Just another quiet Sunday for many; and another gig for me to cover. Bangalore based Ancient Mosquito are on a roll at this moment. After three successful editions of The Pit, they hosted the fourth edition of the event titled – The Pit Exclusive. Keeping the genre bias aside, 9 semi-pro bands were seen having the time of their life and creating some memories for themselves and the attendees of the show. The performing acts for the night are as follows (in order of their performance):
I have a bad habit of reaching the venue well before the show starts, 19th of May wasn’t an exception. I was greeted by Rishabh, from the Ancient Mosquito team; as soon as I entered (it was more of curses than greetings, mostly because how much I’ve bugged the little guy on Facebook and via email). Rishabh seemed excited about the show, especially regarding the venue.
“The sound here is great man! And look at the dance floor; it’s separated from the rest of the area with this railing. Those who want to mosh can do so here, those who don’t can stand on the other side of the railings”, said the semi-stoned, over-worked Rishabh as the bands went through the sound check.
It was around 4 pm and the first band for the evening had taken stage. Fantom, a 4-piece band from Bangalore displayed a very tight set of good old Classic Heavy Metal. Covering Judas Priest’s Breaking the Law and Electric Eye, they got the crowd grooving and singing along with them. Though I wished they had played Symphony of Destruction by Megadeth, they did the sound check with the song. The crowd started building and it was time for the Nihilus to take stage. I’ve said this before and I’ll say it again – these guys are insane. I’ve never been disappointed by this band, and wasn’t disappointed during their set this time either. Playing a set of 4 originals, a Behemoth and a Decapitated cover; the band managed to get the first moshpit of the night. Awesome energy is display and some really insane bass and guitar works were shown. Certainly one of the best acts of the night.
Errorz were up next, the 5-piece Progressive/Metalcore band from Bangalore played a nice groovy set. Opening with a cover of Lamb of God’s track Laid to Rest, they had the crowd moving. There was a little technical problem during one of their originals, which was dedicated to Kurt Cobain. The guitars went off for a little while, but the problem was sorted out in no time. Fortified Destruction from Chennai were up next, as the crowd started building up. Playing a set of 4 originals and a cover of Castlevania and For Who The Bell Tolls, the band was pretty tight. There were some issues with the vocals though; it was hardly audible on the P.A. It’s a pity we didn’t get to hear much of the female vocal work, as I was looking forward to a full-fledged harsh male vocals vs. clean female vocals set (I call it the beauty and the beast combination 😛 ). Hope to catch them live again!
Ontologous were pitched to perform next. Having gained quite a good reputation in the past few shows, the band had a good momentum going. Playing a set of 5 songs, including a cover; the band enjoyed the support of what clearly seemed the maximum concentration of the crowd for the night. Personally I felt they were a little out of touch. But I must admit, their vocalist/guitarist Yashashwi has some really nice guitar skills. Ontologous were succeeded by Terminus Exitium. Playing a solid set of 7 songs, including 3 covers; they displayed a very tight set and managed to please the crowd. “I’ve seen them a few months back and these guys have improved tremendously since then!” said an enthusiastic Rohan Thomas when Terminus Exitium ended their set. It was sad to see the crowd disappearing all of a sudden. It’s understandable as the majority of the crowd were young, but evening was getting younger 😛 .
Last three bands left for the night and then enters Dequma. Playing a powerful set comprising of 3 originals and a mind blowing Mayhem cover; the band scored full points in crowd interactions. A pit in every song and a Wall of Death to end their set, Dequma showed amazing intensity in their set. It was interesting to see two independent vocalists in the band, gave the band a different feel. The frog squeals were just spot on and both the vocalists complimented each other very well.
Slither, the newest and most happening Metalcore band from the city were up next. They were co-headlining the gig. Having released an EP and followed it up with a few successful gigs, Slither were in full form. Performing in front of what majorly was a crowd consisting of their friends and a few metalheads (and a couple of reviewers like me 😛 ), they displayed a very matured performance throughout the set.
Their setlist for the night –
- Groove (Intro)
- Breathe
- This is Absolution (Killswitch Engage Cover)
- Curse of Atomie
- The Warrior
- My Last Serenade (Killswitch Engage Cover)
Distorted Melody, the headliners for the night were going through their final soundcheck when their vocalist Jonathan, politely told me his band was up next and it would be great if I can come in front of the stage. Well, I am a gentle giant and I kept his request. The first thought I had when I saw them on stage was – What the hell is Siddharth Mallya and Virat Kohli doing on stage? Well don’t blame me, their guitarists – Gautham and Luke do look like Siddharth and Virat. Jokes apart, Distorted Melody played a very confident set and left the audience asking for more. There were some issues with Gautham’s guitar, but that didn’t affect their performance much. Their drummer Liben; displayed some effortless drumming. Enjoying every bit of being behind the kit as Jonathan and Gautham took turns to mingle with the crowd in the pit.
Their setlist for the night –
- Into Space
- Hope
- Epiphany
- Eclipse
- Passing Phase
- Tithemi (Sleeping Giant Cover)
- The End Of Heart Ache (Killswitch Engage Cover)
The sound at the venue was pretty decent in front of the stage, but there were some issues with the on-stage monitors. “I was having a hard time hearing the drums and depended on the guitarists for reference”, said Krishanu, bassist of Terminus Exitium. The lighting was good enough for the show, but photographers did face some problems with the low lights and the flashing LED’s. A pretty decent turnout for the gig, considering the current trend of low turnouts in locals gigs. The arrangement and execution of the gig was near flawless, kudos to Ancient Mosquito for another successful gig!
