MUSIC PROMOTER ACCUSED FOR MULTIPLE FRAUD CASES

Reported as seen on social media.

Last night, American progressive band Intronaut put up a lengthy post on social media (Facebook) claiming Orka Networks artist manager, founder and promoter Renu McGarry still owes the band their performance fee from their show at the Indian Institute of Science in Bangalore. Read the post here:

This stirred up a lot of comments claiming the Deccan Rock organizer Orka Networks owes a number of people money, in lakhs of Indian rupees. Here are some comment shots from Intronaut's post.

Although, metal band Psycroptic's member said they had a great experience when they came down last month for their tour of India, organized by Orka Networks.

UK prog metal band Monuments' guitar player John Browne also posted about this, saying they were owed a certain amount of money too. And so did Calle Thomer, guitar player of Swedish prog band Vildhjarta.

See this link for all comments.

This controversy began when the tour of French metallers Gorod got cancelled due to reasons we're not sure of, but certainly involved money. The band made this post at first, still unaware of the situation and if they were flying into India or not the next day.

Orka Networks put up a statement, but was later removed after it was shared by the band on their page. That led to this.

Solven Agency, who were organizing Morbidity Tour with Gorod and UK metal band Meta-stasis (who is managed by Renu), were also booking bands for their upcoming festival Krossover Konnections, that is to host two big metal headliners. The gig has been postponed and there seems to be an issue related to this event too.

Meanwhile, people are arguing with Orka Networks on a post for a refund for the Gorod gigs that got canned.

Little is known on the total figure people claim is owed to them by Orka Networks collectively, but we hope to get an official statement so things are cleared once and for all.

FAREWELL, GUTTURAL TWINS

Sunny and Vinay were a force to be reckoned with. Randy Blythe walked up to them from our table after the Lamb of God show at Clarks Exotica (Bangalore) in 2012. Bhayanak Maut had also played the show and I remember Randy telling them, "I've been around the world, and it's rare to see a really good vocal duo like you guys. Keep it going!"

Something to surely be proud of. From a band who started off with a few Lamb of God covers back in the Razz days, to becoming something so epic and creating art that people (like me) fell in love with, these guys were true artists. If you were there for their first album launch at Hard Rock Cafe Worli (Mumbai), which I think was one of Sunny's first few shows with the band, you would have seen the madness they unleashed that day. It was my first BM gig, the first time a metal band played a show at HRC in India ever, and my mom was there too!

Image by GrapevineOnline.in

From then on, the band just took the country by storm, playing packed shows, stirring moshpits in every venue, and just being brutal as fuck, to put it simply. Bhayanak Maut then released a masterpiece titled 'Man', their second full length album along with a digital handbook with short stories pertaining to each of their songs. Grotesque and horrific would not suffice to describe the extremity of these stories. This blog is only to give you a slight idea of what I'm saying. And I urge you even today to please get your hands on this album and book to really experience it, with lyrics.

Bhayanak Maut vocalists Sunneith Revankar and Vinay Venkatesh revealed earlier today on their social media that both members would be leaving the band, playing their last show at Bacardi NH7 Weekender Meghalaya this weekend. Here's Sunny's FB post:

Few reacts to Vinay's post on Instagram by Sahil Makhija (Demonic Resurrection) and Shashank Bhatnagar (Undying Inc.).

Sahil Makhija's Instagram story

Shashank Bhatnagar's Instagram story

I loved Bhayanak Maut from the depths of my metal heart. I bought the first ever t-shirt print, album, wallet, poster, and raved in the front row for every gig I could be at. Shared the stage with them when I played with Chronic Phobia a few times. Sunny and Vinay gave back to the crowd more than double of the energy we gave them. As a duo, they were next level. I've even had the good fortune of being on stage singing to a couple of songs with them at B69, so I'm not taking this very well.

But I am happy they gave us what they did. Brutal lyrics and spine chilling stories.

Let's give them our best at Weekender. Once again, thank you. This was perfect, but time for change I guess.

Listen to some music and thank them for being a part of the band.

'Ranti Nasha' from their first album



Live at Bacardi NH7 Weekender Bangalore, 2015 #IWasThere



'Now Creation, Forever Destruction' from their 2nd full length album 'Man' #21Days



Always a fan,
Pratika

My wannabe 3rd vocalist self :P
BM at their last Antisocial gig. :)

Visit the Bhayanak Maut website.

FREAK GUITAR CAMP - INDIA RETURNS!

Great news for guitar players looking to improve their playing skills and getting spanking with technique! Mattias IA Eklundh's Freak Guitar Camp makes a second visit outside the Swedish woods and into the marshlands (wut) in India, but not quite! :P

The good men at 4/4 Entertainment and Guitar Garage Inc. have decided to host Freak Guitar Camp - India's second edition in February 2018. What's more? The camp will be a beautiful, intimate experience as it is every year. The venue for this year's camp will be different - nestled in the serene woods of Kamshet beside lake Vadivali. Here's the promo for you:



What is Freak Guitar Camp? It is a week-long guitar camp conducted by musician and educator Mattias Eklundh where guitar players from all over the world gather in the woods near Gothenburg and guitar players get to learn advanced guitar playing techniques, composition skills, and much more. The camp could also help students in bridging the divide between Carnatic and Western music on the guitar, as Mattias takes the konokol very seriously! The concept of Freak Guitar Camp was conceived, mothered and raised by the Viking guitar legend himself.

Freak Guitar Camp in INDIA will be a 6 day affair where students are tucked away in a lakeside paradise with their guitars and Matthias. This is the only location outside Sweden where the camp is conducted.

What you need to know for this year's camp:
The camp will cater to 30 students (maximum) who will sign up for the camp via online and one to one registration. The registration fee is inclusive of food, accommodation, pick ups and drops from specific locations in Calmshet / Lonavala, as well as the fee for attending the camp. The students are required to carry their own guitars, FX units and headphones. For more details and registering to the camp, visit the event on Insider.

Check this beautiful drone video of the campsite here:



To know what students who've visited the camp before have to say, visit my previous article on Freak Guitar Camp India 2014.

Inviting guitar players from in and around India to register for the camp! Trust me, it's madness. I visited the camp as part of my job at BAJAAO in 2014 for content and videos, so I got to live with Mattias and the campers for a good 3-4 days. I learned so much by just sitting at the back of the class for hours and singing to what Mattias was teaching the campers. He is probably the most fun music teacher and instructor I have ever seen. I've cued in a part you need to see that I recorded of Twinkle Twinkle little star! Love this guy.



About Mattias:
Mattias is known as the Guru who imparts infinite knowledge to hardworking guitar enthusiasts from across the planet and the Guru has been successfully executing this at his camps. After years of learning, knowledge sharing and patience Mattias will now bring down the Freak Guitar Camp from Sweden to India. Matthias has always had a soft corner towards India, Indian music and Indian musicians. This time he will share his bit with us in our very own country.

I'll mostly see you guys there again this year haha! New job scenes :D

METAL AT NH7 WEEKENDER 2017

Bacardi NH7 Weekender will once again, after quite sometime, be celebrating metal at Weekenders across India this year. With 2 main Weekenders at Meghalaya and Pune, and around 6 Weekender Express shows (one day concerts), they're bringing down some exciting artists besides the metal bands playing too!

Let's take a quick look at the international and Indian metal bands playing Weekender this year.

1. The Dillinger Escape Plan
One of the bands in the lineup on their last world tour, the other being Textures. You would know the band for their legendary stage antics involving burning shit onstage, stage truss climbing and more. Not sure if they're up to it anymore but it'll be fun watching them live for sure.
Where: Pune

2. Textures
They've been here over and over, probably played more shows in India than some Indian bands :P (exaggeration intended) but yes, they're back because they won't be after this gig. But you've gotta fucking love Textures for the prog and tech they've brought into life with sexy albums like Silhouettes and Drawing Circles.
Where: Pune, Meghalaya, Bangalore

3. Steve Vai (Because he's metal AF anyway)
Steve Vai is a legend. I say no more. Steve going 'Getchyo hands off bish' in this picture.
Where: Pune, Meghalaya

4. Skyharbor
They're absolutely killing it in India and the international metal circuit. After having toured with nu metal monsters Deftones, this brainchild of Keshav Dhar has turned into something phenomenal. Really happy for them!
Where: Meghalaya, Bangalore

5. Bhayanak Maut
Oh my. <3
Where: Meghalaya

6. Zygnema
Tearing shit apart. Always. Can't wait to watch them again and again and again.
Where: Pune, Meghalaya

7. Goddess Gagged
The band got back from a hiatus somewhere last year when BlueTree did a comeback tour with the band. It's nice to see them back and I hope they play more shows than they already do.
Where: Meghalaya

8. Kraken
This band was love at first sight for me. If you get to check these guys out, make sure you ask them for their new album. For those of you who don't remember Kraken, you might know they were nominated for the best song category at the Rolling Stone Metal Awards some years ago, for song 'Dance Jane Dance'.
Where: Pune

Other Metal AF artists playing weekender include Khasi Bloodz, Skrat, Mosko, Zokova, and I'm super kicked to see them live. Get your tickets to all editions of Bacardi NH7 Weekender on Insider.

HUEHUE: AN INTERVIEW WITH BLOODYWOOD

Bloodywood has been rocking all your Bollywood and English pop songs with brutal, and some slightly stunning metal versions! Yes, they've not been around for too long, but in their little time they've managed to turn quite a few heads and have them people pushing play for a good laugh. Mind you, they're doing a kickass job with quality, and this is not your regular parody band.

I thought of having a little chat with them to see what they're up to. Who are they? Bloodywood is Karan Katiyar and Jayant Bhadula. Here's Jayant with some answers:

1. Why? Deets.
JB: Why? Well, it all started with me and Karan goofing around but the positive reception made us think about what we do. We realised that this indeed is a good way to get attention and when the time is right, we will drop our originals!

Bloodywood: Jayant Bhadula and Karan Katiyar

2. It isn't very uncommon to do covers of pop songs in a metal way, but something about Bollywood did spark this. What was so inspiring about our childhood?
JB: Just how some Bollywood music sounded (bad, mostly) make us think, 'You know what, this could sound way better' and that's literally all it took to push us into doing this.

3. Your favourite cuisine / dish?
JB: Chole bhature all the way

4. Here's an obvious question you're expecting me to ask - late Linkin Park vocalist Chester Bennington didn't like your cover of Heavy because yes we know it wasn't heavy at all, but what were your first thoughts when you saw Chester's 'Sucks ass' tweet?
JB: We were sort of expecting this :P

5. Which song really did it for you guys in terms of viewership so far?
JB: 'PPAP metal Version' - And we weren't expecting it to go that big! I mean the numbers were huge; 4 million + views on Facebook. Then some page ripped the video and even they got 4 million views and then some dude uploaded it on YouTube where it got somewhere around 180k+ views, plus a few cover versions to add to it. The feeling is something we can not describe in just words.



6. What other music / bands are you two with currently?
JB: I'm currently working with The Cosmic Truth and Bloodywood.
Karan works with The snake charmer alongside Bloodywood and I'm the spot dada at Archy's shoots! :P

7. Lots of effort into production, composition and all else we see. How are you spending so much time on this, or is it paying back? Patreon and other platforms working out for you?
JB: This is what we do for a living so all our time goes into this. Our main sources of income are Patreon and Spotify. We aren't earning enough yet to sustain ourselves completely off this but with enough support, we are confident we will be able to pull it off.

8. Favourite Indian bands.
JB: Skyharbor, Undying Inc., Demonic Resurrection, Goddess Gagged, The Cosmic Truth (:p), Zygnema, The Down Troddence and obviously BHAYANAK MAUT.

9. Favourite international bands.
JB: There are a lot of bands few of them would be:
August Burns Red
Killswitch Engage
Lamb of God
Thy Art is Murder
Textures
TesseracT

10. A little message for all Bloodywood fans and supporters out there.
JB: We love you guys for your support, stick around with us and we will make you guys proud |m|



Remember to SUPPORT BLOODYWOOD ON PATREON and like them on Facebook! Watch all their videos on YouTube.

VEIL OF MAYA INDIA TOUR ANNOUNCED!

American metal band Veil of Maya will be making their debut in India in January 2018. According to an announcement on entertainment company Bohemian Live's social media, the band will be playing a four-city tour from 10th - 14th January 2018. The cities include New Delhi, Chennai (IITM Saarang to be confirmed), Guwahati and Mumbai.

Terrific news! Dj0ntboys, jump! I've been waiting to watch Veil of Maya since I was a kid, hoping I'd one day successfully host an Indian edition of Euroblast and get them down but hey, I don't need to do that anymore because fuck, have you seen the amount of international acts coming down to India in the next 4 months!? Out of that 3 of them have played Euroblast before! Insane scenes.

Watch Veil of Maya in your city, dates below:

Promoters Bohemian Live have produced Cultfest in the past, bringing down death metal giants Cannibal Corpse and deathcore band Suicide Silence to India in 2015. On speaking to co-founder Amarjeet Singha about doing a tour over a one-day concert, he said, "We had never done an India tour before so we wanted to do that. Also, it makes better financial sense than doing a one off show. I guess this is the only way forward (3-4 city tours at least) where it makes sense to both band and promoter."

Our promoters are as geared up as all of you. Team member Suhas Vk, when asked about how he's feeling, said, "I'm very excited for this gig! I've been a huge fan of the band even more since Matriarch and I'm looking forward to their next release 'False Idol' due this 20/10." Amarjeet added, "Really excited to have a band like Veil OF Maya onboard for our first tour, and it will definitely be a treat for the Indian modern metal fans!"

Tickets for the event have already been announced along with links for each city except Chennai. The early bird tickets for Antisocial dates (Delhi and Mumbai) are priced at INR 1299 and the Guwahati ticket at INR 999.

Get concert tickets and watch Veil of Maya live for the first time here:
Delhi |  Mumbai | Guwahati

Please note that tickets can be purchased exclusively at Instamojo from the above links only.

Follow Bohemian Live on Facebook for updates. See you at the gig!

HAVE YOU HEARD THIS? (CHAPTER 2)

Hello hi! I'm back. 

Here's a list of some nice Indian Metal bands you may or may not have heard. I've broken up the list into three parts, so for now enjoy, thank me later. I'm really excited to share a bunch of sick bands to you and I hope to do so more regularly. There's definitely no lack of metal music in India!

 1. Tangents 
Progressive Metal from Bangalore

2. Plague Throat
Death Metal from Shillong

3. Sycorax Death Metal from Darjeeling

4. Spine Break
Rap / Nu Metal from Solan, Himachal Pradesh

5. All Seeing Eye
Tech Death Metal from Bangalore

6. If Hope Dies
Progressive Metal from Darjeeling

- - - - - - - -

Discover new bands every now and then! Follow Metalsphere on Facebook and watch out for interviews, videos and more news.