Posts Tagged ‘extreme metal’
Chepang
Chepang are a US based “immigrant core” band. I first heard them last year, when they released their EP, Lathi Charge. The impressive debut release was hailed by webzines around the world. The band release their first full length album, Dadhelo last week. The album is a more complex and intense listen compared to Lathi Charge. After multiple listens, I can tell you that it is not your run of the mill grindcore release.
I spoke to guitarist Kshitiz Moktan aka Grandmaster Bhudey about Dadhelo, recording the album and their upcoming shows. Read the interview on Nine Circles.
Roy Dipankar (Royville Productions)
In the past decade, there have been quite a few documentaries focusing on metal music. My personal favourite has been Metal: A headbanger’s journey. Closer home, the few documentaries I seen have been college projects.
Last week I came across a crowdfunding video by film maker Roy Dipankar his documentary, Extreme Nation. This first of it’s kind, it will not only feature the metal scene in India but also neighbouring countries like Pakistan, Sri lanka and Bangladesh.
Find out more about Extreme Nation, the challenges that Roy has faced so far and his plans for the coming months in the interview below.
Photo by Kabir Ahmed
Hi Roy, for those familiar with you please introduce yourself. How did you get into filmmaking?
How did the idea for Extreme Nation come about?
I had always felt for the need to have quality documentation of a show, an interview or a music video in extreme metal music. I am talking in terms of Indian and Asian countries. Most of the information or coverage has been scattered, kind of disorganised.
Filming for Extreme Nation began at the Trendslaughter gig in Bangalore on February 2014. What I had in mind was a docudrama of sorts that would be part documentary, part fiction. This was the initial seed. However as my horizons expanded from city to city, town to town, country to country – I believe there was enough of amazing already happening with real people and events. Hence since late 2013 to now – Extreme Nation has developed to be quite a unique story!
Metal from the Indian subcontinent has it’s own flavor. Though the seed was laid in the west, metal music has gradually metamorphosed into a monster of it’s own kind. Metal music from India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Pakistan and Nepal through it’s various sub-genres, avenues and initiators carry their own story that is akin to the region. We are telling our tales through the eyes and tongue of a leviathan spawned out of our own backyard.
How do you select the bands that feature in the documentary?
Bands and individuals who feature in the film range from old school initiators to current violators of what accounts for blind human faith, mundane routine and beyond the ordinary. Music that is outrageous, boisterous, that defies authority, questions rules, proclaims of all & most things forbidden, through ill art. This film is not just about music or art alone but also about the people of the subcontinent and their inter-relations. That makes an interesting premise.
What is the biggest problem that you faced so far?
Financial constraints and mobility to countries like Bangladesh and Pakistan. Hence sometimes accessibility was a major concern, though I’ve overcome that through technology, networking and a handful of trustworthy individuals.
What are the memorable moments so far? Any funny incidents?
There are many in fact. Missing flights, drunk interviews, head of a metal maniac striking the camera, Hair getting stuck in a tripod, etc. Also once when a band member showed me what he calls a ‘mini horns up’, that was indeed extremely funny.
Tell us more about the crowdfunding project you have started.
This story has been initiated by me but the ultimate resource seemed clear as more and more people contacted me over the last few months in terms of support. Crowdfunding, hopefully will help finance the completion of the film and also involve a mass movement which is exactly what this film deserves.
This is not just a rockumentary highlighting metal musicians in their elements, but also showcases the characters’ personal relationships with a volatile subcontinent steeped in geo-political strife & constant power conflicts.
So this film is important not just for metal heads, or music lovers but as well for those who possess active interest in the political, historical, sociological & ethnographic affairs of the subcontinent and the world at large. It is a fun ride through captivating stories, revelant gigs, places, band and their concepts of the past and present in the extreme underground.
What are your plans for the coming months?
To complete Extreme Nation and apply for festival premieres across. I am also working on the pre-production of a short film; it will be hybrid cinema with mix-media involved (there will be music, though not metal). This short film will try and lay the foundation for a feature film in the making. All I can say right now is that it will be “a psychedelic experience from the underbelly laced with vitriol laden social comment”.
Thanks for answering all our questions. Do you have any final words?
You are welcome! I can only ask for more and more support towards documentary films and of course the best way to do so is begin with my film. This will only help me to bring one unique ethnographic film out of India to you.
Contribute to crowdfunding campaign on Wishberry
Multinational Corporations Interview
The metal scene in Pakistan is really underground. It is hard to find information about bands from the country and even hard to get hold of their music. I was unaware that there were grindcore bands in Pakistan until last week I came across Multinational Corporations from Lahore. The angry duo of Hassan and Sheraz recently released a EP ‘Jamat-al-Maut‘ meaning Congregation of Death in Urdu about the ‘fucked up conditions of living in Pakistan.’ I spoke to the vocalist Hassan about the EP, the writing and recording of the release and also about the metal scene in Pakistan. Read my interview with him below:
Hassan and Sheraz (Left to Right)
Your EP Jamat-al-Maut was released last month. Tell us a bit about the album.
Hassan: The idea of Jamat-al-Maut EP came about at the tail-end of 2012 when MxCx was in hiatus. Aneeq Zaman of Throttle Instinct (Grindcore band from Karachi) made this cool artwork and came up with the title too, and I showed it to Sheraz. We both got stoked as fuck and decided to bring Multinational Corporations back to life. We made the song “Salaab” for the Tam89 Pakistani Punk compilation which announced our arrival back on the scene haha. That and the track “Advertisement Overdose” made up our 2013 Promo. Due to working on other personal projects, university and a little laziness we never could dedicate time to completing the EP in 2013 but we took 4 days out in March 2014 to just let out all our dormant hatred and disgust with everyday life in Pakistan. Musically we wanted to harken back to the days of old school crust punk and grindcore, taking influences from the music and aesthetics of Terrorizer, Brutal Truth, Disrupt, Driller Killer etc. There’s a lot of hardcore punk influences in there too since we love bands like Integrity and Nails and wanted a bit of a fresh touch in there too. So alongside d-beats and blasts you have total mosh parts too hahaha. The lyrical themes present in it are an indicator of the band’s identity and our stance against religious fundamentalism, sectarian divisions, capitalist exploitations, foolish mundane patriotism and everything that grinds our gears. We wanted to make something that we could look back at ten years from now and feel proud of. I think we achieved that much, at least.
How long was the songwriting process for the album?
Hassan: The song-writing process was parallel with the recording process. All songs were written as we recorded. Basically we would discuss a song idea, Sheraz would write riffs and in an hour or two the song was made and recorded. Except for “Salaab,” “Advertisement Overdose,” and “White Collar Communism” which were written in 2013 – Salaab and Advertisement Overdose were a part of our “Promo 2013.” For the lyrics I either used poetry/rants I had written in the past or wrote new lyrics on the spot.
The album was recorded over 4 days. What was the recording process like?
Hassan: Like I said, the recording process ran parallel with the writing process. It was very laid back and fun. I mean, despite all the hate, aggression and rage running rampant in the music – it was just 2 friends having fun and making music that they could relate to. Often friends from other bands we were linked to such as Ahsan from Irritum, Amar from Foreskin, etc were at the recording. Even random strangers were sometimes there watching Sheraz lay down stomping riffs and me put down my vocals. A guy from my university was there taking pictures for some research or something which was really fucking rad as well. In retrospect, it was a ‘hit and run’ job. Once a song was done, we didn’t look back or think much on it. I guess we could have wrote a few more songs or whatever if the electricity wasn’t going after every damn hour but those little frustrations just added into the overall pissed off vibe of the music hahaha. We’re satisfied with all the songs and we listen to them ourselves because they’re shit we wrote for ourselves first and foremost.
How does the album compare to your previous release, “Equality” demo? Hassan: It’s miles and leagues ahead of what we did on “Equality.” That demo was just in our nascent stages and we weren’t completely sure of where we wanted to go with our music. There were also two vocalists on the album – me and Haider. I was more of an old school hardcore, crust, grind kinda guy and Haider was basically a slam and deathcore fan. Once he left the band, me and Sheraz were able to iron out the kind of sound we wanted – the fact that me and Sheraz share a great musical chemistry helped too. We had grown as human beings, as music-makers, as friends, etc since Equality and it shows in Jamat-al-Maut. The production is better, the songs are more defined, the riffs are more badass, the vocals and lyrics are more poignant. But we’re not gonna stand still at Jamat-al-Maut. We know how and where we can improve and we wanna keep on taking things to the next level.
The cd version of the album is going to be released on Salute Records (Sweden) and Extreme Terrot Productions (Holland) will be releasing the tape version. How did the deals come about?
Hassan: Salute Records put out Dionysus CD two years ago and Dionysus is Sheraz’s doom/death/black metal band so we had that connection with him. Salute are great at what they do and are one of the coolest DIY underground labels around. Tony has been doing this for years and knows everything about good promotion, distribution and whatnot – and is overall a very cool guy! Extreme Noise/Grindfather are doing a joint release on tape. I basically got into contact with A-Doom Martin of Extreme Noise Productions after he discovered my other grindcore band Kafir-E-Azam. He runs a really nice label, some awesome bands have put out their stuff through him so it’s gonna be nice working with him! We’re also gonna be on a compilation album with 2-3 new songs, released by his label.
You are also part of Foreskin along with Sheraz. Sheraz is also part of Dionysus. Do you have any other bands? How do you’ll manage between the bands?
Hassan: Managing between bands is not such a big problem for me since I have just one job to do – scream on a microphone. The real busy motherfucker is Sheraz ahaha. He’s a badass guitarist and a dedicated individual, splitting time between Dionysus (Doom/Black/Death), Irritum (Funeral Doom), Foreskin (Thrash/Hardcore), Flaw (Experimental Rock), Ilhaam (Black Metal), Marwolaeth (Death Metal). He does most of the songwriting for all of them as well as the actual recording and it’s just crazy. Whenever you’re at his place, something is going on musically and I think he may be starting some new project soon too! As for me I mainly dwell in the realm of grindcore with my band Kafir-E-Azam with Myosis guitarist Asadullah Qureshi and Nihilist Holiday which is a noise/grind/punk/industrial/etc long-distance project with Jeff Fischer. My first band was Foreskin which I began as a crossover thrash band but it’s grown a lot while still being a mix of hardcore punk and thrash metal, Sheraz also plays in it.
You also have a blog Eternal Abhorrence. Can you recommend bands from Pakistan that we should check out.
Hassan: Yeah Eternal Abhorrence was started after I ended my Paki Metal blog “The Iron Markhor.” I lost interest in Pakistani music and wanted to focus on the hardcore/metal/grind/etc bands from foreign countries, including India. I’ve managed to do some interviews with my favorite bands Doom and Integrity as well as talk to prominent US Hardcore bands Skinfather and Xibalba so I’m content with how the blog has developed. Being able to make connections in India through partnerships with Kunal have helped me a lot as well. As far as recommendations go. Apart from the bands I’ve mentioned so far, check out Bvlghvm (Powerviolence), Marg (Punk Rock/Heavy Metal), Tabahi (Thrash Metal), Lohikarma (Post-Metal/Black Metal), Necktarium (Shoegaze/Black Metal). Check all the names I’ve already dropped in my answers too!
Any Final words?
Hassan: Don’t restrict yourself to any one genre. Don’t attach yourself sentimentally to any single frame of thought. Keep an open mind. Don’t let the bastards keep you down. Know your rights and always keep a DIY mindset. Cuz in the end no one’s gonna do you any favors.
Listen to Jamat Al Maut below
Trendcrusher 