The Mumbai death metallers talk about their debut self-titled album and launch plans
Atmosfear - (from left) Shawn Phulpagar, Bruce McKoy and Mayank Sharma. Photo: Kushal Umralkar
About a decade after they first came together, Mumbai death metal trio Atmosfear sure have stayed true to their vision””delivering a heavyweight album. Their debut 11-track release Atmosfear””out today””proves why less is more, even if you’re making death metal. Says drummer Mayank Sharma, “When the band started, all these things that we’ve put together over the years, the album was always on our mind.”
Frontman and co-founder Bruce McKoy says when the band originally started out as a five-member unit, he was influenced by everything from Iron Maiden to Metallica, but vocalist Ulhas Baliga put him on to death metal giants such as Cannibal Corpse, Deicide and Obituary. McKoy says, “When we wrote the album, some of them were quite rough. As time passed, we got better. There were many changes that happened when we were recording. We thought when we heard it back, ”˜Oh I can add some stuff here’.”
With Sharma and McKoy as the longest-standing members, the drummer says they’ve seen each other grow as musicians over the years. He adds, “We’ve had five bassists changed up at different stages. We’ve had some amazing bass players who have changed the way we think about our sound.”
‘Atmosfear’ album artwork. Art: Aaron Pinto
The majority of the self-titled album covers the standard pissed-off death metal territory for lyrics, from corruption to politics to being a corporate slave (“Slavery Lives”) and the 26/11 Terrorist attacks in Mumbai (“Hell on Earth”). Their most recent addition to the album is “Delude and Dominate.” McKoy says, “It’s about politics and corruption ”“ it’s about our current political scenario, but not about anyone in particular.”
The punishing track will premier at Atmosfear’s launch gigs in the coming months, with shows slated in Mumbai and Bengaluru. Apart from thanking recording engineer Ashwin Shiryan, Sharma is most thankful to fans. “People have been waiting and constantly asking us about it. Even a month ago, people were asking us, ”˜What’s up with the album?’ These people have pushed us to work faster and thanks to them.”
Stream “Delude and Dominate” below and buy the album on OKListen.
Atmosfear tracklist:Â
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