Premiere: Bengaluru Rock/Metal Artist Arav Krishnan’s Blistering Single ‘To Take The Fall’

Despite being part of a different generation, Bengaluru-based rock/metal artist Arav Krishnan aka ArK made his way into heavy music because of bands ranging from Linkin Park to death metallers Bolt Thrower and glam/hair metal acts. Krishnan continued further down the YouTube recommended section to discover metal from every era, gaining a different perspective on the likes of Metallica.

The 15-year-old says he first heard Metallica when his dad would play “their softer stuff” a few years ago. He adds, “I wasn’t really impressed, but when I found their first four albums in my Eighties thrash metal phase, I was really impressed with how good the songs sounded. The sheer aggression and groove coming from the thrashy riffs got me instantly hooked.”

Krishnan started playing guitar around the age of 12, also when he attended festivals like Bangalore Open Air. A year later, he says his 8th standard school work was manageable, which led him to record his own music. Following his 2020 album Horizon and January 2021 EP Wayfinder, Krishnan has now released an incendiary single called “To Take The Fall,” from the upcoming album The Fallen System, inspired by dystopian works like George Orwell’s novel 1984.

Part of the prolific spurt is aided by the fact that classes are virtual and Krishnan got to use his extra time saved from commuting and put it into creating music. “Now that I’m in 10th though, it has gotten a lot harder, as the workload has increased quite a lot and so have the hours we spend in class,” he adds. Nevertheless, he’s putting in an hour of guitar practice and even gym time as well. “It does take a fair bit of sacrifice, but the whole satisfaction and happiness of being able to make my own music makes it totally worth it,” Krishnan adds.

His latest song ramps up blast beats and imposing growls about systemic failures, even as Krishnan dips into fist-tight death metal riffage and a solo to boot. “To Take The Fall” was produced by Nikhil N.R. from thrash metal band Chaos at Sound Awake Studios in Bengaluru. Krishnan says, “Nikhil bhaiya is just an awesome dude in general! He taught me a lot of stuff and gave me a lot of good advice.”

Krishnan’s goals range from starting up a successful YouTube channel to getting signed to big labels and more, but he’s not too hung up on the how. He acknowledges that metal in India and internationally doesn’t “get the attention they so richly deserve” but says he’s not going to mope about it. “For now, my goals are to become a killer guitarist and vocalist and write some awesome music,” he says.

Watch the video for “To Take The Fall” below. The song is out on streaming platforms on August 10th.