Kryptos Get Back On Track

Anthony Hoover, Nolan Lewis, Rohit Chaturvedi and Ganesh Krishnaswamy
(from left). Photo: Avelli Glow-Lewis

What does it take for a metal band to be big in Germany? Ben­galuru old school met­allers Krptos have been searching for the answer for the last four years. They first per­formed in the country in 2010 with stops in Torgau, Dresden and Niederkruchten dur­ing their Invasion Europa tour. Next, they signed up with German label AFM to re­lease their third album Coils of Apollyon in 2012. In 2013, the four-member band did another run of Europe shows between July and August, but their upcoming Apol­lyon Rising tour, which is slated to start in September, is their biggest yet, includ­ing 18 shows, 10 of which take place with­in Germany.

The band suffered a series of setbacks last year beginning with bassist Jayawant Tewari backing out of their tour due to work commitments and drummer Ryan Colaco quitting the band, citing personal and pro­fessional differences. Within a month, Ben­galuru drummer and long-time Kryptos fan Anthony Hoover [from thrash/black metal band Witchgoat] was called in to replace Colaco, but Kryptos announced they would take a break for the rest of 2013, which also meant pushing back plans to work on their fourth full-length album. Says frontman and founding member Nolan Lewis, “I kinda ex­pect the worst all the time. But we grew apart as band members. Pretty much in the end, we shook hands and said goodbye.” While Ganesh Krishnaswamy, one of the found­ing members of Kryptos, who left the band in 2005 to form Bevar Sea, he was a “natural fit” to replace Tewari permanently, accord­ing to Lewis. Says the frontman of Krishnaswamy, “I think I know him better than his wife. One of the main reasons to have Ganesh and Anthony in the band was be­cause we’re in the same head­space. We’ve been into the same music and hanging out for years.”

With a stable lineup includ­ing Lewis, Krishnaswamy, Hoover and lead guitarist Rohit Chaturvedi, 2014 is already looking like the band’s big year. Kryptos’s gig calendar is packed with reg­ular gigs across the country, a set at Nor­way’s Inferno Metal Festival in April and now the Apollyon Rising tour across Europe. Says Lewis, “This tour was under works for a few months now. [Band manager] Salman was in touch with a few booking agents.” Kryptos joins headliners Italian melodic death metal band Graveworm and German death metal bands Emergency Gate and Ten­side in nine German cities, from Hamburg to Berlin to Nuremberg. Although Kryptos aren’t strangers to tour life, Lewis says this is the first time the band is playing a back-break­ing 16 gigs consecutively. “It was all spread out last time, but this is going to be crazy.”

Once the tour ends, the band will take a short break in Eu­rope. Says Lewis of touring, “Peo­ple think it’s fun and games, but it’s hard work.” Since Kryptos has spent most of the year touring, preparations for the next album have been slow. The band have got a few songs down, but are currently focusing all their attention of perfecting their existing material for the tour. Says Lewis, “We’re playing a 45-minute set at all shows. 80 percent of it includes Coils of Apollyon and we might play one or two songs from the earlier albums.”

This article appeared in the September 2014 issue of ROLLING STONE India.