The sixth edition of Bangalore Open Air Festival saw headliner performers like Kryptos, Coroner and Nile rocking the festival, says Akanksha Soni
Whether you are a fan of hard metal music or not, music always makes your heart beat faster. Fans of metal will tell you that the beat and the music takes you in a world which gives you a feeling of belonging to a community — that of being free. It makes you feel as though you have the power to change the world like the music of the 60s did.
In this spirit, 1,000 heavy metal aficionados descended upon the lush green venue to witness what was truly a memorable evening seen at the Royal Orchid Resort, Yelahanka recently. For an adrenaline pumping rock gig to fans dressed all in black sporting band merchandise were pooled together in the sixth re-run of the legendary Bangalore Open Air Festival 2017.
The venue was had a lot to offer besides music. Food trucks, bars, stalls selling handmade jewellery made of tree barks and plastic and customised lighters by Zippo had the fans flying from all over the country to witness this annual metal festival.
“We chose Bangalore Open Air Festival to associate ourselves with since you find a lot of rock metal music lovers here and our brand aims to connect with rock music lovers,” lucas Johnson, global brand manager, Zippo Manufacturing Company, says.
In a country where Hindi film and pop music enjoys massive popularity, promoting a niche genre like heavy metal requires a concentrated effort. Bangalore Open Air (BOA) Festival has been doing just that since its inception back in 2011. It is the only live event held in India that gives a platform for Indian metal fans to witness international bands playing in the country.
In the last decade, heavy metal has gradually developed an impressive following in India. The historic 2007 Iron Maiden concert, which saw over 30,000 headbangers (fan or performer of heavy metal music) from India and abroad in attendance and laid the foundation of a heavy metal movement in the country. Festivals like the BOA have only helped in nurturing the burgeoning metal movement.
So it was not surprising that rock music lovers had started purchasing tickets weeks in advance and were lined up at the entrance hours in advance. The evening began with performance by up-and-coming bands like Speedtrip and Galaxy Crusher.
It was the third act — Kryptos — that had the crowd on their feet. The reason was obvious. The band was formed in Bangalore by Nolan lewis (vocals/guitarist) and Ganesh K (bassist). They are considered to be the true spearheads of the Indian metal scene, upholding the old school style from the 80s. Their tracks Starfall and The Coils of Apollyon were a hit at the festival.
The next on stage was Zurich, Coroner. Their music combines elements of thrash, classical music, and avant-garde music, progressive rock, jazz and industrial metal with suitably gruff vocals. Coroner is one of the most influential names in the metal music industry and had the audience swayed with their hits like Die By My Hand and Purple Haze.
The final act of the night — Nile — a band from Greenville, South Carolina, brought the festival to an epic closure with their unique brand of extreme music which inspired by near eastern mysticism, history, religion and ancient art. Their music is considered extremely heavy with thumping bass, horns and energy that is loved by their fans.
“The festival has been amazing. We had an absolute killer time playing here and we can’t wait to come back to India,” Karl Sanders, the lead guitarist and founder of the Nile.