After two successfully brutal editions, Aaargh’s Bombay Asylum Vol III returns to it’s original venue at Club Escape, Andheri West. Metal vets SystemHouse33 and Atmosfear will be blazin’ their axes with brand new setlists, alongwith groove metal act Petrichor on August 29, 2013. Here’s what you can expect from the night.
Picture: Hrishikesh Singh
Band: Atmosfear
Lineup: It’s no secret that in their six-year career, Atmosfear hasn’t had the most stable lineup. After numerous members joining/leaving/rejoining/leaving again, since early this year the stable trio of vocalist and guitarist Bruce Mckoy, drummer Mayank Sharma and bassist Roshan Samuel has revived the extreme death metal sound of the band.
Play: The original band was a five-member act of Mckoy, Sharma (Zygnema), Ulhas Baliga, Frank Pawar (ex-Devoid) and Shezan Shaikh. The band grew out of the initial Iron Maiden jams and moved on to pen socio-political lyrics. Soon members would leave and new musicians would board ship. The band suffered a personal tragedy in it’s formative year when bassist Vince Pereira passed away. Nonetheless their sound grew to more melodic tones with Visions Of The Beast and Slavery Lives. In 2009, the band was working on putting out their debut EP that never saw the light of day. Currently the band is working on a full-length album, which they hope to begin recording sometime this year and are looking at a 2014 release.
At Bombay Asylum: Sharma is confident that their set will be nothing short of “killer” after the band’s return to active gigging this year post a two year sabbatical. “We’ll be playing some of our older songs like Slavery Lives, Visions Of The Beast and Abduction Of Innocence. Our fans always request these songs, so all our gigs definitely have them on the setlist. There’s a new song we had performed at Domination Deathfest V recently, but it was newly fleshed out at that time. It’s sounding a lot tighter now,” says Sharma. The complete setlist will also include Enemy Within, Hell Unleashed, Desolation Defined and Subliminal Memories.
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Band: SystemHouse33
Lineup: The groove metal act was formed in 2003 by a bunch of metalheads in a small neighbourhood in Nagpur. The band came together for an All India Aids Awareness event in the city, when they decided to air their love for Pantera on stage. Samron Jude (Sceptre), Daniel D’Souza and Shane and Cornell Baptist were part of the act. Over the years, SystemHouse33 has been through numerous lineup changes and is now helmed by founder members Jude (vocalist), D’Souza (guitars) and Zygnema’s Leon Quadros (bass). Atish Thomas occasionally joins them on drums.
Play: Growing out of their old-school grooves of thrash and heavy metal, over the past decade SystemHouse33 has put out four albums - the heavy “Discernment,” the thrashy “Join The System” and “Thrive Live.” Earlier this year, the band released “Depths Of Despair” where the band has explored a more groovy and progressive side of their metal. Based on the introspective struggle of fighting the “enemy within,” the album was produced by producer Akash Sawant (who has also worked with Zygnema, Safar).
At Bombay Asylum: Jude promises an “eclectic mix of old and new tracks.” Thomas won’t be joining the band on drums, as Jude explains, “We play with several session drummers and we will have a very talented drummer joining us for the Bombay Asylum show.”
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Band: Petrichor
Lineup: After playing with a “bunch of non-bands and jams with random people,” in bassist Akshay Gite’s words, Petrichor was formed with Ajit Singh (drums), Amrit Ramakrishnan (guitars), Gagan (ex-vocalist) and Akhilesh Rao (guitars) alongwith Gite in 2011. Gagan would soon leave the band and Archisman Dash would fill his shoes.
Play: The extreme prog metallers cite Meshuggah, Dream Theater, Porcupine Tree and Tool as their influences. They released their debut EP “HUEMAN” in 2012 and are currently working on putting out their second EP. Recently the band released a new single, Parasight:Comorbid, another song that described the human condition following the same vein of their overall sound. Rapid consumers of abnormal psychology, the lyricism and instrumentation ” is basically about letting go of all control and letting insanity take over,” as Gite describes.
At Bombay Asylum: Expect the unexpected from Petrichor’s setlist. “We will play all our old material from “HUEMAN,” our single- Parasight: Comorbid and a brand new track that we’ve never played before. We are planning to play a bunch of impromptu jams/ideas as well. We might even throw in a surprise cover song if we have the time. We’re really looking forward to playing an intense face-melting set at this gig. I guess you’ll just have to wait and watch,” Gite warns.
Listen:
- Bombay Asylum Vol III Blazin’ Axe featuring Atmosfear, SystemHouse 33 and Petrichor will be held on August 29, Club Escape, Andheri, Mumbai. 9 pm onwards. Entry Rs 500 for general (entry + cover), Rs 300 for students (only entry). Online tickets are also available at special early bird rates of Rs 400 for general and Rs 250 for students. Buy here. For more details, visit the Facebook page here.
