Listen: Delhi Metallers Dementia Return with “I Belong”

Delhi prog metal band Dementia. Photo: Elvis D Anthony

In 2012, members of Delhi prog metal band Dementia put their goal of taking over the Delhi metal scene on hold, stepping away from the stage and studio to pursue full time jobs. The band’s guitarist Ramanan Venkataraman went to study audio engineering at Wapa Music Academy in Chennai, keyboardist Raghav Prabhakar was writing his chartered accountant exams, vocalist Saurabh Roy Chowdhury joined a law firm and preparing to become an army officer and drummer Reet Mukherjee was occupied with his internship at a design house.

Says bassist Rangarajan Venkatraman, who is also part of the band Kraken, “It was in the fall of 2013 when we finally took time off of our schedules and decided to jam and compose new stuff for the debut album and kept the momentum up. We worked on a pledge we took that day and now we have composed around 70 percent of the songs for our debut album.”

The first taste of studio material from Dementia, who started out in 2010, is their 10-minute prog piece “I Belong.” The song crosses into several movements, from chaotic riffs to keyboard-led sections and layered vocals. “I Belong” was tracked, mixed and mastered at Delhi’s Arcube Records, set up by Dementia’s guitarist and Sahil Dhingra, a friend of the band. Rangarajan says this song marked the first time Dementia began experimenting with different tunings and scales to compose material.

With the band back together now, a yet-to-be-titled full-length album is slated to release this year, with more immediate plans for a gig in Delhi. Says Rangarajan about taking Dementia back on stage, “We are in talks with the organisers and our old friends in the scene. It has always been a pleasure to be a part of the capital city’s music scene. The people then and now are wonderful and very humble and approachable.”

Listen to “I Belong” here