Indian Metallers Wired Anxiety Get Cheeky and Brutal on ‘Yedzavya’ EP

While North America-based metal band Wired Anxiety’s latest songs might be inspired by globally relevant topics like atheism and social media sensationalism, Yedzavya gets its name from a place closer home, translating from Marathi to mean “dumbfuck.”

Vocalist and synth player Dheeraj Govindraju – who is based in Toronto – says the title lent itself to a warm sense of authenticity. “Although Marathi is not our mother tongue, it’s still the language of our hometown where we spent most of our lives and Yedzavya is perfect to describe the set of people we’re talking about,” he adds.

The common theme across three tracks is the irrational behavior of human beings. Govindraju however does point out that bandmate and guitarist Naval Katoch brought the riffs first and then the lyrics began to flow. Where Wired Anxiety have previously let their imagination run wild on their 2016 EP The Delirium of Negation (which explored a dystopian scenario of slavery arising from 24/7 work culture), the goal with songs like “God’s TV,” “#NowTrending” and “Bella Insidia” was more directly commentary-driven. “This time around, I wanted to write about something that expressed ourselves in layman language with modern vocabulary to match the current times. So the approach was to talk about things that are absolutely real and relatable but also something that not a lot of people talk about in a metal song,” Govindraju says.

Joined by drummer Ryan Hurka, bassist Ashwin Shriyan and a composing assist from erstwhile drummer Sumeet Ninawe, Wired Anxiety pick their battle against blind faith on “God’s TV,” a gristly cut that draws from brutal death metal and grind. “#NowTrending,” which stands out for Govindraju’s layered and putridly deep growls, elevates any regular rant about social media idiocy and hate-watching something to an intense level of rage. As it bows out with a drum roll, we’re introduced to “Bella Insidia,” which might just be Wired Anxiety’s darkest, funniest song yet.

Govindraju talks about the time he came across news of actor/model Bella Thorne joining social media platform OnlyFans (more popularly used by sex workers) in August last year, infamously earning over $2 million within a week. Then, he read another article about a man who spends half his monthly income – about $4,000 – on OnlyFans subscriptions, pinning hopes on one day falling in love with one of the many creators. The vocalist says, “For some reason, in between our writing process, these articles came to my mind that I had read a while ago, so I went back to it to see if there’s anything I can do with it. And definitely there was.”

Katoch brings plowing, slow-burn riffs of terror coupled with Govindraju’s Luciferian delivery and that’s not where Wired Anxiety stopped with “Bella Insidia.” They even shot a music video that plays out the song’s premise, complete with seemingly X-rated sequences. The vocalist set up a mood-board and began picking from a list of actors, zeroing in on Bella Mamgetova and Brett Gustafson. Govindraju adds, “Coincidentally, her name also turned out to be ‘Bella.’ Now, let me tell you, I’m not the kind of person to casually say things like ‘It’s a sign from the universe’ but this incident surely made us feel that way.”

There’s more video content coming up – playthroughs and a dive into the concept behind Yedzavya, plus a lyric video for “#NowTrending.” An instrumental version of the EP is expected in 2022 and Wired Anxiety might even start on their fourth EP. “We’re already throwing around song concepts on the phone almost every time me and Naval talk.”

Listen to ‘Yedzavya’ EP below and on more platforms here.