It’s live: Metalheads and underground acts will rock at this gig in Navi Mumbai

"We are playing live after two years," says an excited Cyril John Thomas, who is the rhythm guitarist with city-based thrash metal band Sabotage India. The band has Thomas on rhythm guitar, Yash Pujari on lead guitar, Rahul Bhatt on bass, Malhar Bhanushali on drums and Anand Mulgund on vocals. "We are ready to go all guns blazing and release our new and old songs. It's been so long since I experienced this," adds the 25-year-old, whose band has been working on its upcoming full-length album, which they hope to release later this year.

This weekend, many metalheads and live gig enthusiasts in the city will be travelling to Navi Mumbai to attend the live metal gig 'United We Groove'. While live gigs have started in several pockets in the city, one of this scale, say band members and attendees, is happening for the first time since the Covid-19 pandemic struck. Due to the earlier restrictions, only intimate gatherings had been taking place. Interestingly, Adit Khanzode, organiser of the gig called 'United We Groove Volume 11', which is in its 11th edition, had hosted eight online shows in the last two years but says none of them were fun due to the logistical challenges that many musicians faced. Live gigs hold a different kind of effect on people due to sonic frequencies and the social factor, says the 29-year-old sound engineer.

Releasing a full-length album later this year, Sabotage India will play a mix of old and new songs at the upcoming gig. Photo: Cyril John Thomas

The upcoming gig is also going to be different this time around, because it is not limited to metal fans anymore. "It is a mixed line up of musicians who play thrash metal, pop rock, rock ‘n' roll and more. This is simply because I want to change the perception about the cliche that metalheads are people who only listen to metal music and they are very snobbish about their music. Our generation is way ahead of this. If you like something and it is good music, it shouldn't matter how mainstream or hated it is." Khanzode, whose heart lies in metal music, thinks that creating such a mixed line-up will give metal bands more traction in the city.

The performances at the show apart from Sabotage India are by Soham Pathak, better known by his stage name, Yush!, Gin City, Groovedarshan and Rotten Kitten. They will be playing some of their favourite numbers as well as take the opportunity to introduce people to some of their new music.

Adit Khanzode had hosted eight online shows in the last two years but says none of them were fun due to the logistical challenges that many musicians faced. Photo: Adit Khanzode

Thomas, who is tight-lipped about the name of their upcoming album, says, "This album is diverse and doesn't have a particular theme. We have written songs about a Viking king as well as about loving someone and losing them." The songs, he promises, will resonate with every kind of listener.

Gin City, another city-based band that was formed in January 2020, had huge plans but the pandemic played spoilsport. The four-member band has Shishir Singh on vocals and guitars, Swapnil Singh on drums, Nikhil Sinha on guitars and Somesh Prakasam on bass guitar. Interestingly, they are on a high after their recent win at a competition in Goa, which also happened to be their first live gig as a band. Shishir Singh says, "We released an album called ‘All That There Is' last June but haven't been able to play it anywhere. Since the other guitarist in the band was in Delhi, we weren't able to play and that's when we decided we should do a gig soon." Having been a part of the scene with 'United We Groove' as an audience and a band performing on stage, Singh says it is the best opportunity because it has been a place where musicians and audiences come together and connect with each other. Since they released a seven song EP, they will be playing most of their original songs sprinkled with a few covers.

Formed in June 2021, Groovedarshan recently released their debut single 'Namaste', which they will play along with other songs at the gig. Photo: Prashin Jagger

Another newly-formed city band Grooverdarshan which recently released their song ‘Namaste' are equally excited to be playing live but for different reasons than Thomas and Singh. The band derives its name from Doordarshan and the classic term Mumbai Darshan to indicate a tour of their different sounds, which they say dabble in the psychedelic rock and world music genres. They currently have Aditya Ashwath on guitar/bass and vocals, Pankaj Tak on guitar/bass, Shabarish Garg on percussion and drums and Yash Chittal on guitar/bass too. Their guitarist Pankaj Tak, who has been actively playing as a part of different groups since 2018, explains, "We have played at a few intimate gatherings ever since we formed in June 2021. I think it is interesting and important for gigs having more than three artists in their line-up to expand their genres." This, Tak says, is because he has seen hardly any festivals survive with only metal gigs in the last five-six years, so a multi-genre gig experience could get more people to attend.

Interestingly, Khanzode started organising metal gigs with Blackblood India six years ago for the sole purpose of creating performance spaces for metal bands, which are usually not found in colleges in his experience. He explains, "Colleges usually have a problem and are strictly against performances with distorted guitars, screeching and growling vocals. They are tone deaf towards this particular genre of music and say, ‘Yeh kya noise hai'." Over the years, he realised the need to transition into United We Groove, which he started in 2018 to encourage musicians from the genre to perform at the gigs. With an aim to build a culture at these DIY gigs, this edition will also have art exhibitions by four artists and a rap battle exhibition to make a space for everybody who is a part of the underground music scene in the city.

When: March 13
Where: Shor - The Disc, Belapur, Navi Mumbai
Time: 4 pm - 9 pm
Entry: Rs 599 per person (includes Rs 200 as cover charge)