India leaves its mark on the global metal scene

Congrats on your first article mate, its come out swell.

Hope some one sells these in India. I am tired of pirating stuff i revere.

- * - Slayer, in a Muslim country? - * -

WOW.

I sense a lot of Demonstealer black magic around this.
Sahil Makhija is the unsung hero of Indian metal dudes.

Really brought the thunder down with this dispatch though man. No Sufi Rock ? Would have added a asian zing to the whole thing.

yea, no Paki metal?

Junoon, Aaroh and Black Warrant are the good ones that come to mind.

I personally feel that many wouldn’t consider “sufi rock” metal. This movie is dedicated purely to metal. I completely agree with you and i kinda like the voice these sufi singers have, the purity of it. I actually listen to a lot of Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan and Jagjit Singh as well. :P….but then the effect of the movie wouldn’t be much cause he wouldn’t be able to do justice to the diversity of styles. Its better concentrated and in-depth.
Zubin: The one Paki band that comes to mind is Dusk. I’ve heard their EP on Demonstealer Records called Rise of the Eastern Blood. They are fucking insane.
Monkey: They don’t have any sourcing agents in India. You will have to download it. I had to wait a year before i could lay my hands on the first part.
Thanks Pappu.

@zubin

I dunno bout aaroh and black warrant, but junoon was more rock than metal… in fact i dont remeber anything even remotely metalish about them…

@neil

Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, may his soul rest in peace, i guess you can call him sufi… bu Jagjit Singh? he’s a hard core Ghazal singer… he’s never even remotely done anything sufi-ish. I guess you were looking more at Abida Parveen? And i agree they have tremendous purity and emotion in their voices and the way they sing, completely in flow…

When we are touched by a song, it is because the artist cannot hide himself.
– Leonard Cohen

@ Lilydrums:
Dude, I didn’t mean it that way. I know Jajgit Singh is a ghazal maestro but I just said it along Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan implying that I like vocal ranges within that range. I’m sorry if I didn’t make myself clear enough.

My bad with Junoon.
I meant to say EP. ( yes there is a band with that name )

@Neil
Mizraab, Anesthezia and others have brought metal to a bunch of people who are going though the actual feeling of what it is to live in a warring, dictatorial system. They have sufi influences too. Quite a blend it is.

Thats what makes these bands unique. These diverse influences add a touch that cannot be replicated you know. I mean, a lot of bands can cover Metallica, Maiden, etc. And think about it this way, these guys have an accent and a mighty sound. The sound can be replicated through the patchwork and some bands can pull it off to the fucking limit. But, our style, for example, I have friends in a Bombay based grunge band called Rosemary. These guys are using a bloody “tanpura” in one of their originals called Bombay. Now I’m not saying that other foreign bands don’t do it, they do, but the difference in the styles, when its ours, and when they’re using whats ours its great. Thats one reason I like sufi music. And the unique sound that we can bring, given our classical backgrounds can be the telling point of difference between our top bands and these other western bands. And if anyone here tells me that we don’t have top notch bands who just lose out due to the small scene and lack of funds and other such related topics, please don’t bother replying to this.

@ Neil

Good point.

Oh and Zubin.
I heard Paanchi, by Mizraab. It is unfuckingbelievable. Do you know where i could get more of their stuff from ?

hehehe… Prashant u RoCK.

I heard Junoon, Mizraab, EP and Black Warrant. Junoon isnt metal at all, Mizraab has some serious music to offer. EP was more of a nu-metal band than anything else, whereas black warrant has some good punch.

Was Tom Araya really referring to India when he said that? As much as I love Slayer…..just wow.