Mumbai-based death metal band Gutslit has only played for Kolkata crowds once before, and their return to the city is set to be much more significant. The death/grindcore metal outfit is now set to storm the city on May 11, at TopCat CCU, as a part of their nine-city Eviscerating India tour, which is also being touted as the biggest nationwide tour ever undertaken by any indie metal band so far. Of course, the gig also marks the return of The Pit, the hugely popular gig series cherished abundantly by Kolkata headbangers. “We have a lot planned for the whole tour. The Eviscerating India tour is across nine cities, and we will have our homies, Hyderabad-based death-thrash metal band Godless, with us. It should be a good mix of things, and we will even be belting out tracks from our new album set to release in 2020,” says bassist Gurdip Singh Narang, who has been with the band since the very beginning.
Gutslit has been around for almost 12 years now, and that itself is an astonishing feat, even on a global scale. The band, currently consisting of Kaushal LS (vocals), Prateek Rajagopal (guitars) and Aaron Pinto (drums), along with Narang, has seen a lot of movement since they started out in 2007, with members leaving and newer talents joining in. Narang tells us that the band’s sound has only become more diverse with this assemblage of varied influences.
“Music, for us, changes with every old member leaving and a new member joining in. Gutslit has always been a band with a collective vision, and thus, every new member has his say, as we’ve brought in a number of sub-genres from brutal death metal to slam. We have found our own sweet spot in the brutal death-grind scene, as it mixes up all the elements of technique and breakdowns,” we are informed. In 2015, Gutslit headed out on their first European tour, where they performed alongside German death metal band Stillbirth, California metal act Splattered, and UK-based extreme metal band, Crepitation. The tour gave Gutslit a remarkable footing in Europe, and when the band went back in 2017 to promote their sophomore album, Amputheatre, they had already established a connect with their Western listeners. Gutslit will head back this year for their Butchering Europe tour.
“Technically, we have toured more than any Indian metal band out there. And, though every market and every set of crowd is different, the love that Gutslit has received from every single country, be it during our European dates or Asian ones have been the same. The crowd turnouts have been brilliant for us,” says the bassist. Gutslit is also one of the very few Indian metal acts that can actually give us a perspective on how the metal scene in the country has evolved over the last few years. “The Indian metal scenario has grown quite beautifully in the last decade or so. From having mediocre to zero venues — most of them being banquet or party halls — we’ve now got places that are venues first, and bars or restaurants later. This helps the bands, and the scene a lot. Shows have turned into festivals, younger bands are getting brilliant platforms, and the crowd gets a taste of new music too,” says Narang.
Of course, Gutslit’s exhaustive transcontinental itineraries over the years have given the band a sense of what it takes to sustain an independent music scene. “Having travelled to over 20 countries with just one album, we’ve visited some nations like Indonesia where there is so much support for local bands that it is ridiculous. The fans have themselves made the scene so huge that they rarely need any external support. The Indian metal scene needs to understand that when homegrown bands like Gutslit, Godless and others are working so hard to travel to their city for them, they need to be there for them, online or in person. That is what will make a huge difference,” offers Narang.
On May 11 at TopCat CCU, 36 F Topsia Road.