RS Essentials: 9 Thaikkudam Bridge Hits You Need to Hear

“Fish Rock”

There is no Thaikkudam Bridge without “Fish Rock.” Their earliest hit came just when the group were blowing up in Kerala, with help from music channel Kappa TV around 2013. Tightly wound, it has all the makings of an Indian rock and metal classic – thumping drums, menacing riffs, and lightning-fast vocals and rap from Govind Menon and Vian Fernandes.

“Khwaab”

For those in the know about Indian rock and metal history, Thaikkudam Bridge could have been considered a supergroup of sorts by the time their debut album Navarasam was launched in 2015. The band comprised former members of Motherjane and Infernal Wrath, and was led by composer, violinist and vocalist Menon. “Khwaab,” one of their most powerful Hindi songs, showed off their multiple vocal firepower, this one being sung by Krishna Bongane and Nila Madhab Mohapatra. Progressive-fusion at its finest, “Khwaab” unfolds in an epic, goosebumps-inducing manner, exhibiting incredible composing prowess.

“Aarachar”

Also part of Navarasam, the spooky and condemning tone of “Aarachar” is driven by a buzzy riff. Menon takes on vocal responsibilities for this one and grabs the mic to narrate a story, invoking demons, the hangman, and the topic of jingoism and mankind’s greed (“This is God’s own country. Who is the god here?” are some of the paraphrased Malayalam lyrics). The song was taken to a whole other dimension with a music video directed by filmmaker Bejoy Nambiar, starring Aditi Rao Hydari as a suitably goth demon of sorts.

“Chathe”

In 2014, prior to the release of Navarasam, Thaikkudam Bridge introduced their vocalist Peethambaran to the world with “Chathe.” A hair-raising artist in his own right, he’s also Menon’s father. A death metal-inspired fusion song, “Chathe” centers around Peethambaran’s grim thoughts of the end, and features double-bass melodrama and wiry solos.

“Navarasam”

With a violin melody yanked straight out of the most evocative Rahman or Ilaiyaraaja piece, Menon tapped vocalist Vipin Lal for the album’s title track. By now, anyone could guess that Thaikkudam were forging a dark, sorrowful kind of fusion metal. This time, they were addressing the value of art and upped their music video game once again, with a metaphorical narrative of how culture and specifically the artform of Kathakali is in grave danger.

“Inside My Head” ft Marco Minnemann

Released as a single with a gripping music video in 2017, the band conjured their first-ever fully English song after writing in Hindi, Tamil and Malayalam on previous material. Sung by Anish Krishnan with total flair, “Inside My Head” is part of their second album – 2019’s Namah – and it gives a glimpse of just how much the band can accomplish as proggy storytellers, with an able-as-ever assist from virtuoso drummer Marco Minnemann.

“Kanne” ft Anandraj Benjamin Paul

The collaboration-heavy Namah served as Thaikkudam Bridge’s salute to musicians they admire and among them was Anandraj Benjamin Paul, the former vocalist of Malayalam rock faves Avial. While the wistful first movement of “Kanne” is led by Lal, he also sets the stage for Paul’s full-throated, commanding rock vocals. The duo sing animatedly about a bond between a father and a daughter, with lyrics written by Dhanya Suresh.

“Thekkini” ft Umayalpuram K. Sivaraman and Chris Adler

Right at the end of the mammoth hour-plus album Namah, Thaikkudam Bridge take metal to a whole new level with “Thekkini.” After all, only a band like them can envision bringing together veteran mridangam artist Umayalpuram K. Sivaraman and drummer Chris Adler (formerly of metallers Lamb Of God) on a track. The nine-minute instrumental piece takes the chaos and dissonance of Adler-aided metal and lets it hang in the air as the mridangam maestro goes frenetic in his own sharp way. “Thekkini” finally melds it all together to show that these worlds are not far apart.

“Saalaikal” ft Jordan Rudess

Like “Inside My Head,” Thaikkudam Bridge also introduced “Saalaikal” from Namah to the world in 2018, a year before the album dropped. While a lot of the band’s darker songs hit just the right spot, they’re not strangers to celebratory, emphatic songs like “Urumbu” and “One.” They roped in keyboardist Jordan Rudess (from prog heavyweights Dream Theater) for “Saalaikal,” a playful Tamil song that plenty (band members included) have been dancing along to at the band’s live gigs.