KARISHMA D ' MELLO
Metal & Mythology :
The Indian Influence
You know what ’ s so great about metal ? Besides its obvious contributions to the tin foil industry ( you may ignore that line ), as a genre , it features some of the most diverse and unconventional influences as far as songwriting goes . This is probably why the overall sound is generally more appealing to a relatively unconventional audience as well . While popular genres tend to stick to themes like romance and the endlessly fascinating behaviors of young folk at the local night club , metal has always had room for much , much more !
Among the many significant influences to the lyrical themes in heavy metal , history and mythology have definitely been among some of the most noteworthy . The influence of Norwegian mythology is so strong that it has spawned its own sub-genre of “ Viking Metal ”. Egyptian , Roman and Greek mythology and South American culture have also inspired the lyrics and music of many great bands like “ Septicflesh ”, Ex Deo and Symphony X . And if you ’ re looking for the Indian influence , it isn ’ t very hard to find either . Here are a few bands from all over the world who have been heavily inspired by Indian mythology , Vedic literature and Hindu philosophy .
Kartikeya ( Russian )
“ Durga Puja ” and “ Mahayuga ” are probably not the first things that come to mind when you think of possible song titles of a Russian death metal band ; but then came Karthikeya . The title itself is a giveaway with this band , having been named after the Indian war god ( generally envisioned riding a peacock ). Their themes tend to be strongly centered around Hinduism and eastern mythology , while their music has a distinctively Indian sound to it , a reason for which is probably that they also use ethnic instruments alongside the typical bass – drums – guitar combination .
Cult of Fire ( Czech Republic )
This black metal band is so heavily influenced by Indian culture that their second album is actually titled in Hindi and written in Devanagari alphabet . Every song on the album is also titled in hindi and written in the same script . While their first album is described as “ atmospheric metal ”, the second one focused heavily on themes like esoteric Hinduism , Vedic rituals , sung in an incredibly unique dialect as far as black metal is concerned . Their album artwork is also very obviously influenced by Indian mythological figures .
Rudra ( Singapore )
Rudra like to describe their sound as “ Vedic metal ”, and their lyrics often include ancient mantras and philosophical themes . The band often fuses scriptural chants and ethnic sounds with extreme metal percussion and guitars . Three of their albums follow a specific theme of “ Brahmavidya ”, following the sequence of “ Primordial I ”, “ Transcedental I ” and finally the third chapter to their trilogy – “ Immortal I ”. Kurukshetra was one of their earlier albums that was based on the Mahabharata .
Dying out Flame ( Nepal )
This Nepalese “ technical metal ” band has exactly one album titled “ Shiva Rudrastakam ” ( no points for guessing what the theme is here !), and is yet another band that forms a part of the “ Vedic metal ” community . The entire album is really just a blend of classical Indian music and extreme metal with each of the six songs drawing focus to some part of Vedic religion .
Demonic Resurrection ( India )
Demonic Resurrection ’ s latest independently released album “ Dashavatar ” is all about Indian mythology . The album is built around a Hindu centric theme and is more of an Indian classical meets heavy metal kind of deal . Each of the songs under the album are named after the ten avatars of Vishnu and go something like “ Matsya ” ( The Fish ) and “ Vamana ” ( The Dwarf ), and well , you get the picture .
The Score Magazine
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