Djentleman’s Club: Murk Blare

Murk Blare. Photo: Dhruv Immortal

Who: The Delhi progressive heavy metallers got together in 2012 with one aim ”“ “to keep it [music] as groovy as possible,” says vocalist Vipul Verma. And he’s not talking about it like a hippie straight out the sixties. “The Tormentor,” “The Machine” and their latest track, “Chronos” define the Murk Blare sound heavy and filled with rage. Although the band is on a six-month break since guitarist Anirudh Rai is studying music production on a year-long course at Swarnabhoomi Academy of Music in Chennai, Verma says the band will continue to work on material for a full-length album.

Why Djent? Says Verma with a laugh, “We have fun doing this. We thought, ”˜Let’s make it tough’.” The vocalist says he’s most inspired by the likes of Randy Blythe [from Lamb of God] and Jon Howard [from Canadian metal band Threat Signal], and he was introduced to djent by Rai. While he says Murk Blare listens to everything from jazz to metal to EDM, he’s never wanted to take advantage of the diversity of prog metal and add clean vocals. Says Verma, “I never felt it would fit with our sound. Our new material has become much more technical.”

Spin this: Their latest single “Chronos,” re-leased in November last year, that churns riff after riff as Verma growls on.