Godless Release Knockout Album ‘States of Chaos’

On the way back from their album launch gig in Guwahati, metal band Godless’ founder and bassist-composer Abbas Razvi says they also made a stop in Shillong, even though they didn’t have a gig. “It’s been a while since we’ve been in the North East. We wanted to come back to Shillong anyway to chill,” Razvi says.

A moment of rest is certainly well-deserved for one of the most determined metal bands in the country right now, especially given the number of country-wide tours Godless has ramped up since the release of their 2016 EP Centuries of Decadence and Swarm EP in 2018. After three years that involved lineup changes, canceled international tours and more, the death metallers have unveiled their unsparing debut full-length album, States of Chaos.

Released on November 19th, the States of Chaos tour was soon underway, with shows in Guwahati, New Delhi, Hyderabad and Bengaluru. On December 8th, they perform at Antisocial in Mumbai. “We’re trying to focus on each show and it’s a completely D.I.Y. thing,” says Razvi. Ask him how they’ve managed to put together a tour after a gap owing to the pandemic and the bassist pauses for a moment. “Metal is the last genre to start off in this pandemic when it comes to live shows. It was a bit difficult,” he adds.

Godless may have some convincing to do, but like most bands who have come, gone and stayed in metal in India, Razvi knows how to run their show. Their performance at Imperfecto in Delhi was the first metal gig at the venue, while this is Godless’ first gig at Antisocial. They also brought on fresher supporting acts in each city; Guwahati featured newly formed death-grind band Catatonic (featuring former Plague Throat vocalist Nangsan Lyngwa), Hyderabad featured slam/grind act Maniacal Slaughter and tech-death band Septic and New Delhi featured brutal death/grind act Phlegmicide. In Mumbai, they’re supported by Atmosfear, Carnage Inc. and thrash act Kill The King (making their live debut). Razvi says, “It’s more been decided on the basis of bands we’d like to see and enjoy ourselves. Some scenes (in cities) are not active right now so we really had to look.”

For their own set, the band not only had a different lineup – drummer Vishesh Singh stepped in for Aniketh Yadav and guitarist Moiz Mustafa now does all the heavy lifting minus outgoing guitarist Ravi Nidamarthy – but also more songs to choose from. Razvi says about their setlist, “We didn’t write thinking of live [shows] and we’ve played about four songs off the album. It’s a longer show and it’s about pulling off that live intensity.” Among the tracks off States of Chaos, the bassist points to songs like “Cormorant” and “Fluxion” being important new additions. “‘Cormorant’ is a little different, there’s lots of layers and it’s a different experience to play that live. ‘Fluxion’ is short and chaotic, so that’s been a fun one to play,” Razvi adds.

Driven by the need to do things differently for a full-length on several fronts, States of Chaos is also issued on vinyl, a first for Godless. “We also have box sets which we made, it makes things interesting. We sold a lot of those,” Razvi says. The band has received more international orders than purchases within India, which also points to the need for getting back to Europe. Godless toured Europe in 2019 with German old-school death metallers Divide, but the pandemic continues to raise a question mark on this front. “Right now, bands are still canceling tours in Europe. The situation is really unstable.  We might focus on touring Europe in the second half of 2022,” Razvi says.

Godless, Atmosfear, Carnage Inc. and Kill The King perform at Antisocial, Lower Parel in Mumbai on December 8th, from 7 pm onwards. Get details here.