All things dark and twisted

When Nitin Rajan first started Domination – The Deathfest, one of India’s few and oldest death metal festivals, the genre was still a very underground movement in the country with only a few takers. However, 16 years later, the format not only attracts some of the best talents in the country but has also come a long way in earning thousands of diehard fans.

“We first started Dominination in the 2000 to give metal bands in India a boost,” says Nitin, the lead vocalist of Killibrium and Primitiv and also the main organiser of the event. He further adds, “Since then, the genre has come a long way but it’s still great to revive the underground metal scene and take the festival to different cities.”

Although the fest was put on hold for a whole decade between 2003 and 2013, Nitin is now bringing it back in full force and is making it bigger than ever before. Veteran bands like Reptilian Death, a heavy metal band that has been around since 2001, will be sharing the stage with up and coming talents like Vidyut and Godless. “Bands are going to be coming in from across the country,” explains Riju, bass player of Primitiv and co-organiser, “Vidyut is from Chennai, while Godless is from Hyderabad and then you have Mumbai-based bands like Killchain and Killibrium.” The bassist further adds that an indicator of how far the metal scene has come in the country is the fact that it has made it to the heart of the city from having to play in places like Thane because few venues would host such an intense, jarring genre of music.

To say that bassist Abbas Rizvi of Godless is excited about the upcoming event is an understatement. “It’s a great honour to play side by side with veteran bands like Reptilian Death.” This is the first festival in which the band, which just released its first album, is going to perform. “It’s also like a promotional tour for us. Festivals like these give new bands a lot of exposure since you have people coming in from all over the country. And since the genre first became popular in the 80s, the audience for metal music is also not just younger generations but also people who are well into their 40s.”

For Sahil Makhija, drummer of Reptilian Death, Domination is like a homecoming. “I’ve been playing at this festival since it first began in 2000. Back then, I was part of Demonic Resurrection, which played more of a Gothic, symphonic style of metal as opposed to the heavy, death metal which Reptilian Death plays.” According to Sahil, the metal music scene has drastically changed since he first started playing more than a decade ago. “At one time, people may have been shocked to hear someone growling out lyrics,” he explains, “But now, even if they don’t understand it, they know that the genre exists. In fact, we now have enough death metal bands in the country to create a purely death metal festival, which was not the case when Dominination first began.”

Metal music may have come a long way since what it was even a decade ago but it is still a long way from being a financially viable career to be a part of a band. “We all have daytime jobs,” says Riju. He further adds, “But ask any metal artist and they will tell you that they are far more passionate about their music than their jobs. Metal music holds up the darker side of our world and society in a bold way, like a flipside to pop, which shows you the world in rosy hues. I would say that both are equally important.”

Today, 8.30 pm, At Hard Rock Cafe, Worli Entry: Rs 500