Melodic Death Metal takes time to digest, that is a fact and one needs to have the ear for it and the patience to listen to this genre without being harshly opinionated on considering this as "Noise".
Dark Tranquility is considered one of the Pioneers of this act and it took more time to me than others to start liking this band. Whilst its similar compatriots "In Flames" were easier to start liking. The frontman Mikael Stanne loves to scream and he has a very distinct style of the death growl. "Wonders at your feet" is the first one which got stuck to my head.
News of the pioneers coming to India and that too Hyderabad BITS Campus of all places was like having an Oasis in a Desert, no offense to the growing underground scene at my hometown but metal as such is not a regular plate of annam-pappu-avakai combo which you get to listen when you switch on the local radio stations or browse though the various Planet-M or Sangeet Sagar outlets. The last time I was at a metal gig at Hyderabad was at BITS (Pilani) Hyderabad (more like State Bank of Patiala - Mumbai branch). The scene at that gig was mainly comprised of local bands who were battling it out at the college fest. Death Metal/Headbanging/Green Fuel dominated the 2010 Fest where a sparsely occupied college football ground was the host to 8-10 bands. Many a fresher stood amused at the gig, best part of it was that the gigs went on till wee hours of Morning.
The coming of such a huge International act to BITS for their college fest was a truly commendable achievement as it will generate a buzz among the local college kids who would surely wake up and take notice of the band and subsequently some would pick up a CD and be on his way to become a metal-head! Opeth at IIT Chennai, Porcupine Tree at IIT Mumbai are good examples of this.
Dark Tranquility is considered one of the Pioneers of this act and it took more time to me than others to start liking this band. Whilst its similar compatriots "In Flames" were easier to start liking. The frontman Mikael Stanne loves to scream and he has a very distinct style of the death growl. "Wonders at your feet" is the first one which got stuck to my head.
News of the pioneers coming to India and that too Hyderabad BITS Campus of all places was like having an Oasis in a Desert, no offense to the growing underground scene at my hometown but metal as such is not a regular plate of annam-pappu-avakai combo which you get to listen when you switch on the local radio stations or browse though the various Planet-M or Sangeet Sagar outlets. The last time I was at a metal gig at Hyderabad was at BITS (Pilani) Hyderabad (more like State Bank of Patiala - Mumbai branch). The scene at that gig was mainly comprised of local bands who were battling it out at the college fest. Death Metal/Headbanging/Green Fuel dominated the 2010 Fest where a sparsely occupied college football ground was the host to 8-10 bands. Many a fresher stood amused at the gig, best part of it was that the gigs went on till wee hours of Morning.
The coming of such a huge International act to BITS for their college fest was a truly commendable achievement as it will generate a buzz among the local college kids who would surely wake up and take notice of the band and subsequently some would pick up a CD and be on his way to become a metal-head! Opeth at IIT Chennai, Porcupine Tree at IIT Mumbai are good examples of this.
Our journey to the far off BITS campus was quite a tiring one, the day train journey from Pune to Hyderabad which our Railways had chosen to change the "express" to passenger did not help matters at all, after a quick pit stop at Madguy's we made our way to the campus which was quite far from the twin city limits. This being a in-campus gig had a lot of no-no's so one had to behave ;) while being inside the campus. The gig organizers and SPOC's had confidently confirmed that all would start by 1830 and we would wind up by 2230 sharp. We reached at around 1830 and the सब कुछ चलता है attitude ensured that there were last minute arrangements for the main stage and the bands were yet to start sound-check, which took a lot of time to wind up.
The gig started off with the winners of the Battle of Bands concert of this year, a band from Chennai (my likening with forgetting names prohibits me from posting it). This was followed up with another Swedish Metalcore band who were good and got the crowd going. This was followed up by Kryptos who were really good despite having their regular lead guitarist not present. This really got the metal heads going and a mini-mosh pit kicked off much to the amusement of the local residents of BITS most of whom were caught unawares and bore the brunt of it.
The onset of the band was really good which reminded me of the Iron Maiden Somewhere back in Time tour (VDO to be tagged later). By the time the main act started the crowd had built up and we were ready to lap up the awesomeness. By the time the Fatalist started the moshpit grew bigger and a mini wall of death was also on show. What was really interesting to see is the humility of the band who really thanked the audience/India for calling them and reminded us that they really loved to come here which was quite startling considering that they are death metal!!
Tentative Setlist:
1. At the Point of Ignition
2. The Fatalist
3. Damage Done
4. Lost To Apathy
5. Monochromatic Stains
6. The Gallery
7. The Wonders At Your Feet
8. Iridium
9. Shadow in Our Blood
10. Focus Shift
11. Icipher
12. Dream Oblivion
13. Misery's Crown
14. Haven
15. Punish My Heaven
2. The Fatalist
3. Damage Done
4. Lost To Apathy
5. Monochromatic Stains
6. The Gallery
7. The Wonders At Your Feet
8. Iridium
9. Shadow in Our Blood
10. Focus Shift
11. Icipher
12. Dream Oblivion
13. Misery's Crown
14. Haven
15. Punish My Heaven
Encore
16. Final Resistance
17. ThereIn
18. Terminus (Where Death Is Most Alive)
16. Final Resistance
17. ThereIn
18. Terminus (Where Death Is Most Alive)
What was memorable from the gig was the presence of a Swedish Flag and the enthusiasm of the college folks who were really new to metal considering that this was a death metal concert. They lapped up whatever the artists had to offer wherein groups of girls were even seen headbanging when it was quite evident that they were new to it!
The entire show went off well much to our surprise which we were sceptical that might be a dud considering that this was a Hyderabad college where it was being held. The dust finally settled down but the memories of DT will be with me for a long time.
