Jabalpur Metalcore Band Cynic Bliss Working on New Material
The four-member band, who released their debut EP in April, discuss their new single “Desiccated”
Jabalpur metalcore band Cynic Bliss. Photo: Courtesy of the band
Just as we’d come across a metal-hungry scene in the town of Nasik a couple of years ago, central India’s metal scene is slowly picking up. While the city of Indore has spawned bands such as groove metallers Zero Gravity [who competed at Hornbill last year], experimental metal band Acrimony has been pushing metal in Bhopal since 2008. The town of Jabalpur is now up on the metal map after metalcore band Cynic Bliss released their debut EP, Never Ending Conundrum, in April.
Although Jabalpur bands such as heavy metal/hard rock band Dark Infinity and metallers Afterlife both started out in 2010, Cynic Bliss, who formed in late 2012, are the only ones to have already released an EP and a music video. Says founding member and drummer Palash Verma, “It doesn’t matter how many listeners we have in our own state or town, because we get listeners and fans that truly like our music and really want to witness it live.”
Verma says finding fellow metal musicians who were really interested in the genre beyond bands such as Iron Maiden and Metallica was difficult, but he recruited guitarist Ralice Anthony and vocalist Prakash Gupta for their interest in promoting metal in Jabalpur. Cynic Bliss has so far performed at various college competitions in and around Jabalpur, but haven’t played club gigs yet. Rues Verma, “Bands from metros get better platforms to share their music compared to bands from small cities. Everyone from fans to organizers have a certain mentality towards bands from smaller towns.”
Never Ending Conundrum was the first step towards getting recognized outside of Jabalpur for Cynic Bliss, who roped in Mumbai extreme metal band Demonic Resurrection’s bassist Ashwin Shriyan to record the album. This time, since Shriyan is touring UK with his band, Cynic Bliss are recording their new single “Desiccated” with Pune experimental metal band Noiseware’s guitarist-producer Adhiraj Singh. Says Verma about the new single, which is slated to release in August, “It’s based on how to find a cure for a particular problem, not to back off from the problem without facing it and fighting it.”
Watch Cynic Bliss’s music video for “Scream of Silence”
