Hyderabad's death metal band Godless to perform in Kolkata

Hyderabad-based death metal band Godless is all set to perform in Kolkata for the first time, and they are probably just as psyched as you are 
Godless drumer Aniketh Yadav
Godless drumer Aniketh Yadav

Death-thrash metal act Godless rose to the top tier of the country’s metal scene in an astonishingly short amount of time. The Hyderabad-based metallers came together in 2015, although each of them has been part of the circuit for years. Their fantastic second EP Swarm, which came out in 2018, was fierce and relentless in its sound, and featured former Obscura guitarist Tom  'Fountainhead’ Geldschläger on its closing track. That same year, the band also took their music to Wacken Open Air music festival in Germany, considered a mecca for metallers from all over the world. 

<em>Godless at the Wacken Open Air festival in Germany</em>
Godless at the Wacken Open Air festival in Germany

And if you plan to be in Kolkata for the May 11 weekend, you’ll get to witness Godless in all its hardcore glory as the band plays in the city for the very first time as a part of their Eviscerating India tour, along with thrash metal band Gutslit. “We’ve played every major city in the country, and Kolkata is the next city on our checklist. We’re going to go all out and let people experience what it is like to be at a Godless show. We’ve been getting a lot of messages from the people of Kolkata as they want to see us, so we’re really looking forward to coming down,” Abbas Razvi, bassist for Godless tells us, about the May 11 gig. Incidentally, the Kolkata leg of their tour will be held at The Pit Volume 9, the wildly popular heavy metal gig series, which is making a comeback next month at TopCat CCU. 

<em>Death metal band, Godless</em>
Death metal band, Godless

Godless was formed around four years ago in Hyderabad, and besides Razvi, it currently consists of Kaushal LS (vocals), Ravi Nidamarthy (guitar), and Aniketh Yadav (drums). Razvi also tells us that the band’s thrash-influenced death metal sound is something that came about rather organically. “We all have quite varied influences ranging from old heavy metal to thrash, death metal and grindcore. When we put our influences together we form this blend of really aggressive and fast-paced death/thrash metal,” we are told. The band famously played at the Wacken Open Air last year, so, we obviously had to ask Razvi about their set, which received an ‘Encore!’ from the audiences. 

<em>Godless bassist Abbas Razvi</em>
Godless bassist Abbas Razvi

“We knew our metal pilgrimage had begun right from the moment we landed at the Hamburg airport, which was full of metalheads from all over the world and there were Wacken stalls — even at the airport! This is the biggest metal festival in the world with over one lakh people coming in from around the globe. We’ve wanted to be there since we were kids. So, getting to play there along with some of our favourite bands was something we had never even imagined,” says Razvi. He also remarks that Indian metal is evolving fast, as more and more bands are moving completely to making original music, leading to a more enriched local scene. 

The band, which has toured extensively throughout the country, and even opened for the iconic Polish death metal band Behemoth at the 2016 Deccan Rockin Hyderabad, acknowledges that it’s not easy to sustain a metal band in India. “Every city struggles with venues and sponsors for a metal gig. There’s a huge following for this scene now and the only way for it to be sustainable is if people keep turning up regularly for gigs. If that keeps happening, then I’m sure the scene in India will evolve further,” adds Razvi. He also reveals that once the tour wraps up, the band will head back to rehearsals for the next international tour, scheduled for the second half of the year. 

On May 11. At TopCat CCU, Topsia Road

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