Godfathers of classic rock -- Deep Purple, Led Zeppelin and Santana ushered in the path-breaking soundscape, which influenced the melodic story of the ensuing decades. So tuned in AOR in the 80s (Bon Jovi, Europe, Whitesnake), Alternative Rock in the 90s (Oasis, Radiohead, Collective Soul) and Mainstream Rock- 00’ onwards (Nickelback, 3 Doors Down, Foo Fighters). Thirty something Neil Rego and partner Ashish Agarwal, have, under this “rocking” influence, taken it upon themselves to bring the same “feel good” vibe back to music lovers with the Melodic Rock Fest Decibel +, under their label Neutrax. “We have roped in five upcoming bands, which are among the rare breed of musicians to bear the Melodic Rock flag to perform live on November 17, 4 p.m. onwards, at Ion Bar on Brigade Road,” says Neil.
These crusaders for pure melodic rock, a genre of music, which experienced its evolution between the 70s and 80s, when “guitar-driven songs with a hard edge, were embellished with signature hooks, catchy sing-along choruses and instrumental melody phrases”, are all set to rouse the soul of music. “It happens when you tap to the drums, groove to the bass, but rock to the melody!” says Chiranjeet Bhrama, bassist of Perfect Strangers, one of the featured bands in Decibel+.
Rounding up this vision for melody are the other featured bands, Altered Scales, for whose guitarist Michael Mayne, “melodic is a musical journey”. Spaghettify, whose guitarist Vamshi Krishna believes that “melody can only be experienced in the way it takes you to another place”.
Brim River Bridge, whose drummer Syed Idrees administers the message of the song through “catchy riffs and emotional solos” and Zonk’d, the members of which, “keep mellow” with their guitarist Srishen B.V.
For Neil and Ashish, roping in these teams, was all about creating “aural ecstasy” in a “melodic rock music starved Bangalore, which has been deprived of this genre of music for several years”. “While conceptualising Decibel+, Ashish and I realised that classic, melodic rock music has not been given adequate focus, even though this genre is beloved to all age groups. So we did our research, especially looking for upcoming bands that were real,” says Neil, adding, “During our intensive search, we also discovered that several bands, which used to perform such music, have either split or taken a hiatus. Fortunately, we were not let down when we connected with our featuring bands, which have loads of classic rock influence. So the line-up of Decibel +, supported by Red Bull and 8 Octaves features rarities, including two female fronted bands sharing the same stage and a band that performs rock music, with jazz and Indian raaga leanings.”
For Neil and Ashish, this endeavour is all about bringing monumental strains to focus. “Like the ‘Final Countdown’ recorded by the band Europe, which rates as the iconic melodic number of all time. This tune has it all — signature hooks, catchy sing-along choruses and instrumental melody phrases, which most of the music-loving population around the world still remembers and sings to, when it’s played by DJ’s at parties or performed by bands,” signs off Neil.
