Midhaven to Release Debut Album

Midhaven. Photo: Akhila Shankar

Four-member progressive rock/metal band Midhaven’s frontman Karan Kaul is rather disenchanted with the superhero film, The Avengers, and the fuss around Thor, the Norse god who is also a superhero in the comic book-turned-movie franchise. Says Kaul, “I have read Greek, Norse, Indian and a lot more mythology, but I don’t get why everyone thinks Thor and Odin and the rest are the best.” Kaul, also an avid gamer, knows his mythology. He combined his interest in gaming and mythology for Midhaven’s debut Spellbound, a concept album that has been inspired by the action adventure video game God of War and Indian mythological figure Shiva, the god of destruction.

The Mumbai-based band, who formed in 2011, took to the idea of concept albums after they got hooked onto sludge metal band Mastodon. Midhaven began work on Spellbound last year with Jordan Veigas, producer and bassist of hardcore metal band Reverrse Polarity. As a result of working with Veigas, every track includes bass distortion, jokes Kaul. He adds, “We had 14 tracks down but chose nine and scratched the rest.”

Midhaven’s connection with the hardcore band didn’t just end there. Former Reverrse Polarity vocalist Viraaj Saxena joined Midhaven as a sessions drummer on Spellbound. While recording new material, Midhaven were approached by Universal Music artists and repertoire in-charge Sridhar TVN. The label will launch both Reverrse Polarity and Midhaven’s debut albums in the coming months. Considering previous bands signed to Universal, including prog rock band Coshish, extreme metal band Demonic Resurrection and death metal band Reptilian Death, Midhaven are among the newer, younger bands signed on to a major record label in India.

Spellbound is due to be launched digitally later this month, with a physical release and a tour in the works in April. But Kaul says he doesn’t want to follow the beaten path of promoting an album with a tour or a launch gig. Says Kaul, “We don’t want a small launch. It’s a cliché these days. I’m planning a listening party sometime next week and then start a tour in mid-April.”

Watch the lyric video for “Seeking The Divine”