Vinash Kaal-Reminiscence Of The Troubled Soul

If you don't like Black Metal with good production quality, then do not read any further.

To smash  it on your face, that don't fuckinng judge a book by its cover, we have Vinash Kaal here.( ..and by cover I mean their FB cover :P )

Vinsah Kaal is a two peiece black metal act from Pune and has recently released their first single "Reminiscence Of The Troubled Soul". 

First thing that I noticed, the production quality is too good to spread "darkness within music" as they claim !!! On a serious note, its a well polished track in terms of production quality with concise and identifiable chords and lyrics that are clearly audible. Awesome mixing !

The track has a "true modern age black metal" kind of sound.Chaotic blasting riffs follow each other in a sequence but never gets monotonous, and the blast beats backs up in support of the overall composition. It has a sloppy intro but the change of melodies produced by the guitar throughout the song is stunningly  awesome. While Paresh is immensly strong on vocals, and kind of reminds me of Shagrath.

Reminiscence Of The Troubled Soul is one of the few BM track I've came across lately that made it to my cellphone playlist :P. The composition is creative and has elements  of originality in it, enough to silence critics who say " I've heard it all before". Although by the name of the band, I was expecting something indigenous in the music too. All in all its a descent effort and worth listening to...frankly, they are better than many so called big names of the Indian BM scene.
Listen to the track here: Reminiscence Of The Troubled Soul

Final rating : 4.5/5

Interview with Faustoos Crowley of Mogh

Originally posted at Metal Spree.

Mogh, is one of the few true black metal acts to originate from India. Having released 5 full length albums, 2 live albums, one demo, and one split album this year, they have still managed to stay underground and serve the world with their awesome music. Here , we talk with Khaon Faustoos Crowley, the man behind Mogh.

Hello Faustoos, thanks for talking to us, where are you these days ?

Hail !

Right now, I am in Germany.

Were you basically from India ? And now moved to Germany ?

I am half Persian, half Israelian.

I was in India for some practical black magic and experimental chaotic life.

What exactly you were looking for ?

I was trying to find the roots of Zurvanism.

When the Arabs, and the Afghans and the Turks and the Russians, attacked Persia, all the Moghs run to the eastern part, as in India. 

So I was researching and travelling around to find out the real truth about the old moghs.

And that is when you decided to form a band ?

Yes, when I was in India.

The date was, 06.06.2006.

Tell me more about Zurvanism.. is that what was the main inspiration behind the formation of Mogh ?

Zurvanism, is the first darkness pure occult , coming from the Sumerians. 

There is no light or any such meaning as light in Zurvanism.

Its all darkness. Unity.

Because when you have light around, you have shadows.

From here we have a daulistic vision, and we need to choose...or its lost.

So when Mogh actually began, what were the core motives for its formation ?

It was huge genre, and still we are not focused...its so vast..but some areas we stray a little longer..and that makes the core.. things like Anti-Islamic theme, general Anti-religion , anti-human, anti-life..

Pretty sick sometimes..develop the historical events..family revenge..

We don't have a lot of Black metal bands these days with such a vision eh ?

That's out of my legion.

They does not exist for me.

I've read about Mogh Army , what exactly it is ?

We are an organisation, underground, around the world...a gathering of elits.

What does it stand for ?

We lead the people who join us, to carry the pain to be human. The whole concept is about Nihilism. A unity in silence..and do what we need to do..

We share our food, our money..our instruments and lifes...it's an army who is active and won't be defeated  that easily..its kind of a dream utopia..a dark brotherhood..schwarz network..

Schwarz is german for Black.

You've seen the movie Fight Club ? Somehow similar..

Ya I saw, nice movie..

Cool.

I don't see a lot of people standing up against religion, Islam in particular..I mean I myself is an atheist and it's hard for people around to deal with me..so was it difficult for you too..from your friends and family..

I lost my family in war...so I don't have.

Friends I can't call...that's the reality..

But I can say, my people, my army , my members, my group, they are everything to me, and we educated our self by facing the reality..so in one hand ..its all very easy.

We fight for freedom, and we know freedom is not free..

You see the Mogh logo...one sword in one hand, one gun in another..that's all.

Yeah about the logo, is that Shiva's trident on the left ?

Well, Mogh first was Magu, in the nail language you see down the logo called coneiform. Summerian its Magoo, then come to India, Maha, and back to Persia, Mogh, Europe, its Magic...so I use the global symbology. We call it Spawn in Satanism, Trishul in Hinduism, and Poseidon in Greek. Originally its back to the symbol we have in black arts called Caviconalox.

Is it something like the pentagram ?

No.

Alrighty, so what instruments you play ?

Bass guitar, Cello, Santoor, Tanboor,... check the Metal-Archives.

How does the recording of albums goes by ? I mean the music making process, riffs, lyrics .. everything. 

Some times, if we have money, we go to studios. Most of the time, some PC chitt...and in the end, I just cut the sound from the videos we have..and release..

I am not into technical stuff...for us, its just the meaning behind. 

I have written a book called Black Flame. Its kind of nihilistic journey I had in a small world and all achievement about occultism and..

So. Mostly I use main topics from the poems or essence of my writing..

The riffs, mostly when I travel somewhere, I meet real souls...than we make music or riff..

That book is available online ?

No, there is an underground publisher in USA.

Can you tell me more about the lyrical themes..?

It depends on tracks..some of them are patented stuffs..

Its kind of code..in Enochian languages...or kind of mixture with dead languages..

Personal revenge..darkness shitt.. In many songs I used the charm or thelematic course.

And many times its just screaming .. no words.. its just expression.

There was a split album released this year ?

Yeah..2012 is gonna be many split albums.

As the rumors are around..is 2012 the end of Mogh ?

Well, no infact..

But I think I found the final genre for the band..

And what that will be ?

Occult pagan mesopotanian black metal.

I have started to work on it, I have yesterday's practice room videos if you'd like..

Tracks aren't ready still..no vocals..its just a scratch.

Sure, and Thanks. So do you have a line up right now ?

Yes, drummer is a german guy,  called Commander.

Saxophone and female vocals is Bandir..

There are two guitarists, a violin and a flute too.. but it depends on each track..

That must be hard to coordinate..I mean so many instruments ?

Yes sir, but it comes by heart..most of us do not even know about notes..

There are no limitations here..

You are playing for any other bands ?

Yes, I am playing bass in two underground german bands.. Burning Cross and Khoshekh..which is hebrew for darkness.

What are you listening to these days ?

Lots of folk music..pure raw nihilistic black metal.. ofcourse. Whatever thats disturbing me, I like to hear that.. more pwerful.

There is a big scene of music in this planet..

..I have tracks, mostly in my PC archive..or part of the tracks..i was connected somehow with that part..

What have you thought about the band's future?

Gigs, live shows, clips, albums..

..hope we can play in armenia in persian metal festival 2012 

Are you planning to go in the open, or still remain underground like always ?

Well.. the end is near.

Now we are open to any kind of...

But generally  if we come open, no one will understand it..

Hmmm...How hard journey has been till now..for you..?

I've tried to kill myself 7 times..but I'm still alive..

For one month I was homeless..in Pune there is a Christian cemetery , I was sleeping there and feed myself from the front big trash box..

Couple of month I was totally fucked..In Varanasi, the Aghoris fed me..

Later in goa, I was washed dishes in a Russian restaurant, just to save my soul and serve my band..

Did they rob you or something ?

Yes, many times. They robbed my whole stuff.

They rape my soul .They put gun in my mouth,well whole chaotic system plus the corporate Police

I call it Indian Islamic bizzare reality..life.

Anything to say for the folks back in India ?

Yes, I would like to thank all previous Indian band members of Mogh..

Vruksha(guitar), Al masih Al dajal(keyboard programming) , Bob(bass and recording), Sidhi(drums), Arko(drums), Biswas(bass), Mayank(drums), Zeth(drums), Bapi(drums), Shaman(guitar), Ankush(guitar), Vish(guitar),Akshay(manager) and many great musicians I met at different places...

Alright, thanks for talking to us Faustoos !

Thanks a lot, have a sinful night !

You can follow them on Facebook, Mogh 

And here is the video for their practice session,

Practice Session: Mogh

There is a documentary that they made, based on their experience in India..

Doucumentary Part I

Documentary Part II

Interview with Paul Allender of Cradle of Filth.

Originally posted at Metal Spree

Hello Paul, warm greetings from India and Metal Spree team, how you're doing?
I'm very well thank you. I hope all is good for you there and everything is wonderful.


Starting off topic, you like Indian food ?
I love Indian food, its amazing :)


Can you name us a few that still wets your taste buds ? That will become your fan food in India.. ha ha !
Lol ok. I love Vindaloo and Masala, there very nice and to be honest i could live off of the stuff :) I don't eat rice with my meals, just chapatis and sag paneer.


Why guitars ? I mean, how did you picked up guitar as a child when there were tons of other instruments to play ? I'm expecting some interesting story here!
I started playing at 14, before my interest in guitars i wanted to play the saxophone because my dad always played all his 50s and 60s rock and roll 10" singles and i was majorly influenced by them. Then at 12 i was introduced to metal, Iron Maiden to be precise. The sound of the guitar got me really hooked and from then on i wanted to play. I did try bass once but lost interest straightaway.


What  were your major influences in those early days when you were just beginning into playing music ? Any particular inspiration from the early days ?
My dad use to play his 50's and 60's rock and roll 10" singles when i was a child, i totally loved it so i guess my main influence would be from them if I'm honest. then i got into metal and the likes of Iron Maiden and so fourth
took over as my influences.


The genre you play is quite off the genre that you describe as your idols to be, I mean old school thrash and extreme metal ? Quite a difference right ?
No not really, if you look at it and sit and really listen you will hear I put a ton of groove into the music i write and if you listen to my influences you can hear the same type of groove but that's as far as my influences go. When i write i just let the music and ideas flow out of me, I don't listen to anything to get inspiration because i don't want to sound like someone else.


You are one of the founding members of Cradle of Filth. Do you think the music has changed from what it was before ?
Back in the day people classed us as a black metal band but we have never tagged ourselves, we kinda let people make up there own mind about us. As we have got older tastes have changed and hence the music we write changes. Personally i prefer where the band is now, it sounds more mature and more like us, its more thought out and not so messy if that makes sense. There truth in the saying "Less is more".


Have your guitar playing techniques changed over time ?
Yes my playing has become more precise and solid. Back in the day it was way too scratchy which wasn't good. I use my guitar to write songs, not just riffs, I'm more of a producer than a guitar player to be honest.


I'm assuming, in all these years, you must have made some mistakes while playing live on stage. Can you share some of those, and also some tips to deal with them for young guitarists out there ?
Lol yes tons and tons but now i don't make any mistakes live or in the studio. All i can say is that when playing try to do your best every time and when writing write whats in your heart and what you think sounds good, not whats hot in the scene at the time. Oh and remember that music come from the heart and soul and its not a SPORT!! Unfortunately there are a lot of people out there who class playing guitar as a sport.


Does the line up changes affect your jam sessions and recordings? As you and Dani might be more coordinated than the rests.
No not at all because i pretty much write everything and we only get together when we are either going on tour or going in the studio.




What Cradle of Filth is upto right now ? Studios ? Jamming ? Recording ? Drinking beer ? Or blood !! Also, how's the set list coming up for Wacken Open Air concert ? Anything new for the fans to look forward to?
Well i have just come out of the studio from recording the new album and am practicing ready for the up and coming shows. Yes we have a set list worked out for Waken but I'm not going to tell you what it is lol :P

What kind of music are you listening to these days ?
I'm into anything and everything as long as it has a sick groove :) I brought the new Kreator album, its fucking great, i love it :)


Alright Paul, thanks for talking to Metal Spree and best of luck with everything. Any last words for our readers and your fans out there ?
I just want to say hopefully we will see you on the road and thank you so very much for all your support and understanding. Peace.


Thanks again Paul ! Have a great day !

A word with a musician: Abhimanyu Singh Negi of Abraxas

Abraxas is a 5 piece Melodic Death Metal outfit from Pune, IN. Recently their vocalist Karan Pote shared the stage with Demonic Ressurection in the All Star Gig. Here, we talk with their lead/rhythm guitarist Abhimanyu Singh Negi about music , life and beyond. Enjoy !!
Originally written for Metal Spree.

Raul: Hello Abhimanyu, how are you?Abhimanyu: Hi there man. I’m doing just fine.

Raul: To begin with ,how and when you started playing Guitars? What was the response of your family in your early days?
Abhimanyu: I started playing around 8 years ago at the age of fifteen.
Initially, my family was actually glad that I was applying myself to something constructive! Later on they probably realized that guitars/guitaring took almost all of my time. They’ve been very supportive throughout though.

Raul: Playing metal music is a neck breaking job. Do you agree?Abhimanyu: It’s fun, inspiring and extremely intense. It doesn’t feel like a neck-breaking job even if your neck snaps in two!

Raul: Performing live is one of the best experiences you can have, as I've been told. How do you guys manage the onstage mistakes, if there are any?
Abhimanyu: Performing live is an experience every musician owes themselves. It’s a release and a party onstage. It’s madness! The atmosphere at gigs gets me high by itself whether I’m playing or not.

Mistakes during a set must be avoided at all costs but whenever I screw up, I keep playing the song unaffected by it, without further interruptions. Personally, it’s pretty irritating to hear a mistake, even if it’s me who’s fucking up! You must ignore the mistake totally and keep playing in the natural flow and order of the riffs/pieces in the song.

Raul: Which guitar are you using right now? Or should I ask guitars?
Abhimanyu: I currently play an Ibanez Prestige RG 2027x VV with a Dimarzio Liquifire in the neck and Dimarzio D Activator in the bridge position. It’s a seven string guitar with a mahogany body, 24 frets, 25.5” scale, Ibanez Lo-Pro floating bridge/trem and a gorgeous Vintage Violin finish. It’s got the LR Baggs Piezo Acoustic pickups and dual jack output.

I have a really old Washburn six stringer and a GB&A acoustic as well that I keep twanging on every now and then.

Raul: As a musician, what genre other than metal interests you?
Abhimanyu: Dubstep has encroached upon the territories of Metal and is exciting to listen to these days. I like to listen to a lot of Hard Rock and Blues Rock, which is what inspired me to start playing the guitar. Also funk, bluegrass, trance and a whole lotta Metchul! I’d like to learn to play Jazz soon as well, given the chance.

Raul: Talking about Abraxas , it really has come up exponentially as a band in past few years. What was the different path that you guys take, which most of the other bands didn’t?
Abhimanyu: I don’t know if I’ll be able to answer this question correctly but I guess it was our ability to not compromise on a number of standards we’d set initially for ourselves as a band. It took a certain amount of will, focus and social inactivity for all five of us to create our music devotedly and playing it out loud with conviction every single time.

While composing, we all structure our riffs and songs with everyone’s accordance and decide upon a theme/direction towards which the whole song will progress. It’s a grueling, rewarding process.

We spent a lot of time touring India as a band too – we’ve played in Goa, Cherrapunjee, Indore, Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Chennai, Mumbai & of course Pune.

There’s still a lot more to be done and we need a lot more ‘growing’ that we need to do as well!

Raul: Abraxas has released some epic OC’s, and Eyes OF Disgrace is one of my favorite tracks, but still no EP or album? What is keeping you guys from releasing one? Anything in store for your fans in near future?Abhimanyu: Thanks a lot man! I think we focused on composing, playing a lot of gigs and just generally being fuckin’ lazy! We’ve been hitting the studio after half-yearly intervals almost every year so it’s been a slow process. We’ve shifted gears now and it’s all going smooth so you guys will be hearing about our Full-length album soon enough.

Raul: How do you manage your studies and music and gigs and all? And I’m personally interested in coping with the attendance part, mine is short too, ha ha.
Abhimanyu: Haha dude we don’t manage anything at all! I think once the ball is rolling everything falls in place. There have been several clashes where it was clearly college versus gig where we had to decide carefully. I think we made the right choices mostly.

You need to manage your time and money resourcefully and prioritize important agendas whether its college, office or music. It all looks good on paper though and easier said than done!

Raul: What is the band up to right now?Abhimanyu: Chilling, catching up on college/work, composing in bits and pieces and tracking the album.

Raul: Recently Karan shared the stage with Demonic Resurrection, in the All-Star Gig. How was it for you guys?Abhimanyu: It was great to see Karan back in the game again man. It was a great initiative on DR’s end and I’m sure a number of DR fans got a glimpse of his talent. We’ve been worried at different levels over the past few months regarding his injury and he laid everyone’s doubts to rest when we headlined the SIMC gig in Pune last month; and this is when he hasn’t fully recovered!

Raul: Anything you have to say about the present Indian Metal scene?
Abhimanyu: There are bands in the Indian Metal scene that are pushing the envelope and making huge strides everyday even now and it’s truly inspiring to say the least. The International scene is truly opening up to Indian Metal as of now and we’ll soon be riding the wave. The bands ready for it in every possible way –art, music, production, composition, live performances and sticking around – are the ones who’ll make it through. It takes a certain amount of guts and dedication for any and every metal band in India to play their shows consistently. So any band that has ventured outside the country, or has been playing shows for more than 3-4 years or has an album or two out – Respect. They deserve it.

Raul: Thanks a lot for your time Abhimanyu , anything for your fans out there?Abhimanyu: You guys effin’ RULE! If there’s anyone else we make music for apart from us – it’s you guys!
Keep listening to Metal at full volumes, coming to gigs and supporting what you truly feel and believe in. Adios!

Evil Conscience

I’m not being hypocritical about this, in fact I’m very genuine when I say that Evil Conscience took me aback with their brand of bone-crushing, grinding and brutal mix of grind and deathcore. The band has established a name for itself in the Kolkata metal circuit and I realise now after listening to their tracks the reason why. From the sound of the two tracks and after seeing their live videos, it became pretty evident that the band is super-tight in all sections, whether its the drums, vocals, bass or guitar. Grim Shutdown is a track that has its influences clearly visible but is still a class apart due to its guttural vocals that deserve heavy accolades. The vocalist has put in a lot of effort in the process of creating this really amazing track. The guitars riffs are very technical but remind me very much of the first full-length album of my personal favourite band. But an awesome effort on them too. Kudos. The drums sound amazing and the speed and technicality must be mentioned. I must also appreciate the production quality of the songs. Surely they like to get everything done to perfection. The other track too is heavy and has the elements the band claims to have. The stoner part, although not visible immediately to the listener has its presence in parts of the song. But the grip on this song seems a little loose after a few listens, though a good effort still. Again in this song the highlight will be the vocals that seem to emanate from the beasts themselves. Grim Shutdown however still remains my personal favourite.

Personally I see this band going to great heights should they continue the same way like now. I expect to see more releases from them in the coming year, maybe even an EP and I’m also keeping my fingers crossed to see them live soon.

Signing off!!

Exiled Sanity

The recent uprising of experimental and avant-garde bands in the Indian circuit has taken the metal scene by storm. One such band is Exiled Sanity from Kolkata. Even though they recently formed in April of this year, they have been successful in carving out a niche for themselves, performing in many parts of India. As of yet, they have released two original compositions, both lyrically themed on the coming destruction of humanity and the conquest of Earth by a more advanced civilization.

"Twisted Route to Salvation" is a heavy track with a catchy tune which is instantly recognized as a mosher. The song has a heavy intro, followed by the growls and a nice classical feel, provided for by the unconventional riffs. I wasn't expecting much technicality in the track, but was surprised by the complicated guitar and drum patterns and not to mention, the fast paced solo. But, the track to watch out for is, seriously, "Redesigning Humans [The Uprise]". Its atmospheric intro makes you think of what to expect, until those blastbeats and the singer's much-better exhales hit your ears. Guitars, here too, bring in a nice feel, with unconventional riffing. The anchor in the middle though, is the breakdown heavily influenced by Meshuggah and the extremely technical and well written solo which follows. The track ends with the same atmospheric intro it started with, forcing the listener to rewind his tape for another go!

Well, i would just say,Exiled Sanity will definitely be something to watch out for in the years to come. For now, they have definitely taken a step in the right direction. Stay metal, people \m/

Dream Diabolic

Self realisation has dawned upon me that I’ve been slightly idiotic to have under-rated Dream Diabolic. It took me several listens of their four originals posted on Reverbnation to get to this band’s music. Clearly they have tried hard to set themselves apart with their brand of metal. And in a few occasions they have succeeded too. Having played in the prestigious IIT-Guwahati hosted Alcheringa, the band caught my curiosity when Dragon urged me to give them a serious listen. Until recently the band claimed to belong to a genre they termed as “Abstract Hardcore”. I wondered what that meant. But let’s be honest here, in no way did they exhibit any attributes of hardcore. Then what are they? I put their songs on repeat and gave them a listen.

“Greatness In Endless Sleep” gives a punk feel in its initial 5-6 seconds. But the sound changes quickly as the other instruments enter along with the guitar. Bass comes in with a clear sound. As soon as the vocals begin they remind one of Chris Barnes’ vocals from his work with Six Feet Under. The keyboards do an intelligent job that is not usually seen in metal bands. Well to be honest, I’ve seen pretty much all bands with keys playing a very symphonic mix of melodic death and black. So does this band too sometimes. But at a minimum. As far as the drums are concerned they seem to be overdone at places in this song. “Necromenser” (yes that’s the spelling!) caught me by surprise with its old school death metal drums. Riffs too were well done inspired heavily from Thrash bands like Municipal Waste. This song seems to progress towards black influences with the use of tremolo picking, backbone of the genre. It is quickly followed by a compensating heavy thrash riff which is again interspersed with tremolo picking. Bass crawls in but appears not to do much justice to the song in providing a groove to an already raw sound. But probably that’s what the band wants. Something unexpected turns up in the bridge section. Influences from Carnatic music. And that’s when I went holy shit!! It seems that composing solos is the guitarist’s forte. And again the keys bring in an additional feel to the already well established soundscape. “Palace of an Orphan” starts with a power-metal mood with its intro and the fill-ins with the keys between the verses. The dual-vocal layers are a refreshing touch to their sound. Riffs are mostly mid-tempo. Once again the guitarist shows off his capabilities in the bridge. “Words Created God” is a total mosher and compels the listener to headbang how much ever she/he denies to do so. Riffs however could have been less predictable and the pinch harmonics more audible. Surpisingly, the song loses track and fails to come back to its original sound as it progresses. This is where I get a feeling they’re trying to set foot in the lands of Prog Metal. This makes them end up with a very random sound due to which they lose the brutality.

Overall this band was enjoyable after a couple of listens though I don’t think their songs will last long on my music player if they don’t come up with something different than what they are producing now. The highlights of this band would definitely be the keyboards and also a special mention to the commendable effort on the guitars for the solos and the exhaled vocals used by the vocalist. Drums would’ve earned a mention had they not been overdone to earn the title of being a technical band. But they’d do the job had it not been for the riffs which don’t astonish at all.

Enjoy!