Metal Series Blackblood Celebrates Three Years in Action
Shillong death metal unit Plague Throat, Bengaluru prog/mathcore band Orchid, Hyderabad metallers Hostilian and more will perform this week
Bengaluru avant/prog/mathcore band Orchid will perform at Blackblood 15. Photo: Courtesy of the artist
For the last three years, rock and metal gig series Blackblood has been slowly but surely making its mark in the Mumbai circuit. Started in April 2016 by promoter Adit Khanzode, Blackblood has hosted everyone from metallers Primitiv to death metallers Godless, hardcore band Death By Fungi and many more.
On April 20th, Blackblood scales up like never before – the 15th edition to mark the third anniversary brings together Shillong death metallers Plague Throat, Hyderabad metallers Hostilian, Bengaluru avant-garde/mathcore band Orchid, Pune metallers Dead Exaltation and Mumbai heavy metallers Bloodkill.
Of course, none of the journey has been easy for Khanzode and everyone who’s pitched in along the way. Blackblood received donations worth about ₹20,000 for their first year celebration gig in 2017 and it’s slowly moved from Belapur to The Habitat in Khar. Khanzode adds, “I wouldn’t say it’s a thankless job, because organizing heavy music gigs regularly is more like building a community, where people who are attending gigs feel responsible for the scene as much as the bands or the organizer does.”
Although Blackblood has had its continuity threatened at least a few times over – Khanzode had hosted at least one ‘final’ edition before – the fact that it has run for three years meant it got the attention of bands from across the country. Orchid vocalist Kaushal L.S., who played with Godless in November, says he loves the atmosphere of the shows. “It’s got this underground kind of feeling, just a lot of people having fun. It’s got the grit of the underground. I told the guys [in Orchid] about the show and they were more than ready to play.”
While there’s no set regularity to Blackblood, 15 editions in three years still shows consistency. Khanzode adds, “Successful or not, I‘d love to keep doing this till it is within my capabilities, and yes there would be not one but a few editions of Blackblood by the end of this year. If possible, we are planning to move it out of Mumbai and make other cities taste Blackblood too.”
Blackblood 15 takes place at Above the Habitat, Mumbai on April 20th, 2019. Entry: Rs 500. Get tickets here. Event details here.
