Metallica : The Aftermath…

Metallica, one of the greatest heavy metal bands of all times was set to perform for the first time in India. The show was to be held in Gurgaon after many controversies, where over 25000 fans from all over the world including Israel, Iran, Nepal, Russia and even United States turned up to watch them perform live. The concert started with an open consumption of alcohol, hash and cigarettes at the entrance of the venue with absence of any real security. The fans were made to wait for almost 1 hour before the gates were opened at 4 pm. After opening the gates, the organizers announced that they were facing some technical difficulties and that they would start the show in sometime. The fans started to panic when the show didn’t start for almost 2 hours and they were also abused by the crew members, which outraged them and you could see a wave of abusive gestures in the air. After 3 hours of standing in the arena, the fans were told that the show was postponed to 29th October to which they reacted furiously. The barricades which were already weak were broken by the fans and all hell broke loose on the stage. Amplifiers, Monitors and other equipment were thrown off the stage and the fans tried to burn the ‘F1 rocks’ banner too.

While I stood there with my face hanging down and with rage within my veins all I could do was clap like the others while around 50 fans brought the stage down. There was disappointment all over the venue. While we stood there waiting for them to perform, Metallica were busy giving interviews. “What went wrong?” was the question everybody was asking. The question still remains unanswered.

Metallica said on their site “We arrived in Delhi on Friday very excited and ready to play our first show ever in India at the F1 Rocks concert. However, immediately at the end of our afternoon press conference at a hotel near the venue, we were notified that there was a serious question as to whether the show could proceed with regard to the safety of the concert audience. And our first and foremost concern is always for the safety of you, the fans. Once we, along with DNA, the promoters of the show, determined that there was a failure of a security barricade in front of the stage that could not be adequately repaired, the promoter reluctantly announced the postponement of the show until Saturday. Unfortunately, on such short notice the promoters were unable to secure a permit for a show on Saturday. Therefore, DNA announced that we would not be able to play in Delhi. Within the next 24 hours a notification will be issued by DNA regarding the process for full refunds. We are deeply disappointed with this news as we were looking forward to our first experience in India as much as you guys were. Keep watching for updates here as additional details are determined and confirmed.”

The above statement I feel is a lame excuse. The fans are being refunded their money but does money matter? No, It was never about money for us fans. It was about the wait that lasted 30 years; it was about the dream to see them live and more importantly about the sentiments of the fans who stood there for 9 straight hours.

I hope they realize that they have lost many fans, including me, who have already burnt their T-shirts and CDs and will never listen to their music ever again. The management and Metallica are to be blamed for this. The fans are not to be blamed, an angry crowd will destroy everything when their wishes are not fulfilled and especially when they have come from distant places just to listen to Metallica who don’t turn up. I hope they make it up to some of us by coming down to Delhi again and showing some respect this time

Written by Manan Kapoor
An ex-Metallica fan

Keshav Dhar – Interview

Skyharbor.Starting form a simple bedroom studio project,has now become an inspiration to fans in and outside India.It is a project featuring just one person alone,Keshav Dhar,who has collaborated with musicians such as Marty Friedman and Daniel Tompkins to create some real music.Here is what the ‘One Man Army’ had to say when we talked to him.

Photo Courtesy : Siddhartha Menon

Manan -How did you start with music?Who inspired you to pick up a guitar?

Keshav-I’ve been playing music since I was about 6 years ago. I wasn’t really interested in it at the time but my parents insisted I get some sort of musical training and started me with piano lessons. I continued playing the piano for about ten years before switching over to the guitar. I can’t say that it was any one person that inspired me to pick it up – it was just an instrument that a lot of my friends were playing and having tremendous amounts of fun in the process. Playing the piano was nice, but just the feeling of sitting in a room with a couple of friends and jamming out with acoustic guitars, talking about music and chilling out was what really made me want to make the switch.

Manan-Skyharbor,how did this project start?

Keshav-It started about 3-4 years ago. I was living in a town where there was practically nobody interested in writing experimental metal music. The few people that were into playing metal just wanted to butcher Metallica covers at the college festivals. There were no studios either where I could go record and experiment with the musical ideas I had, so out of frustration I just ended up hauling my entire PC there to my hostel room, got a cheap sound card and a Line 6 Pod and started doing everything on my own.

Manan-Have you ever thought of making a band with a proper lineup and touring?

Keshav-Of course. It’s not easy though, and as glamorous as touring might seem to a lot of people, it’s incredibly stressful and pays little to nothing to start with, so it’s crucial that the people I work with thoroughly understand what it entails, and also that they be musically very open minded, because my songs span a very wide range of sounds. However, I would not want to play live just for the sake of getting to be on stage. There has to be a vision and a long term plan in place. Otherwise you end up playing the same small gigs that all Indian bands are handed every year, and make zero progress. That coupled with all the time and energy spent on rehearsals would mean a lot of time wasted which could otherwise be productively spent on writing new material.

Manan-Tell us something about your new album.

Keshav-It’s almost finished and will be out in a matter of weeks. It’ll be released independently, and as of now, only digitally. It will have all my older material that I’ve put out as demos over the last few years, except with better arrangements and lots of guest appearances, along with some new material as well. Once the album is musically finished and mixed from my end, I’ll be sending it over to the legendary Zorran Mendonsa for mastering, following which it will immediately be released without any more delay.

Manan-The Marty Friedman and Daniel Tompkins,one of the biggest names in Heavy Metal.How was the experience?

Keshav-In one word – incredible. I never dreamed that I would ever get the chance to work with artists like that, and what makes it even crazier is that both of them actually approached me about collaborating, not the other way round! I’m incredibly proud and thrilled to be working with them, as well as the other phenomenal musicians that will be featured – including Vishal J Singh (Amogh Symphony), Sunneith Revankar (Bhayanak Maut), Nikhil Rufus Raj (Indigo Children) and more which I will keep a secret for now, haha…

Manan-If you got a chance to work with someone,who would it be?

Keshav-There are far too many to name!

Manan-Catharsis[Catharsis (ft. Daniel Tompkins and Marty Friedman)] has got 8934(and counting) plays on soundcloud.com.How do feel about that?

Keshav-Very happy. I’m very proud of that song in particular, not just because of the big names involved but because it took me over 2 years to write! Usually I write a song in a single sitting, but Catharsis took literally years of tweaking, fine tuning, arranging and re-arranging, adding and deleting parts etc. At one point of time it was actually over 15 minutes long, but I ended up shortening it considerably which in retrospect was the best decision for the song. I’m glad that people are enjoying the song that much, it’s been a real labor of love for me.

Heritage – Review

Opeth, is back with their long awaited album Heritage. The album was set to release on 20th of September but we got a chance to listen to it on 2nd itself. As the name suggests, it is of great value to Mikael. In a statement made earlier, he stated that he had been writing this album since he was 19 years old. Heritage is an album that is different from all the other albums Opeth has ever made. There is not one song in the album that has growls (heavy vocals) in it and it is filled with acoustics and many Jazz influences can be seen which has disappointed many fans.

A song that was released earlier ‘the devil’s orchard’ made people skeptic about the album but everything became cleared when it was available. Every song in the album is dark and gloomy as usual. The track ‘I feel the dark’ is one distinguished song. The acoustic intro is amazing and the bass-line is strong too (Hats off Mr. Mendez). Though the vocals are clean but they are remarkable. The album has two instrumentals. ‘Heritage’ and ‘Marrow of the earth’. Heritage is overwhelming. Per has done a splendid work on the keys before leaving the band. Of the rest of the songs ‘Nepenthe’ and ‘Haxprocess’ are two grand tracks in which Mikael, Axenrot and specially Mendez have done an astounding job. Akesson too has shown his skills in many songs including ‘The devil’s orchard.’

This album is an amalgam of Watershed and Damnation and is completely awesome according to me. For the past day the album has lead to many controversies in various threads on social networking sites. Even though many people have condemned and criticized the compilation due to lack of the ‘death metal factor’ and growls, there are double the people who admire this album.

Everyone who worships Opeth has downloaded the album like they do every time (including me), but they have done a splendid work on this album and I suggest you all to get a copy of the same, you won’t regret it.

Rating  8.5/10

Where there is peace and calm– Post Rock

More often associated with instrumental music, Post-rock is a subgenre of rock music which includes rhythms, harmonies, melodies, timbre, and chord progressions that are not found in rock tradition. Post-rock has a somewhat spiritual meaning to it. When you listen to post rock tracks, it feels as if the earth below has shifted, as if the reality exists no more. The term ‘post-rock’ was believed to be coined by critic Simon Reynolds in his review of Bark Psychosis’ album Hex, published in the March 1994 issue of Mojo magazine. He used the term to describe music “using rock instrumentation for non-rock purposes, using guitars as facilitators of timbre and textures rather than riffs and power chords.” This is more of a technical meaning and you will definitely come to know what Post-rock is all about when you listen to it. Something same happened with me.

A few months back, I asked a friend (who actually is in a post-metal band) to recommend me some soft songs to listen to. In the reply I got ‘Search for Mogwai.’ On the first go this name seemed weird but today this name holds respect for me. After YouTube-ing it, I found pretty amazing titles. I chose the one I liked the most. ’Take me somewhere nice.’ Few minutes later, I couldn’t stop but switch off the lights and let the setting sun illuminate the room. Mogwai, the name forced its way into my heart. I apparently ended up listening to it for almost a day before going back to my friend and asking him to write me a list of Post-rock bands, two of which have made it to my top 10 favorite bands of all time. After researching and dissecting Mogwai for a few days, I shifted to the second band he had told me to listen to. I was back on my music dealer, YouTube, searching for some peace of mind. Explosions in the Sky (which is too long a band name and thus, EITS). The name was enough for me. As I read the name, all I imagined was, crackers enlightening the sky on ‘Diwali’. The band’s music is amazingly beautiful. There are nine minute long instrumentals which have ambient sounds and mind-blowing basslines. What is more amazing, are the titles of the songs some of which I would love to share. ‘First Breath After Coma’ ‘Birth and Death of the Day’ ‘Six Days at the Bottom of the Ocean.’ You may be sad, happy, confused, nostalgic or depressed, ETIS is for you. They have it all. There are other bands which have the same ambience. The Album leaf, 65 days of static, Sigur Ros to name a few.

Last week I was in Mumbai. After getting bored of the Model United Nations (MUN) I’d just attended, my friends and I went to Marine Drive. It was amazing! The sun was setting, we could hear the tides wash the beach and well, of course, there were couples. The only thing that was missing was some good music. My friend instantly put on a bollywood track, which really pissed me to no end. In reply, I put on Mogwai on my phone. Three minutes later, everyone switched their Bluetooth on, to which I was not amazed. Post-rock is for everyone. The ones who listen to Heavy Metal (like me) or even the ones who listen to Punjabi music. What I have learnt from this music is patience. It has brought me the peace of mind I wanted. I wonder what is in the mind of post-rock artists when they make the music they do. As I conclude my views on this musical experience, I would recommend the readers to give a listen to any of the tracks from the bands I just mentioned. I’m definitely sure you will be out of the chaos, the noise, the blinding light and maybe even out of your body into a spiritual phase, as I am.

Drowning for Salvation

Wishing it all away, I fly above the white clouds that hover over the ocean. It seems real, for the wings that I hold sway in the air. The breeze that touches my face above the water is pleasing, for it fades away my reality, where I suffer in pain.Nostalgic, I face an awakening. The feeling of ethereal joy goes away and I enter the throat of winter. The clouds turn  grey and their silver lining hides your smile. The sky turns black and the  distant memories of darkness return.Slowly it starts to take over me. Every  color fades away, all that is left is black. Darkness gathers and slithers  around, trying to catch me in its maze. I fall down the spiral filled with  shades of yesterday, that remind me of the black days of hunger. The castle  starts to crumble and the mist starts to appear, falls down on me while I try  to steer out of pain. The curtain falls and reveals the truth, the sins I’ve  committed and the wrong paths I chose. In the theater of dreams, I face the  reality.Nothing can change the truth for it is constant as the north star in  the dark night. Willing to dream again I try to hide the fact, but nothing can  go away for betrayal is unforgiving.I’m destined to live here, in this  perpetual state of darkness, while the I drown in the sea, praying for salvation.

Still Life

Into the dark eternal night, you walk in silence
With blue liquid eyes, and stare upon the earth
For you ask for forgiveness, walk alone under the weeping moon
Bereavement follows fast, devious movements in his eyes
Move you from relief, he’s starting right past you
As though he can leaf through your mind. Without a move he takes control
As a medieval magician with his wand, forced to your knees
You fall to the ground, the light that blinds you fades away
Everything in still life, within your limbs burns hate
But he stands heroic, tall
For he finally blessed you with, forgiveness.

What is normal?

The Oxford English Dictionary defines “normal” as someone who conforms to the predominant behaviour in a society. On the retrospect, there is not a single person on this earth that we can define as ‘normal’. Such a term shouldn’t even exist to describe someone because it’s as clear as day that we are all in fact, not normal. We all have our own unique personalities to define our differences. Admittedly, there are those, who try to put it out there, to the rest of the world that they are normal but that could be a means of not wanting to know who they really are or what they could be.No one is normal. Everyone has some qualities that the other person does not possess. Special, that is the word which should be put in common usage. No one can set the standards that describe a ‘normal’ person. I have some powers you don’t have and you have some that I don’t possess. No one is superior, no one inferior. We are the same souls with different abilities swimming in the same chaotic ocean.