Live Reviews : Bangalore Open Air 2014 @ Counterculture, Bangalore, India, 13/09/2014

Bangalore Open Air has enjoyed the reputation of being India’s biggest metal festival, bringing down legendary bands like Dark Tranquility, Kreator, Iced Earth and more to our country. Supported by the magnificent Wacken Open Air, this year’s edition of the festival, which overcame the initial hurdle of not meeting the crowd funding target, promised to be a show to remember. The line-up  featured headliners; the Greek Gods of extreme metal Rotting Christ and German Teutonic Thrash veterans Destruction along with some of the best Indian metal band’s there are. What further intrigued me about this year’s line-up was the varied mix of bands, each playing their own unique brand of metal, and thus making the event even more interesting!

B.O.A was at Counter Culture, Whitefield, this time, which is quite a nice venue given the turnout (around 700) this year. The stage was set up in an indoor area, while there was also a screen outside for those who wanted to kick back with their beers and bask in the windy weather. I got to the venue just in time for the opening band of the evening, Armament a four- piece thrash metal outfit from Kolkata. The first thing that struck me about them is their exhilarating stage presence! They delivered a set that was just pure straight up old school thrash, exactly what they’ve classified themselves as, and their music really kicked off the proceedings the way any metal gig should. It was fun to watch the perform as they have this young, fresh energy about them and are quite a talented lot. The drummer played tirelessly, hitting that drum kit like his life depended on it, his solo towards the end met with a thunderous cheer! Front man, Indranil has some pretty intense vocal chords while Soubhik and Sayan shredded their respective guitars like it was child’s play. Their music is undeniably catchy especially with their energetic style of  playing although at times it did feel like some of the songs were quite similar. Nonetheless, great set, definitely a band to keep an eye on!

Following that dose of thrash, I was in for a really pleasant surprise when Girish And The Chronicles came on stage and erupted into a series of mind numbingly awesome rock ‘n’ roll tunes. They were like an unstoppable force and played a dynamic set with so much enthusiasm. They began with a few own compositions like the power packed ‘Born With A Big Attitude’ , ‘Ride To Hell’ and my favourite, ‘Golden Crown’ a song dedicated especially to all the football loving metalheads that were present! Given my undying love for classic/hard rock, this band could do no wrong in my eyes. Their songs were a good blend of heavy rock anthems to tracks with a more melodic, mid-paced groove upholding that traditional classic rock rhythm we all know and love from the likes of LedZep and G’n’R! Suarz Karki pummeled out some fantastic riffs while the vocal range of Girish Pradhan is something truly fascinating; almost inhuman – hitting  extremely high notes that could very well contend against the likes of some of the greats! They ended their set with an insanely cool rendition of AC/DC’s ‘Highway To Hell’ which saw the whole crowd gathered there singing along in perfect unison! Brian Johnson is one of my favourite vocalists to ever exist and Girish Pradhan pulled that song off so perfectly, it’s probably one of the best covers I’ve heard. And that pretty much did it for me – I friggin love this band now. Rock ‘n’ Roll still lives ladies and djentleman; in the form of Girish and The Chronicles!

Bangalore Open Air 2014

A couple of friends had mentioned earlier on that Threinody were a band that would make me love thrash even more so I moved a little bit forward, wading through the sea of black tee-shirts, metal vests and long hair! This Bangalore based band were yet another that took me by surprise because once they hit the stage, I immediately wished I had listened to them earlier. Initially I didn’t know what to expect because all four members came on stage with the biggest, cheekiest grins on their faces but I was glad I went up front for their set because they are definitely one of the best thrash metal bands I’ve heard/seen! It’s quite hard to describe their sound; they have that classic heavy, raw thrash sound – soaring vocals, aggressive riffs, fat bass lines, they had it all with a good amount of melodic groove. I’m not familiar with their music, but they pretty much nailed every note, every riff with minimal pauses in between songs while engaging in hilarious banter every now and then with the fans. A fellow gig-goer told me that this band has been around for over 15 years and that certainly reflected in their set. There wasn’t a single person who was standing still during Threinody’s set; it was a madhouse and an absolute thrashfest!

Having almost come close to being knocked down from the outbreak of a threatening mosh-pit, one which the band were very very proud of, I downed a few glasses of water and prepared myself for one of India’s favourite bands,  Kryptos! This was my first time seeing the titans of thrash live and they certainly didn’t disappoint! Their songs packed a punch, they played a really tight set and  put on a mental show! What I loved most about watching this band is the musicianship – every instrument was in sync with the other, and they gave it their all with every song they played. Nolan’s glorious growls and screams were awesome ,coupled with Rohit’s supersonic riffing but to be honest most of the time I had my eyes on drummer Anthony . He is absolutely fierce on his kit, and his expressions, style of playing, reminded me quite a bit of Proscriptor McGovern! Playing a mix of their own comp’s and some epic covers, Kryptos are a classy bunch, and it was certainly clear why the have the fan following that they do. They’re just one of those bands that you need to see live!

Finally it was the moment I had been waiting for for months, ever since the announcement was made. Rotting Christ are more than just a band to me and I could write pages about how much I love and respect them. That being said, you can imagine the sheer joy I felt the moment I saw these Greek metallers walk on stage in the most majestic, regal fashion. It really was like being in the presence of metal Royalty! From the moment Sakis entered and their set began, the crowd burst into a mad rush of mosh pits and flailing limbs, people going absolutely apeshit. Apeshit in fact, is quite an understatement, as I was quite literally stuck to the barrier, windmilling the life out of my neck, I think I even whipped a couple of people in the face with my hair, security included, while simultaneously battling a guy who was definitely a whole foot taller than me. I had tears, I was smiling, I was headbanging, waving like a maniac, and this is just the effect the band has on me. Imagine a few hundred of these and you’ve got yourself a complete riot. They kicked off with the mesmerizing tunes of ‘666’ those eerie greek chants giving you chills down your spine. There were a couple more tracks from their most recent album ‘Kata Ton Daimona Eaytoy’ followed by some much-loved older tracks like ‘In Domine Santhana‘ (almost broke my jaw during this one), ‘King Of A Stellar War‘ and of course ‘Non Servium‘. Fist-pumping and psyching out the crowd and then subsequently quieting down the crazed audience, Sakis Tolis had every single person there under his spell. This man is one of my favourite people/muscians/vocalists/guitarists ever and just watching him made me realize how much I love this band!Every track was played to perfection, all four members making their presence known – Themis Tolis beasted the drums as always, thumping blast beat after blast beat effortlessly guarded by bassist Vagelis and guitarist George who proved to be the backbone’s of the band’s overall sound and indulged in powerful headbanging any chance they got. Not only are they an amazing band in general, but their live performances are indeed more of an experience than just a ‘gig’ you’re attending and having seen these guys earlier this year in Sydney, I knew that it was without a doubt going to be an amazing show, but it was way more brilliant than I imagined it would be. Their style of extreme metal with heavy black and symphonic metal elements is unmatched and boasts nothing but sheer metallic elegance. Taking a final and appreciative bow, the four Greek warriors smiled, applauded, and shook hands with the crowd and handed out guitar picks, one of which I managed to get along with a cheeky wink from Vagelis. Year.Made.

Following the madness that Rotting Christ created, there was no time to catch a breather, as a few minutes later, Kerala’s very own The Down Troddence took to the stage with their usual mysterious persona. I first saw them when they opened for Demonic Resurrection a while ago in Chennai, and I was reeled in by their approach to music.  Given the fact that I love anything folk/traditional fused with death metal, this band is one that really caught my attention. Hardly two minutes into their set and the crowd gathered went stark-raving mad, even I ended up headbanging to the likes of ‘Shiva’ and the crushing ‘Nagavalli‘ despite the fact that I could hardly walk straight. ‘Shiva‘ in fact, is based on a Hindu chant dedicated to Lord Shiva and although it may not be original, the band’s take on this track is admirable in more ways than one.  This six-piece group carry themselves rather magnificently and keep it simple on stage yet somehow managing to deliver some of the heaviest music you’ll hear. The progressive build-up on their tracks, lyrics sung in Sanskrit, menacing riffs and enchanting sections of folk-influenced melody make this band worth your time! They have a massive fan-base who showed nothing but love for the band who in turn put on an electrifying and lively performance! You will not want to sit down when you see these guys play live!

After what seemed like an eternal wait, Destruction finally came on stage and it were instantly met with a roaring applause from the crowd. It was clear the moment they erupted into their first track that they had one objective and that was to obliterate everyone and everything there. Frontman Marcel ‘Schmier’, to put it quite simply is another beast of a man, owning every second of the set on that bass and pulverizing ear drums with his deadly vocals. There’s something about Germans and thrash metal that just go together perfectly! Long-time fans of the Germans would’ve been stoked with the band’s choice of tracks for their set as they played some old favorites like ‘Nailed To The Cross‘, ‘Mad Butcher’ and ‘Bestial Invasion‘ . Drummer (here goes) Wawrzyniec “Vaaver” Dramowicz is certainly not an easy person to watch – he moves at the speed of light while guitarist Mike Sirfringer proved to be a guitar God of sorts. The precision and speed with which this man belts out riffs is no small feat, he was just flawless. I’m not even going to try and describe what the crowd was like when these guys took to the stage – it was chaotic and just downright brutal! People air-guitaring, crowd-surfing, slamming into each other, it was complete and utter madness but the best kind! They definitely proved their reputation as being one of the best in the business. Watching Destruction play live for the first time was  something I’ll never forget. I pretty much understood how apt the band’s name is because it quite literally translates into how their live performances are. Destroy is EXACTLY what they did!

There were a few things that could’ve been different to make the night better!  Sound issues during the headline acts was quite disappointing – it was difficult to hear both Sakis and Schmier when they began and that was a definite let-down given that there weren’t too many problems with the other bands. Also, there were some very disrespectful, extremely stupid people who thought it was funny to throw water on stage, ON Sakis while he was performing, I wanted to wring their necks! It’s things like this that piss me off about gigs. Indoors was also supposed to be a non-smoking area which was not the case considering almost everyone there were armed with cigarettes. Not to be a kill-joy, but these are things that cannot happen during a gig and although it may seem like a bunch of trivial matters, actually add up to the overall success of a great festival/show. But again, that being said, the event was brilliant, the bands were all at the top of their game. Mad props to the promoters/organisers and everyone behind-the-scenes for putting this together and making it a night to remember because it really was. What’s probably the best part is the fact that India is rapidly rising on the world metal map and it’s definitely exciting to know and see that world class bands like Rotting Christ and Destruction are making their way to our exotic land. Promoter Salman Syed announced much to the delight of all the black metal fans in the venue that Napalm Death, Inquisition and Belphegor have been announced for B.O.A’15. If this one  was crazy, I can’t even begin to imagine what it’s going to be like next year!

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