By Madhav Ravindranath *
(This article is cross-posted at Bassic Wisdom)

Every December brings about the start of the rumours of which band would headline IITM Saarang’s annual Rock Show in January. The rumours consist of the most absurd and unlikely of bands, and the word around town this time around was that Wolfmother or possibly even Lamb Of God would rock our worlds, and after Opeth last year, anything was possible.

When IIT finally did confirm Swedish power metal band Hammerfall, I was filled with a rush of nostalgia. Many years back, when I’d just discovered metal and was still heavily into Iron Maiden, I started searching around the internet for other similar sounding bands, to broaden my perspective and to basically look ‘cool’ around the other kids. On my quest, I found Hammerfall, quietly nested between Queensryche and Scorpions, buried under a layer of Judas Priest. These 4 bands, along with UFO and a host of other 80s heavy metal bands have changed my life and have defined who I am today. But as time flew past, I discovered Slayer, Testament and Napalm Death, and Hammerfall slowly fell into the far reaches of my mind, jus like the One Ring Of Power. But every metalhead has his calling, and when I heard that Hammerfall was coming to town, I knew I had to be there.

The show was on a Monday night, which meant I would have to escape from work a few minutes early. I got to the venue just as the opening band Blood And Iron started playing and found my way to the first row. Much to my disappointment, the crowds were abysmal and although they increased as the show went on, it still wasn’t all that much.

Blood And Iron played a set of tracks from their second album Dynamite World, starting off with the title track. I have always believed that this is a band, capable of so much have always been let down by their sound. The guitar patches gave quite a earbleed and apart from the drums and vocals, all I could hear was a wall of fuzz drowned in synth. I could see Ashish and Vikram’s fingers flying all over the frets but everything was lost in the mix. Their 20 minute set finished soon enough and Purple Blood took the stage.

Winners at IITM Powerchords 2010, these guys were tight and had pretty good tones but the music wasn’t exactly the kind I enjoy any more. As individual musicians, they were all pretty good, and they had great energy on stage but the strong Lamb Of God influences and guitar melodies that almost every upcoming metal band seems to adopt nowadays didn’t impress me much. This is just my opinion though. They did have a sizable fan following and most of the metalheads seemed to enjoy the music. The band looked pretty young and if their performance was any indication, they’ve got a long and successful future ahead of them.

Apart from Hammerfall, the only other band I was really looking forward to was Escher’s Knot. As Purple Blood finished, I could see Anushman armed with his Ibanez and Line 6 Pod XT Pro, and the rest of the band behind him, waiting to get on. As they stepped on to play, the professionalism was evident. They knew exactly what they were doing. ‘Plug in and destroy’ must’ve been the motto for the band, who like those before them were on a tight schedule. No un-necessary time wasting, no random soundcheck. A dark atmospheric theme played in the background and as the intro came to a halt, the band kicked into ‘Up For Nothing.’ I braced myself for an intense session of brutal, heavy as hell and in-your-f**king-face metal. Did I mention heavy?? I just can’t say heavy enough! This band had the chops, the energy and most importantly, the music, all in one neat, efficient package. They played the same set list from the Decibels finals on the 23rd, adding only an extra song, titled ‘This Page Has Been Left Intentionally Blank’ (A full review of Escher’s Knot at IITM Saarang Decibels will be up soon on www.headbangers.in)

Hurricane Bells from USA was always going to be a hit-or-miss. An indie band that had a song on the Twilight ‘New Moon’ soundtrack, playing for a crowd consisting primarily ofmetalheads stoked to see a power metal act wasn’t such a good idea. Essentially a 3 piece band with an additional female vocalist, their entire set consisted of light, easy listening songs (save the occasional screeching guitar solo) and some groovy bass segments. On another day, I might’ve listened to them and maybe even enjoyed the music but after Escher’s Knot and before Hammerfall, I just didn’t have the patience. Although I must point out that while I was in a state of boredom bordering on impatience, the rest of the crowds seemed to be enjoying the music pretty fine. They had a quite a long set list and I heaved a sign of relief as they stepped off.

Hammerfall was next. The last band, the one everybody had been waiting for. The tension in the air was palpable. The crowds had built up by now, and we waited expectantly for the band to start. We waited, and we waited a little longer. No sign of the band. The chants of Ham-Mer-Fall started, still no band on stage. Then, as the sound of thunder emanated from the PA system, a lone figure sat behind the drum set. When the music stopped, he started playing, and as the guitars started, everybody roared. They knew that this is what they’d been waiting for. Pontus Norgren and Fredrik Dronjak walked on to the stage, riffing the intro to ‘Punish And Enslave’. The bassist got on, and then, right there, that I knew this was going to be one of the most awesome shows I’d ever watched live. Synchronised headbanging, good ol’ fashioned power chord riffing and crystal clear tones. My childhood came rushing back to me and in a flash, I could see all my years of bedroom headbanging and bathroom singing, dreaming about one day, watching this band live. They were 10 years late but finally, they were here, right in front of me! The vocalist Joacim Cans sounded just as good live as he did on the recordings, hitting the high notes with relative ease. More than anything, I was astounded by the backing vocals. Both the guitarists and bassist sang together, with perfect harmony and in pitch, and from where I was, it sounded so heavy and full, Just like the overbearing guitars in a doom metal track, the vocals were all around you and inside your head. The first time they sang together, I remember staring in awe, thinking, ‘This is awesome!’ Both the guitarists were extremely good, typical of the genre. ‘Punish And Enslave’ gave way to ‘Renegade’, which is perhaps my favourite Hammerfall song. The coordinated movements were a treat to watch, with both the guitarists finding each other out and headbanging together in perfect harmony. It might sound corny and probably is jus a fanboi’s blind faith in the band, but it was great and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I screamed myself hoarse from the first row, shouting for all the classics and the band answered. Right from ‘Templars Of Steel’ to ‘Glory To The Brave’, ‘Legacy Of Kings’ to ‘Riders On The Storm’, they played all their classics, including a few from their latest 2009 release ‘No Sacrifice, No Victory’. As the band launched into the final song ‘Hearts On Fire,’ I felt a feeling of satisfaction from within. This isn’t even my favourite band any more. I’ve barely listened to them in ages. But watching them live on Monday night was an experience and a much needed trip into my past.

IIT, you’ve done it again. I was awestruck after Opeth last year and here I am again. I’ll be there next year, and the year after that, every year as long as I can make it. Thanks for the experience and for giving me a chance to relive my glory days!

A lot of people told me that they didn’t like the music, which is why they didn’t come for the show. All I can tell them are the same 3 words I tell people who weren’t there for the Opeth or Textures/Amon Amarth gig last year.

“You missed it.”

Picture Courtesy- Subhramani Iyer

* Madhav Ravindranath is a Mechanical Engineer, blogger, biker and a bass guitarist. Apart from this he also manages a successful Metal Label ‘Roadcrew records‘.

Related Posts

• Hammerfall To Headline SAARANG 2010
• Gig Review: Unseen Underground Ragnarok ‘09
• Gig Review : JRO 2009 Chennai
• Gig Review: Unseen Underground Pub Fest V
• Album Review: DYNAMITE WORLD – BLOOD & IRON