Many Bengaluru metal bands regularly head for Europe

If you want to catch Bengaluru’s top metal bands in action, you are better off flying than driving.
“I think we’ve played more in Munich than we’ve played in Mumbai or Delhi,” says Nolan Lewis, singer in Bengaluru’s veteran metal band Kryptos.

“Nearly all metal bands play abroad more often than they do in India,” says Lewis. “That’s the way things have been for a while now.”

Language barrier

Vehrnon Ibrahim, frontman of Millennium, one of India’s first heavy metal bands from Bengaluru, believes singing in English is a major limitation.

“English alienates many Indians from metal because they don’t understand the words, so they can’t truly connect with it,” explains Ibrahim, now a professor of music history and business at Mumbai’s Vijaybhoomi University.

Born in the UK, Ibrahim’s first language is English. It was the language he sang in throughout his career. While some bands, like Bloodywood and The Down Troddence use Indian languages, they are few and far between. Ibrahim wonders why more metal bands haven’t attempted to sing in Indian languages.

Common ground

English remains the lingua franca of metal for good reason. Many Indian bands think by singing in English they can break into both the international and domestic markets at the same time. The greatest metal bands sing in English, some argue. Lewis says the most important thing for any band is to play music they enjoy, regardless of the language or audience.

“Play what you feel like playing. It doesn’t matter what language it’s in or what it sounds like. You know? You could be a band from Texas and play Sri Lankan music. So what?” he says.

Going international

The international metal scene is huge. Audiences are largely located in wealthy countries, like Germany, England and the United States. Fans pay top dollar for live shows and merchandise which keeps India’s metal bands afloat.

As the audience for India’s metal scene is small, touring outside gives bands hope, says Salman Syed, founder of the annual metal festival Bangalore Open Air. Europe has well-established touring routes.

In Bengaluru, most venues have stopped hosting musicians, saying the licensing process is burdensome.

Shirava Vyasulu, music promoter and self-titled “musical evangelist”, says now-closed venues like B Flat and Take Five were testing grounds for up-and-coming bands. Performances there would help musicians sharpen their skills. They got paid, and could promote their music.

Emerging metal bands, like Atlasray, are already eyeing Europe for gigs. Singing in a native Indian language is not part of their business plan. “We will sell our music in Europe and write it that way to tap into those markets,” says lead singer Ashish Roy.

Tough business

It is challenging to make a living as a musician in India, says Roy, and musicians in metal bands sometimes switch to producing Bollywood music.

Kryptos regularly tours overseas, which is enough for Lewis. “That’s the success that we’ve always wanted. It’s not selling out stadiums, it’s just going to some small town in Germany and 75 to 100 people come out to watch you on a weekend. That’s awesome. That’s amazing,” he says.

But promoters in the metal scene say Indian audiences need to grow in number to become sustainable. That means making music that resonates with Indians, which could be as simple as adding a little Kannada into a song.