Gig Preview: Eccentric Pendulum, Escher’s Knot and Godless Perform in Bengaluru

Escher’s Knot – Madhav Ayachit, Siddhartha Ramanathan, Abijith Rao, Manu Krishnan, Anshuman
Mishra (from left). Photo: courtesy of the band

Bands such as prog metallers Escher’s Knot and Eccentric Pendulum, who have been around for nearly a decade in the Indian metal circuit, haven’t put the do-it-yourself ethos behind them. While most bands who have been around that long are content waiting for promoters to call them, metal gig series Septic Progression was born out of creating a sense of community among bands across the country.

Says Escher’s Knot vocalist Abijith Rao, “Our aim is to take Septic Progression to different cities. Genre is secondary, because it’s more about making it a part of the local gig scene.” Originally kickstarted in 2012 by Eccentric Pendulum, Hyderabad metallers Skrypt and now-defunct Bengaluru thrash metal band Theorized, the idea was to have bands from one city play in another. Eccentric Pendulum guitarist Arjun Mulky says, “We haven’t found like-minded people in other cities yet, but we know it doesn’t work with bands who have a fixed price.”

Now in its fifth edition, Septic Progression takes place on September 11th in Bengaluru and all bands are bringing something new to the stage. Rao says Escher’s Knot will perform unreleased material such as “Of Theory and Conspiracy” and “Mechanical Eye,” part of their upcoming nine-track full-length album.

Godless, who released their debut EP Centuries of Decadence earlier this year, make a stop in Bengaluru en route to metal festival Deccan Rock in Hyderabad later this month. Bassist Abbas Razvi says the growing interest in the band is a result of luck but also their shared vision of “how to sound and how we perform”. He adds, “We didn’t have a different setlist either. But we’ll debut a new song in Bengaluru.” Written last month, Razvi says the as-yet untitled song started off with a punk/grind-influence riff that’s now made the song “a lot faster and thrashier”.

The show also means double duty for vocalist Kaushal L.S. (who recently became even busier by joining Mumbai brutal death metallers Gutslit), who fronts Eccentric Pendulum and Godless. Razvi says, “We knew it [Kaushal playing with two bands in one night] was going to happen. He’s building up stamina.”

Incidentally, Kaushal’s last double duty was also Eccentric’s previous show, alongside avant-garde metallers Orchid in February. But at Septic Progression, Eccentric Pendulum have an all-new set. Says Mulky, “We’re playing all the songs we wrote in the last six months and a couple of old songs.”  As predicted, the new material has the band’s crazy song titles, from “Encaged Visions of the Unobstructed” to “Narcissistic Myopia” and “In Pretence.” Mulky adds about the songs, “They’re a lot heavier. You can see the evolution towards a more tech-death sound.”

Septic Progression V ft Escher’s Knot, Eccentric Pendulum and Godless takes place on September 11th, 2016 at Indigo Live Music Bar, Bengaluru. Entry: Rs 500 (including Rs 200 cover charge). Event details here.