Metal has always been more than loud guitars and thunderous drums. Since emerging in the late 1960s, it has given artistes a space to question authority, confront injustice and express personal struggles. That spirit returns to Chennai this weekend as Brutal Carnage marks its 16th edition. Headlining the evening are Trivandrum thrash veterans CHAOS, joined by Chennai progressive metal outfit Incendiarius, metalcore project Drumtoid, and alternative punk act MANGAS. Ahead of the gig, we caught up with the four acts to find out what audiences can expect and why metal continues to resonate across generations.
Flying the flag for old-school thrash, Trivandrum’s CHAOS returns to Chennai with a set packed with fresh material. “We’re playing a lot of new material this time; most of the setlist is from our yet-to-be-released third album. We’re definitely playing some of our older popular stuff, but we have some surprises planned in the set as well,” teases guitarist Nikhil Wartooth.
The new material is rooted in the turbulent times the band has been witnessing. “The world as a whole, I feel, is going through this cycle of regression where racism, bigotry and xenophobia are making a comeback and taking up the mainstream space. The language of metal is well equipped to help us express the anger and frustration we feel, and that’s what we’ve been trying to do with this new album,” he reflects.
Fresh off the release of their new EP, Neural Oscillations, metal band Incendiarius brings a blend of progressive songwriting and groovy riffs this weekend. “We will be playing our recently released EP in its entirety, as well as some of our older material from our debut album,” says guitarist and vocalist Boja R. “For this EP, we wanted to push our sound towards balancing groove and chaos,” he adds. Boja hopes the festival broadens people’s perception of metal. “I think they will be pleasantly surprised by the huge variety of subgenres, from thrash and progressive to alternative metal, and can find something that they relate to,” he says.
Metalcore project Drumtoid, the solo venture of drummer and producer Shrikar Varadarajan, grew from an unlikely combination of influences. “I’ve always really enjoyed J-pop and K-pop music, their usage of synths, the production style and the structure of their songs,” he says. For Brutal Carnage, he is bringing familiar material alongside something new. “The set I’ve tailored for Brutal Carnage consists mostly of music I’ve already released, save for one unreleased song,” he says. “If I had to describe the set in one sentence, it would be dark yet uplifting music with syncopated rhythms and massive choruses,” he shares. Shrikar hopes audiences leave with a different perception of the genre. “Vocally, the songs that I have written are on the cleaner side, with catchy melodies. I hope to show them that there are new possibilities that can be explored while still holding on to the kinds of vocal textures that are generally enjoyed by average listeners. Aside from that, I would want them to experience and savour the sheer electric energy that is so prevalent in these kinds of shows,” he adds.
Alternative punk outfit MANGAS will use Brutal Carnage to preview its debut album while bidding farewell to singer and frontman Aditya Rao before his move away from Chennai. “We’re previewing our debut album, Buried Alive, for the first time ever, and we’re super excited to finally show everyone what we’ve been up to. Our setlist also has a lot of surprises involving some of our artiste friends from Chennai, so this is going to be a very special show that you won’t want to miss,” he says.
Bassist Caleb Sunder hopes the festival broadens perceptions of metal. “I think people who have zero exposure to metal have a very narrow view of what it sounds like,” he says. “This year’s Brutal Carnage has four bands with four extremely different sounds. We’ve got the brutal and relentless thrash sound of CHAOS, a very avant-garde take on metal from Incendiarius, Drumtoid’s fantasy-based, anime-inspired metal with pop and electronic influences, and,of course, the punk, hardcore and alternative sounds of MANGAS. There’s something for everybody,” he concludes.
INR 750 onwards. August 1, 6 pm. At The Spotted Deer, East Coast Road.
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