Gig Preview: Entombed Metal Festival Anniversary Edition, Pune

Anarchy will perform at Entombed Metal Fest. Photo: Courtesy of the band.

Two years ago, Pune’s metal scene didn’t see a lot of action ”“ with major venues such as The High Spirits and Arc Asia only hosting rock and electronica acts. Even the city’s most well-known metal band, experimental metallers Noiseware, were mostly off the radar concentrating on personal projects and playing one-off shows. Even when gig organizers formed events and artist management company Frameshift Initiatives decided to kick off their gig series Entombed Metal Fest [EMF]in 2012, they were climbing an uphill road. Says EMF co-founder Sanjeev Gupta, “Our idea was to do a gig every three months. The turnout at the first gigs were about 100 people.”

Frameshift also took EMF to Mumbai twice in the last two years, when the lineup featured Mumbai bands such as death grind act Gutslit, alongside Shillong tech-death band Plague Throat and Delhi prog death metal band Fragarak in September 2013 and death metallers Reptilian Death in March this year. Says Gupta, “The response [in Mumbai] was not so encouraging, but at least we get exposure.” This week, EMF’s anniversary edition heads back to Pune, featuring a headline set by Mumbai extreme metallers Demonic Resurrection and performances by Pune bands such as thrash metallers Anarchy, prog rock/metal act The Abel Projekt, metalcore band Adamantium and death metallers Cruoris. Gupta mentions that EMF serves as a platform to boost the Pune metal scene, hosting at least one headline act from outside of Pune and providing performance time for local bands.

EMF marks Demonic Resurrection’s first pub gig in Pune in four years. Says frontman Sahil Makhija aka The Demonstealer, “I guess I’m going to see a lot of new faces.” DR, fresh from their UK tour and playing The Music Festival in Chennai, will perform songs off their just-released fourth album The Demon King and a few older songs such as “The Unrelenting Surge of Vengeance.” Says Makhija of the difference between pub gigs in UK and India, “They’re very similar, but you get a better deal here in terms of sound gear. Plus, there are bigger audiences here, but that’s since we’re from India.”

Pune thrash metallers Anarchy are looking forward to their first time at EMF. Says vocalist Tabish Khidir, “I’ve attended three of the Entombed gigs in Pune and they were great. They happened in the six months when no metal gigs were happening in Pune. It really picked up the scene.” Anarchy, who came together in 2013, raised money from their gig earnings to record their first single “The Dark Side,” which released in May this year. Says Khidir, “It [recorded material] is a priority. The writing process is always on. We plan to release an EP or an album in 2015.” Anarchy’s set for EMF includes four songs, including a new one called “The Heroes of Time.” Says Khidir, “It’s a combination of melodic parts and aggression.”

Entombed Metal Fest takes place on August 30th, 2014 at Tarawade Clarks Inn, Pune, from 4.30 pm onwards. Entry: Rs 400. Event details here.

Listen to “The Dark Side” by Anarchy