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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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!
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!
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.
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!
Keep listening to Metal at full volumes, coming to gigs and supporting what you truly feel and believe in. Adios!
