The group of youngsters who go by the name ‘Heretic' have come a long way since they started out as a metalcore band in Kochi in 2005.
Album
After having played at several rock shows all over South India, the band is now getting ready to release their first album ‘Words to Epilogues.' Heretic crossed an important milestone in their journey when they finished recording for the album, feels Akhil, the band's vocalist, who also pens their lyrics.
The other members of the band are Harish Kumar on guitar, whose skills the band swears by, Abhijit Namboodiripad on the guitar and Benjamin Thomas on the bass, the three of whom with Akhil were part of the original line-up of the band; and Kevin Paul Prichard on drums, who joined the band two years ago. The band was in Kochi for a performance at a city college.
Their upcoming album has nine tracks which were recorded at a studio they set up at home with the help of their producer Keshav Dhar.
Though their music has a strong metal influence, the band does not wish to limit themselves to one genre. “There's metal in our music, definitely. But I'd say we are an alternative group, which is a really broad category and we want to keep it that way,” says Abhijit.
“All the songs in the album have their own touch to it. Genres, the feel, the emotion, everything is absolutely different in each song,” adds Kevin. Heretic feels that independent music in the country has changed much since they started playing. “In India, the music right now is a free form,” says Benjamin. In India, people are expressing themselves freely and the purity of such expression will inevitably find listeners they believe.
Talking about listeners and audiences, the band stresses the importance of live shows. Important because these offer an instant connect with the audience. There is the upcoming release of the album, but it is performing live that revs them up.
“We're a live band at the end of the day. That's where our scene is. Recording is great, but live is something else,” Abhijit says.
Their electric live performances are perhaps what draw metalheads to their shows. Kevin, in fact, met the band at their live gig at IIT Chennai. “I was a big fan of Heretic before I joined Heretic. I was hooked onto their song ‘Reprise',” says Kevin.
Making Music
So how does the band get the music started? “It always starts with a single idea — lyrically or musically,” says Abhijit. He goes on, “We start writing something … and it could just be one word. I've written songs starting out with just one word. One day you start writing and then it just happens. The same goes for how you make the music.”
But it's not all just spontaneity and inspiration. A lot of hard work goes into making music. Akhil elaborates that there are two sides to making music – art and craft. “The art side has to come naturally, the inspiration. The craft is the musical knowledge, the technicality, these are the building blocks. For those things to happen you have to work hard. You need to spend time in the practice room working on it.”
The band sometimes spends months working on a single song to get it just right. Perfection, it seems, is their byword. Which means no rushing into things or to get things done.
“We didn't start recording until we felt the song was good,” adds Abhijit. “When we get there we are like, ‘This feels right. Let's get into the studio.'”
Six years down the line, the band feels that it is the vibe they share that has kept them together.
“We all have our shortcomings, but we keep doing what we do and it all comes together,” says Abhijit. The journey hasn't been easy for Heretic. “But there are no shortcuts and we wouldn't have it any other way,” adds Akhil.
