In the Indian independent music scene, the survival of a band beyond its college days is still seen as a miracle even at a time when the fledgling industry has made some big strides. The quest for a career often keeps them away from music once they are out of campus. But, ‘Chaos,’ a Thiruvananthapuram-based metal band, is a juggernaut that refuses to stop rolling.
On Friday, with the release of their debut album 'Violent redemption', the band would have completed a full circle from that uneventful day in 2005 when they started off with nothing more than the knowledge of three chords and an undying passion for the metal genre.
'Violent Redemption' is the first ever thrash metal album to come out of Kerala, and one of the handful of the genre to be produced in the country.
“The album has been in the works for the past many years and has gone through several changes to become what it sounds now,” says Nikhil.N.R, the guitarist of Chaos.
Chaos started off just like any other band in the scene, playing covers of their favourite acts, right from Metallica to Pantera. It had quite a cult fan following in the State and outside, thanks to the near perfect covers and high energy performances.
But two years down the line, they morphed into a beast of a band with some original tracks that earned rave reviews in the circuit. Nikhil, and the vocalist Jayakrishnan. S, are the only two original members from that time.
“There have been quite a few line-up changes from the time we started off, the reasons ranging from careers to illness. This had put a spanner in the works and probably delayed the album a bit, but no remorse there,” says Jayakrishnan.
Filling the rest of the line-up now is Vishnu on the bass and Rohit on the drums, both of whom joined late last year. Chaos is now fresh from a breathtaking opening act for ‘Pentagram’, when the band performed in Thiruvananthapuram recently.
Politics and metal
The album ‘Violent Redemption’ is a heady concoction of politics and metal. With songs that are a commentary upon issues ranging from the Gujarat riots to corruption, it is expected to ruffle a few feathers. It has been much awaited in the circuit, considering the buzz generated when three tracks from it were released online last year.
Their sound stays true to the old school thrash metal pioneered by the likes of Slayer and Metallica with frenetic riffing, high tempo drumming, and screaming vocals.
Chaos became the only Indian band to be featured in the international metal compilation album ‘global waves of destruction’ released by ‘Metallity’, an acclaimed online magazine.
The song ‘Merchant of death’ was featured in the ‘Metaller’s Mayhem’ compilation album featuring 25 top bands from India. It has also been featured on popular online radio stations, the latest being the Swedish radio station ‘Metal Mix’. The music video of their song ‘Game’ is a hit on youtube.
The album will be released online at 8 p.m. this Friday on their facebook page (chaosindia) and will be available for digital purchase through itunes, amazon.com, oklisten,com and other online platforms. Produced by Keshav Dhar (of Skyharbor band), ‘Violent Redemption’ is set to be a landmark album for the Indian metal scene.
