Can you hear the music, beast?

Four friends get together for a metal tribute concert to honour their late band mate

Vincent Pereira was 22 years old when his band, Prakalp was just taking off. He planned to get into solo production and leave a mark on the underground music movement. But a fatal asthmatic attack meant his song was never sung.

Anant Diwedi, 26, remembers their first gig at SIES College in Sion. What he can't forget is the mad drama that unfolded before it.

Having forgotten a friend's guitar processor on a local train, they ended up checking every car shed that night, and oversleeping through their time slot, fighting with organisers to finally make it on stage to reach the finals. "We would never have made it if it weren't for Vinci," says Diwedi.

"He worked harder than all of us; music meant everything to him," says Ashwin Chinchkede, band manager at the time. When we met him, he had just bought a bass guitar and didn't really know what to do with it. In two years, he was playing with three bands: Prakalp, Atmosfear and Spiked Crib."

When Pereira passed away in 2007, his friends were shocked at the loss but wanted to keep his memory alive in the way they remembered him bestu00a0-- through music. A die-hard fan of English metal band, Iron Maiden, Pereira earned the nickname 'Beast' from Maiden's third album.

That's what gives next week's concert its name, Tribute to the Beast. "The first year, we organised it at Gorai, and saw a small group of close friends drop by," says Chinchkede.

This year, the event will span two days, with five bands playing on each day, including the three bands that Pereira belonged to. Devoid, Blakc, Split and Zygnema are also part of the line-up.

"All the bands have came forward on their own. They are doing it for free. Vince would have been excited to have so many musicians come together for him," says Diwedi.

At: B69, B69 (By BAJAAO), 21 Bhaidas Bhuta Compound, Mogra Lane, off old Nagardas Road, Andheri (E). On February 4 and 5
Call: 9930210680