Demonic Resurrection Dominate Casio Presents Rolling Stone Metal Awards 2015

Demonic Resurrection wins the Best Band award at RSMA 2015 Photo: Prashin Jagger

History repeats itself more often than you can imagine. At the sixth edition of the Casio Presents Rolling Stone Metal Awards at Blue Frog in Mumbai, it was a night for past winners to reclaim the coveted Gibson Flying V guitar trophy. Mumbai extreme metallers Demonic Resurrection, who won two awards at the first ever RSMA in 2010, picked up a total of six awards this year, including Best Band (Critics’ Choice), Best Drummer [Virendra Kaith, who was a shoe-in considering he was also nominated for his work on Mumbai hardcore band Scribe’s album Hail Mogambo] and Best Keyboardist [Mephisto].

DR also won two public choice awards for Best Band and Best Album, just as they’d trumped competition through the public vote to win Best Song [“The Unrelenting Surge of Vengeance”] and Best Album [The Return to Darkness] in 2010. Although Delhi math rock/metal band Kraken racked up thousands of votes to beat DR for Best Song, “Dance Jane Dance.” Like Bengaluru-based folk metallers The Down Troddence’s big win at RSMA 2014, Kraken were among the upcoming metal bands to to win Best Song. Other upcoming bands nominated included Delhi prog metallers Colossal Figures, who delivered a raging set at their first Mumbai gig in four years, throwing in everything from “Lost” to “Brand New Sun.”

Although Colossal Figures had to walk away empty handed, prog metal still reigned among the awards, through Skyharbor. Currently in the midst of a back-breaking 29-day tour across Europe to promote their second album Guiding Lights, no one from the band was present to collect the their tally of four awards, including Best Song (Critics’ Choice), Best Album (Critics’ Choice), Best Guitarist and Best Bassist.

Scribe vocalist Vishwesh Krishnamoorthy, who left the band late last year to concentrate on filmmaking, took home the Best Vocalist award for the second time, repeating 2010 all over again. Krishnamoorthy’s quirky vocals stood over and out against the likes of Shashank Bhatnagar [nominated for his new metal project, Hyperion] and DR’s Sahil Makhija. Krishnamoorthy said, “This is for all my jaanemans in Scribe.” Shillong experimental metallers Aberrant had five nominations but walked away with a trophy for an award without nominees, for Best Emerging Band.

Supplementing the celebration of Indian metal were prog metallers The Minerva Conduct, who made a flawless Mumbai debut, followed by Abraxas, who returned to the RSMA stage, with a lineup change and heavier sound on songs like “Deviation,” “Immaculate” and “Seventh Element.” The night was rounded off by Bengaluru death/thrash metallers Inner Sanctum, who were promoting their debut album Legions Awake, which is slated for release next month. They proved why they’re one of the best metal bands in the country to catch at an indoor gig, with a dual guitar attack and the relentless growl of frontman Gaurav Basu with tracks like “Legions Awake,” “March of the Wounded” and early material like “Agent of Chaos.”

Rolling Stone Metal Awards 2015 winners

Best Emerging Band – Aberrant

Best Album Artwork – Demonic Resurrection – The Demon King (Michal ‘Xaay’ Loranc)

Best Keyboardist – Mephisto – Demonic Resurrection

Best Bassist – Krishna Jhaveri -Skyharbor

Best Drummer – Virendra Kaith – Demonic Resurrection

Best Guitarist – Keshav Dhar and Devesh Dayal – Skyharbor

Best Vocalist – Vishwesh Krishnamoorthy – Scribe

Best Band (Public Choice) – Demonic Resurrection

Best Album (Public Choice) – Demonic Resurrection

Best Song (Public Choice) – Kraken – “Dance Jane Dance”

Best Band (Critics’ Choice) – Demonic Resurrection

Best Album (Critics’ Choice)– Skyharbor – Guiding Lights

Best Song (Critics’ Choice) – Skyharbor – “Evolution”