The fifth chapter of the Grand Mammoth Festival will showcase the best Metal acts of the country on one stage
Pushkar Joshi (drums) and Kiron Kumar (guitar) in action at a Hellwind gig
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Bruised noses and bleeding faces is a regular spectacle at Metal concerts. When listeners have a chance to rebel for an evening, they go out of their skin. But amid all the revolt and revelry, lies friendship. If you injure yourself in the middle of a mosh pit (the slam dancing spot), the person next to you will be the first to help. Though Metal bands are far and few in the city, the Grand Mammoth Festival - one of the premier Metal fairs - didn't stop bustling. But the upcoming edition (the fifth chapter) could be the swansong of the earsplitting affair.
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"This is my last. I got married recently, and I need to support my family. I need to generate more revenue. Metal gigs won't fetch me money," says Jeff Dani, who started the event four years ago at the age of 19. He played the drums for a band (Rockâu00c2u0080u00c2u0088Veda) those days. "We didn't have a venue to play, so I created a gig for the group. I started attending concerts when I was 14," he recalls.
Most cities lose their musicians and programmers when they reach the comprising point - to catch the practical train or float in the emotional boat. "I will try to make a comeback to designing Metal shows once I am financially stable," adds Dani, who struggled to find bands for the event. "Many bands aren't working anymore. So I couldn't lock the exact line-up I wanted. I couldn't get Scribe. I thought of bringing Chaos but it didn't work out."
Demonic Resurrection will promote their fifth album, Dashavatar, at the Grand Mammoth Festival. Pic/Belinâu00c2u0080u00c2u0088Lewis
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Kiron Kumar, guitarist of the Mumbai-based group Hellwind, believes having 100 people in the audience is a blessing today. "Back in the day, people would turn up for shows when they wanted to check out bands. Since the Internet didn't have enough reach, you had to be physically present at the venue. Now all bands can be heard online," he says. But he accepts that there are familiar faces at the concerts. "People who are really into the genre still participate in the rebellion, despite the social media and smart phone distraction."
Kumar bats for mixed genre festivals to benefit from fans. "Imagine having Rock, Funk, Punk and Metal lovers under one roof. It will help other bands have an audience," he reasons.
Bands and songs
Having Demonic Resurrection - one of the early Black Metal bands in the city - and Hellwind (Hard Rock/ Heavy Metal) on board is a masterstroke. Three outstation bands will join the Mumbai metal geniuses - Elemental (Death Metal) from Bhopal, The Down Troddence (Groove Metal) from Kannur and Eccentric Pendulum (Progressive Metal) from Bengaluru. Hellwind's track, Metal From Above, will remind one of Iron Maiden; it is a crowd puller. Demonic Resurrection is likely to play the track, Matsya (The Fish), from their new album Dashavatar. The song is already a rage for its use of sitar and tabla, complemented by guitar riffs.
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