Playing what can be roughly described as an amalgamation of Heavy, Doom and Stoner Metal, Bevar Sea is one of the most respected bands in the Bangalore underground circuit. Having a cult following all over the country and even abroad, Bevar Sea return to the stage on the 22nd of June after a long gap, as one of the house bands for Doom Over Bangalore. We caught up with guitarist Rahul Chacko for a little candid interview:
Eight Octaves: Greetings from Eight Octaves! How have you been lately?
Rahul: The weather in Bangalore has just become awesome thanks to the rains, and we’ve got a big gig coming up with Doom Over Bangalore, so I’d say things are looking up.
Eight Octaves: Your debut self-titled album got pretty good response in India as well as abroad. What were your expectations as a band when you released the album? Did any of you ever expect such an overwhelming response?
Rahul: Well, we were pretty happy with how the album turned out, but we definitely expected a few brickbat reviews from here and there. It was a pleasant surprise that most of them turned out to be extremely positive – even the criticisms were measured and thoughtful. On one hand, it’s great, but on the other, I suspect a few stinkers would also be well received at this point. For one thing, it’d give us more motivation to really improve for the second album, and also, it’s a good sign that our music is reaching out to a lot of people, some of whom don’t like our sound. Right now, it’s largely circulating within a niche subculture, which I suspect is why feedback is largely appreciative.
Eight Octaves: Any plans of touring different parts of the country in the near future? Or maybe an international tour, which is currently being chalked out in some dark doomy alley at this moment?
Rahul: Cunning plans are always being hatched; it’s the execution of said plans that usually gets fouled up. There’s a possibility of outstation gigging in the near future, but we’re just waiting on a bunch of
things to get sorted out before we can confirm the city and date. An international tour is obviously one of the biggest milestones in any band’s career, and we’re doing some long-term planning in that regard. It’s unlikely to happen anytime soon, so we shall be keeping a lid on it till we have something concrete to talk about.
Eight Octaves: Your cover of Turn You Round Again, featured in the Motorhead Tribute – India album got rave reviews for its originality. Who was the mastermind behind the whole “let’s make this song in our trademark style” idea?
Rahul: Well, there was never any option to cover it in anything other than our trademark style. Some of the covers we’ve done of bands like Black Sabbath and Sleep are pretty close to our regular sound, so sometimes they stick closer to the original. It’s when we cover stuff like Pink Floyd and Motorhead, which are fairly distinct from what we normally sound like, that we get to mess around with the song a little bit. As for Turn You Round Again, each of us just took parts from the original, reinterpreted most of them, and then pieced them together to form whatever it is now.
Eight Octaves: What are your views on the current trend in decreasing audience pattern in gigs? It’s very disheartening to see such a low turnout, especially for young, upcoming bands. And I’m sure even you would have felt the same way at some point or the other.
Rahul: Our own shows have had turnouts at least on par with our expectations, so it’s not that bad. Bands of our kind in Europe and the USA play to far smaller crowds on a regular basis. If that wasn’t the status quo, I guess it wouldn’t be called the underground scene. Also, if a band has talent, tenacity, a unique sound and a basic sense of pragmatism, they should be able to find a way to make something work out.
Eight Octaves: Do you think the saturation of the scene with too many bands and the influx of quite a few International acts coming to India, had to play a role in the decreasing audience pattern?
Rahul: For big shows, sure – the climate is different from when Maiden first played Bangalore in 2007, and we’ve seen several great acts play here since then. Since there are comparitively so many bands coming down, most people can’t really afford to go to all the concerts, so the audience sort of gets spread across all the gigs. An act like Judas Priest or AC/DC still ought to pull good numbers, though.
Eight Octaves: There have been some controversies in the Bangalore scene in recent times, where it is said that a few organisers are deliberately charging a performance fee from the bands rather than trying to pay them. What are your views on this?
Rahul: It depends on what the band’s situation is at the moment. If I recall, those shows had free entry, so that’s a different scene from something like Doom Over Bangalore or Trendslaughter Fest. If you’re a band
that’s just starting out and want to get some experience playing live and also get your music heard, then it may be worth it to pay a bit of cash to play, provided the gig is decently organised. Obviously, if
you’re an established band, you don’t really need the exposure that much. When we organise paid gigs, we definitely try to compensate the bands that are on the lineup (including ourselves).
Eight Octaves: Bangalore Open Air is just around the corner. The line-up this time is very varied and it surely has a lot to offer to lovers of different sub-genres of Metal. What do you guys expect from the show this year? Any personal favourite acts?
Rahul: Sodom is obviously the clear favourite. In fact, Deepak and I used to belt out ‘The Saw is the Law’ back when they were in Chennai, before joining Bevar Sea. Anyway, as Kreator proved last year, teutonic
thrash is a blast to experience live, so we’re looking forward to that. Iced Earth and Ihsahn also ought to be kickass, and Leprous sounds pretty interesting too.
Eight Octaves: You had played in the inaugural Bangalore Open Air, on the same stage as the mighty Kreator. How was the experience? What did it feel like to be backstage with the legendary German band?
Rahul: BOA was great! Definitely the closest thing to a ‘big metal festival vibe we’ve experienced in the country. We didn’t get too much time backstage with the band, and were content to hang around in the
audience area and get our hair blown back by one Kreator classic after another.
Eight Octaves: Lastly, what can the fans expect from Bevar Sea during Doom Over Bangalore? Any new compositions from you guys? Or do you want to keep it a surprise until the gig day?
Rahul: It’s our first gig all year, so we’re pumped to go. Unfortunately, our bassist Avi was in a motorcycle accident and ended up fracturing his collarbone, so we’re not yet sure if he’ll be ready to play by the time the gig is upon us. Hence, there’s been no room to work on new material, but it will be the first time we’ve played the Motorhead cover live, so that ought to be special. Actually, since each of us recorded our parts separately for that song, I don’t think we’ve ever played the song together as a band yet. Should be interesting.
Bevar Sea- Turn You Around Again (Motorhead Cover) –
