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!

Alien Gods

Alien Gods from Itanagar released their their debut EP in May'11 entitled Lunar Blackened Death. The EP consisted of tracks which were composed and written during their early formation days. Here is a small conversation we had with them recently.

Raul: How is it going Alien Gods ?

AG: Alien Gods is pondering upon mysteries of life, zeitgeist has not helped enough.

Raul: There is always an interesting story behing the formation of a band. Tell us about yours.

AG: Nah, for us it's the same cliched series of events : As kids Listen, read, watch the music and lifestyle of big rock stars and become a wannabe, then fortunately find the right guys things click and in the course of becoming big rock stars find out our inner selves and things begin to take the other path, some have left the band coz music won't feed them or their families , others were forced to leave, some has joined for the love of music , some for the profits it give and few to create magic that they seek.

Raul: Alien Gods? Something to do with religious views or just a catchy name?

AG: Actually it's a bit of everything that anyone thinks.

Raul: About the genre, how did guys end up playing blackened death?

AG: For pleasure, pain, pride, reverence, strength, freedom and pure insanity.

Raul: Tell us something about your EP "Lunar Blackened Death". The hurdles on the way and stuffs and yes I'm personally interested in the track "Kapyo Nyima".

AG: "Lunar Blackened Death" is our first effort at recording our stuffs that we have written over the formative years. This is not a proper album more of like a collection of different experiments or exercises. The fans have demanded it and so we have been obliged . Now that we have understood the mechanisms of recording, song writing is going on for the debut LP and its going to be one brutally epic bastard.

"Kapyo Nyima" is the last straw in the so said experiment or exercises that we have been fooling around with. Please do enjoy the song.

Raul: Do you guys think that Indian bands should have Indian themes in their songs?

AG: If you say "should have" then it become something like a rule or law, and I am sure everyone knows ".....are meant to be broken". Hahaha... see nothing is to be dictated, if it comes naturally then good , if you have to do it for the sake of doing it than it;s all fucked up.

Raul: Performing live has been your specialty, how was it to perform for the first time on stage?

AG: Nervous as hell , but the crowd fed me and Y become a very happy glutton on stage, I mean I loved the excitement and sense of power that the stage , sound , lights and the crowd give... just love it man.

Raul: Can you briefly describe your music making process for us?

AG: It's all about the theme man, the music has to be based on the stories, events etc.

Raul: "Church Ov Blood" , is that a side project? Anything to expect in near future under this name?

AG: Church Ov Blood is Doni and Tenzin's ( Guitarist and Bassist ) primary band. It's not a side project. The two had joined Alien Gods coz the original members had untimely discontinued with the band. Church Ov Blood as far as I know is working on their debut EP.

Raul: How is the metal scene in Itanagar? Any underground movements that we're unaware of?

AG: Itanagar is very good for metal bands, the crowd out here is crazy, and unfortunately we don't have that many bands.

Raul: Northeast metal scene, do you think its exposed enough?

AG: Exposed ?? What exposed?? Nothing... zero. Other forms of music are doing well maybe but Metal...thumbs down.

Raul: What makes Alien Gods different from the rests?

AG: I don't know.. may be cause we come from Arunachal Pradesh... quite different huh

Raul: Something for your fans?

AG: Keep moshing but no pushing ( term we use out here for injecting drugs)

Raul: Something for us?

AG: Call us when you are free metal freaks.

Originally written for Metal Spree.