Sceptre Talk New EP ‘One Shot One Kill’

When Mumbai thrash metal band Sceptre unveiled the artwork for their new EP One Shot One Kill, it made a bold (and perhaps unnecessary) reference to a 2017 incident where a Kashmiri man was tied to an Army jeep and paraded around, allegedly as a human shield against protestors.

Regarding the artwork created by Bhopal-based Yuvraj Bhatnagar (under the moniker Yuvraj Imaginaria), Sceptre drummer Aniket Waghmode says the band in no way supports “the jeep incident.” He however adds, “We feel our armed forces have been treated terribly over the years. To add to it, their own families live in pathetic conditions. Their lives seem to be of little value. The continuous dastardly attacks from across the border and sometimes from the very people they protect are disturbing in nature. We simply intend to say, our armed forces deserve better. The rest, we leave it to the listeners to interpret.”

The five-track EP, which released on August 30th, stays true to Sceptre’s thrash attack ethos both sonically and lyrically, painting a bleak picture of society but also siding against supposed enemies of the country’s armed forces. Waghmode and Sceptre are still echoing a common thrash metalhead sentiment when they say they’re pissed off with mob lynching (“Fear the Mob”) and the like. “We have very little to be happy about the current political scenario,” the drummer says.

While the bonus track “Hate Infested” is a live staple that was released originally in 2015, One Shot One Kill is the band’s first record with vocalist Gary Gracious and outgoing guitarist Ronojoy Barooah. They join Waghmode, bassist Janus Sayal and guitarist Gilroy Fernandes, whose previous release was the full-length album Age of Calamity in 2013. Waghmode says it’s been a long road to come out with a new release. “We started writing the songs since early 2018. We lost the momentum somewhere because of some personal issues. Ronojoy had to leave the band and return to his native place in Assam. That left us with the challenge of looking for his replacement. Stuff like that put the brakes on the EP temporarily. But finally we got the monkey off our back and released it.” The band now has Akash Kar replacing Barooah.

There’s more visual material from the EP coming up, as well as gigs. First off, they launch One Shot One Kill at metal gig series Blackblood on September 8th at Above the Habitat in Mumbai. They’re joined by fellow thrash metal bands such as Carnage Inc., Sabotage, Amorphia and hardcore/crossover act R.A.I.D.. Waghmode says, “It’s going to be one of the most brutal gigs Mumbai will witness this year.”

Stream the EP below. More details about Blackblood ft Sceptre, Amorphia, Sabotage, Carnage Inc. and R.A.I.D. here.