DEMONSTEALER: Hahaha, well considering I’ve never been to any of the other festivals abroad I can’t really compare but Inferno is one of the few festivals that happens in Winter. Its unique because its completely indoors, most festivals like WACKEN etc are all outdoors with camping and are HUGE in size. INFERNO is actually only a 2000 capacity festival so it’s a really different vibe; in 2 days that I was there lots of faces started looking very familiar. Overall I can say it was an awesome festival experience for me, and there is a bar in every single room of the festival, be it the main stage, John Dee, the merchandise room or the balconies. Compared to Indian festivals just the organization seemed a lot better overall. The catering was definitely way better, it’s a different level. But the audience is the same, they love their metal. Be it in India or in Norway. \m/
IMR: Any specific band that you would love to share the stage with at the festival?
DEMONSTEALER: Well the line-up for BRUTAL ASSAULT FESTIVAL includes DEVIN TOWNSEND, IHSAHN, CANNIBAL CORPSE, MESHUGGAH, FEAR FACTORY etc. and we are part of that line-up so it’s amazing already. I guess in the future I’d love to play a concert with Behemoth or DIMMU BORGIR or BLIND GUARDIAN. That would be really awesome.
IMR: How does a band’s outlook towards music, its self esteem alter after playing such an international show?
DEMONSTEALER: You definitely feel good and confident when you get a good response at your 1st International gig and we had people come and tell us they thought we were the best band of the festival and that really makes you feel confident that you can survive in the international scene as a band. As for the outlook towards music for me personally nothing much has changed, I’ve had a very focused view of it and how I want to take it to the next level and things are slowly taking shape.
IMR: How did the deal with CANDLELIGHT RECORDS come about & do you guys plan to continue releasing your future material with the same record?
DEMONSTEALER: Well honestly going back to 2009 when DEMONSTEALER RECORDS released the new BEHEMOTH album EVANGELION in India a lot of labels got in touch with me to release their artists here and CANDLELIGHT RECORDS was one of them, so while I was unable to release the new IHSAHN album in that they wanted I did ask them if they’d like to release the new DR and they just said yes and that was it. We worked on a contract and I sent them all the material they need and the album will release worldwide shortly through CANDLELIGHT RECORDS.
IMR: Tell us in brief about your latest release THE RETURN TO DARKNESS, was there anything specific you wanted to do differently this time round?
DEMONSTEALER: This album completes the darkness trilogy and I wanted to ensure that the story was a little more structured and cohesive. Musically every song has to represent a single part of the story. So I tried to keep that in mind while composing the songs and having new members Daniel and Viru really gave the sound a new dimension because they have very strong individual playing styles. Also we got Xaay to do the artwork who has done art for NILE, BEHEMOTH, KARL SANDERS etc.
IMR: You’ve been in the metal scene for almost 12 years now, how has the crowd evolved in this span. Say in terms of acceptance toward extreme music, moshing and musical sensibilities?
DEMONSTEALER: More than extreme metal its been accepting Indian bands playing their own music instead of covers, at least from 1998 till almost 2005 bands have been battling that alone. The audience today has accepted that and become very supporting of our local scene and that is what we need to keep going. I think what I have seen is that the audience has been growing in smaller cities as well and metal should soon become a national phenomena . Also every city has had its own characteristics like in Bangalore they prefer to stand and watch where as in Mumbai they love to Mosh . In fact in Mumbai people mosh to bands like ZERO, it’s just retarded sometimes. Who moshes to pop rock? :P
IMR: Where do you see metal scenario in ten years time and what do you think the music industry changed significantly from when you started up to now?
DEMONSTEALER: Honestly we’ve been too underground to really be affected by the industry but it is evolving with the times and we are getting involved in that change and I hope in 10-15 years everyone gets that act together. The main issues still are things like corruption and red tape policies that just are not condusive to music in this country. It’s a problem every industry deals with and hopefully we’ll improve in the future. As for metal I see evolution and independence in the near future.
IMR: Is there any connection between Music, Drugs & Alcohol that the bands dealt with on the tour, if so then could you share some of your memorable road stories?
DEMONSTEALER: DR is a drug free band except one of our members occasionally has a doobie but the rest of us our clean and Daniel doesn’t even drink. But we enjoy ourselves on tour but we are drinking and doping all the time. We take our music very serious and never drink before a show. I’m terrible with road stories but maybe one of the other band members have something interesting to share.
IMR: What is your attitude towards the music downloading via internet, whom does it affect the most band or record label beacuse I feel anyways it helps the bands promotion in some or the other ways?
DEMONSTEALER: It’s a double edged sword. There are pros and cons, both which are obvious. My thing is its fine to download and hear new music but if you really like the album or band you really should make that little bit of effort to buy the CD to support them especially if its easily available. I understand if someone listens to some band called ‘Bird Tits’ from some obscure place and they don’t have their CDs available in stores or even online somewhere and you can’t buy it but if it’s a band that you have easy access to and you are a huge fan then you definitely need to buy their music.
IMR: 5 things that come to your mind when I say INDIA and METAL?
DEMONSTEALER:
1. DEMONIC RESURRECTION
2. KRYPTOS
3. DEMONSTEALER RECORDS
4. RESURRECTION – India’s Only Extreme Metal Festival
5. Crazy Metal Fans from all over the country
IMR: Which of the above does DR relate to the most?
DEMONSTEALER: All of them !
IMR: In your recent article you have mentioned that the metal madness dies away amongst people after the age of 25. Any particular reason why this happens?
DEMONSTEALER: Read the note it explains everything.
IMR: Ok...Now your definitely one of the most enterprising musicians in the scene and we’ve come across a few of your Demonic cookery recipes. So can we expect any food related venture in the future??
DEMONSTEALER: I really do of opening my own restaurant someday THE DEMONIC CAFE but for now I’m just going to concentrate on the music.
IMR: Thanks for the interview Sahil and goodluck with CANDLELIGHT RECORDS for your future endeavors. Please take this opportunity to add anything else you feel has not been covered in this interview. Also, what does DEMONIC RESURRECTION currently have planned in regards to your touring schedule and future releases?
DEMONSTEALER: For now we are looking forward to seeing how the world embraces the album when its released in July and our slot at BRUTAL ASSAULT FESTIVAL in August and hopefully by then we can book some more festival dates and tours which means a longer gig season for us.
--Mitali Shetty
