of a franchise like Eragon?Where the hell do I begin with this complete waste of 70 mm reel?The fact that a DRAGON was given feathers?Or Arya's sexy brunette imagined image was urinated upon?Or the Urgals looking like fired sumo wrestlers and NOTHING like a sleeker version of the Minotaur?Or the fact that the WHOLE story was so badly mangled (removal of the Hadarac desert scene,no breaking of the Isidar Mithrim,no Solembum and not even the mention of Murtagh's Zar'roc wound) that by the time one reached the end,the only thing he can do is lament.

Other popular movie adaptations like the Harry Potter,The Lord of the Rings and Spiderman series are less infuriating with the inaccuracy (though I hate Sam Raimi for killing Venom off).But on a whole,I have learned that if I should watch an adaptation,I should just unlearn anything I know about the original story.

The real Delhi University

Its that ridiculous time of year again when school finishing students across India race to the ends of the land in search of academic salvation.Needless to say,its the engineering colleges that get most applicants,but 2nd only to that would be the number of application forms oozing into administrative offices of Delhi University.Everyone wants to be part of Delhi University(useful hint:its abbreviated as DU,because it makes you sound a tad cooler than you actually might be),where studying is a criminal offense (2nd only to not smoking).

Central to DU,the college who's facade immediately jumps to mind on mention of it is St. Stephen's college.This college is the epitome of 'cool'.Its the ambition of every parent in New Delhi to see their seemingly direction-less child gain fame and glory (and more importantly,money) when he/she enters its sacred gates.Everybody dreams of walking out onto the petty streets wearing the Stephanian sweatshirt like a coat-of-arms.

It took just a list for the reality to emerge.On this day,the 18th of June,in the year of our lord 2009,St Stephen's brought out its cut-off list for various bachelor's courses:

http://www.ststephens.edu/admissions/cutoffs.htm

Now,this list immediately brings out a reaction akin to that of a bimbo's father when he sees the telephone bill.A gargantuan rise in percentages is what we find upon close examination.The reason that the college gives for this drastic action is that board results have been high in India and hence so should be the cut-off.Now,the layman will think:"well yeah makes sense because its the elite who make it to this college".Well layman,figure this:out of the total no of seats that applicants are battling with bloodshed for,50% are reserved for Christians (20% of these are for Christian Dalits while 40% of them are for Christians from North India) and 10% is reserved for SC/ST/OBC and physically challenged.The unfortunate percentage that were not baptized or born into caste-victimized families (or both) get just 40%.

THIS,my friends,is the situation of education in India.Its only for the 40% that this list is being released.This 40% is what makes up the 'elite' Stephanian crowd.Its the bunch of idiots who have studied without sleep for at least a month to be able to get a good education.It seems that the college wants them to lose some more sleep.A 95% is not a good enough percentage for them.The child who knows Chemistry for the science it is will lose his seat to the child who practically remembers every page number of a topic in his Chemistry book.

Education in India is dead.Mechanization is the new 'art'.Religious 'sentiments' are preferred over practical knowledge.If you're a Christian,you will find enough of your kind in the aforementioned 'prestigious' college.Who knows how many there will be.More importantly,best of luck in looking for one who actually knows his/her subject.And the saddest part is that people still stand for this.A rise in cut-offs will anger only those who did not get in,while others will be filled with the pride of getting the ultimate stamp of elitism.

The truth is,religion and social blasphemy have taken a very convenient shit on the face of education.Society is self-destructing due to its lack of practicality.And as Indians,the best we shall do is laugh it off with the 'this is India,my friend' statement.And then its back to our pitiful,religion and superstition-driven lives.

And this is just St Stephen's.Who knows what the rest of DU's lists will turn out to be.So kids,if you're looking for a good education in DU,follow these simple rules:

1. Get a fake identity made,preferably Christian or Dalit or both
2. Make sure you know insiders in the DU administration so that they can get you into the course you 'deserve'
3. Keep lots of money aside in case methods 1 and 2 fail
4. Be prepared to get chucked into a college full of lowlife scum because your 90% and above aggregate is too good for the high-society,religious bastards in the college of your choice.

I'm glad I escaped....

Another bass cover: Kreator-Servant in Heaven,King in Hell

I had to tune my bass guitar down to : D G C F for this. I'm quite jittery.Please refer to last video for reasons to that.

Khooni Murga by Workshop - Now THIS is the Great Indian Comedy Show

This is a review I've written primarily for Headbangers India. Here goes:

Have you ever worried that you are the only idiot who still wanks to screen nudity? Have you ever felt the sudden urge to pass stool at a very social gathering? Have you ever fantasized about that vixen in a ghaghra-choli? Have you ever been chased by a carnivorous, mutant poultry bird?

Have no fear, for you are not alone! Workshop presents, 'Khooni Murga', a showcase of all aspects of adolescence ranging from your 1st jerk-off session to nightmares about being disemboweled by the 'flightless bird from hell', and everything in between. All this has been specially wrapped into a tight package of memorable metal music and cheeky bouts of crooning. If you've ever felt outcast for finding a sexual innuendo in everything, then this album is your new best friend-in waiting.

Alright, enough sales talk. Down to business. This album marks a new pinnacle in Indian metal. Now, bands will not fight to be the most technical, or the most brutal or epic; please welcome the era of comedic metal, brought to you by The Demonstealer (Sahil Makhija-vocals,rhythm guitar), The Rijunator (Riju Dasgupta-bass), The Hamzoid (Hamza Kazi-drums) and The Rajbot (Rajarshi Bhattacharya-lead guitar). Think tight (and sometimes even brutal) metal music with the funniest of tunes and lyrics, and that very evenly sums up 'Khooni Murga'. The title is a wordplay of the title of a B-grade Hindi movie, and is basically a tribute to everything that an Indian can be ashamed of. The 1st song is 'She Folked Up My Jazz', a hard rock piece about lust being a jazz player's downfall. Its a very promising kick-off to an album, and like a typically good album opener, is a sign of even better things to come. 'Pudhe Sarka' (which is Marathi for 'aage khisakh') is a humble acknowledgment of a bad day without change on a BEST bus. Unlike the previous track, this one is blazing thrash metal track. Now, the next song as mentioned on the tracklisting, is 'Chati ke Saath Panga' but in reality it's been swapped with the succeeding track 'I Came'. 'I Came' is a song that EVERY male listener will relate to as it glorifies the 1st time a boy masturbates with tongue-in-cheek lyrics like 'Here I am with a loaded gun,it's pointed at you baby here I cum'. It also ends with the doomy line 'and I'm all out of sperm'. 'Chati ke Saath Panga' is a unique concept about a certain daaku Kamla Devi who has disturbingly large tits which she uses to terrorize people with. Instrumentally, this song has a very dark undertone and if it wasn't for the lyrics and vocal melody, it would be very at home on a Demonic Resurrection album.

The track to follow is the very 'colloquially' (for want of a better word) titled 'Garba Gandu' and as you might have guessed, is about a Gujju looking for pussy on a Garba night. The hallmark of this song is Hamza's ratta-ta-ta-ta snare that sounds like dandiya drumming. It ALSO has a very provocative Gujarati chorus section with BLAST BEATS! Next up is the very funky recipe 'How to Make a Demonic Omelet'. The title is quite self-explanatory so I will conveniently move on to the next track. 'Kothai Doro Cho' is a dig at a Bengali who feels the sinister urge to deposit what cannot be digested at a social gathering, and is running around looking for a place to do so. It has a very catchy yet heavy tremolo-picked hook and ends with a deadly E-major barrage that sounds like something off a Gojira album. The following track is the one that had made EVERY one clued in to India's metal scene to log on to YouTube and type 'bunty aur mallika sherawath'. Similar reactions were sparked by the next track 'Cookie Monster', a ballad about fighting a losing battle against sleep while chatting with a female e-pal/pussy hopeful. It has the distinction of being called 'cool' by none other than metal's master of innovation, Mathias Eklundh. The album then ends with the title track, one that has a very death metal sound to it and also has Sahil muttering 'A Darkness Descends'. Another publicity gimmick, and a pretty solid one at that.

All throughout this album can be found references to the penis, though not in an epic 'I'm the god-king with the longest and tightest rod' manner that Nile follow, but instead in a way very similar to what teenagers across the country refer to it as. The production is brilliant and so are the references to Demonic Resurrection. It also comes with a DVD containing over 2 hours of band footage, something that requires a separate review.

So, if you ever feel that your day is going bad, just pop in this CD and ensure a happy state of mind for the duration that it runs. Workshop claim no responsibility whatsoever for a return to a bad mood afterwards.