Bhayanak Maut

Photograph by Bajirao Pawar

In my eyes, Bhayanak Maut was a troll band when they first started out. I recall the original lineup ”“ then they had a drummer who couldn’t play drums. I don’t remember when Rahul Hariharan, Vinit Bharucha and Vinay Venkatesh joined, but once that happened, I think things turned for the better and they started taking the band seriously. I know they’ll hate me for this, but for me BM became the reckoning force they are now only after they got their second guitar player, Aditya (Amidstya, courtesy his previous band Amidst the Chaos) ”˜How-Can-This-Guy-Be-A-Shrink’ Nair. His introduction into the band changed their sound completely. I mean, the first time I heard them as a five-piece, my jaw was right next to the chewing gum wrapper I had just thrown on the ground.

These guys are the scene ”“ I can count my favourite metal bands in Mumbai on one hand, BM, Demonic Resurrection and Zygnema. They just delivered a knockout album this year that’s expanding the scope of the scene and knowing them, they’re going top that the next time they release one. It’s a combination of elements that makes BM the force of nature that they are: A giant six-foot bearded monster of a vocalist that they call Vinay, backed by two skull-pounding drummers Rahul and Jai Row Kavi, (they’ve always been lucky with drummers), with a nut-crushing low end provided by Vinit and Amidstya and Venky’s twin guitar attack that hits you like a 100-tonne hammer.

By Prashant Shah of Scribe