Hailing from beautiful city of Pune, often called the “Queen of the Deccan”; Halahkuh is a Death/Thrash Metal band creating some major waves in the Metal circuit lately. Fresh from their gig with the Swedish Metal band – Nale(Interview with Eight Octaves), we caught up with their Lead Guitarist Chinmay Bokil for a little interview:
Eight Octaves: Can you share with us the story behind the band name?
Chinmay: The band name was founded by our Ex-vocalist Rahul Krishnakumar. As the band’s sound changed, the interpretation changed and has since been followed. “With haplessness of the people rising by the day due to those acceding to power and the powerful, fail to deliver. The sanctity of the supreme is questioned. Halahkuh is a phenomenally powerful entity. An epitome of power and resilience.”
Eight Octaves: You describe yourself as a Death/Thrash band, but you don’t really play the traditional Death/Thrash style of music. How would you describe your sound?
Chinmay: Since the genesis of the band considering all the line-up changes, you can see the sound has evolved a lot. Halahkuh‘s sound comes from all of us being natural with our music as a band and we really don’t restrict ourselves while composing to fit in some particular genre. Considering the riffing with thrashy backbone & the vocals with death vibe, the final product is nearest to the published genre.
Eight Octaves: Tell us about the song writing process. Is it the lyrics which are written first and the instruments are added on it? Or is the music created first and the lyrics are written according to it?
Chinmay: It goes the second way around. We complete the basic song structure in the first place. Though we keep the theme blanket for the song in mind. It makes easier for Prakhar to write the lyrics & decide the vocal pattern accordingly.
Eight Octaves: Who would be your biggest influences as a band or individually?
Chinmay: A few of the bands which can be adduced as influences are Pantera, Trivium, Megadeth, Nile, Nevermore, Sylosis, Decapitated, Revocation, Bloodshot Dawn, As I lay Dying,AmonAmarth, Iron Maiden, Death, Arch Enemy etc. Personal influences range from members of local bands such as Abraxas, Devoid, Zygnema to Marco Minneman, George Kollias, Shawn Lane, Guthrie Govan , Paolo Gregoletto, Voggo, Jason Becker and so forth.
Eight Octaves: We are getting to witness a good amount of gigs being hosted in Pune, how much has the scene developedcompared to maybe 2 years back?
Chinmay: Hmm..Talking about the few gigs which are happening in Pune, we think the credit should be given particularly to some colleges such as Symbiosis, VIT etc. which are really keeping the metal scene alive through the competition they conduct. The amount of gigs and the crowd turn-up is been reduced in last two years. But the scene of Pune is reconstructing where you can see lots of new bands coming up with fresh n’ different material.
Eight Octaves: Coming to your EP, what was going through your mind while writing music for the EP? Did you have a definite lyrical or musical theme for the EP?
Chinmay: Sacrilege and PSE were the tracks which were recorded again for the EP with the new line-up. The tracks went through several changes which includes changes in the vocal techniques, drum patterns, solos & fillers etc. Even the theme of the EP was written freshly, and surprisingly it went well with rest of the two songs from the EP.
Eight Octaves: You had Shashank Bhatnagar, ex-vocalist of Undying Inc. perform in one of your songs. How did it feel to work with him, any personal experiences from the interaction which maybe you want to share with your fans?
Chinmay: The idea of having Shashank Bhatnagar on one of our compositions came into Subhrajyoti’s mind first and eventually everybody agreed to this thought since everybody in the band enjoys Undying Inc.. Shashank liked Halahkuh’s music and ultimately he lent his voice on one of our track which was Sacrilege. He really boosted the song’s brutality level and indeed it was a wonderful experience working with him.
Eight Octaves: You guys are on a roll at this moment as far as playing gigs are concerned. Any plans to perform in some other cities as of now?
Chinmay: Haha.. After the EP release, we did play couple of shows outside our fort Pune which were Nashik alongside Zygnema, Ragna-rock(DA-IICT) alongside Nale (Sweden) &Asylum(Mumbai). Few shows are in the pipe-line for as of now.
Eight Octaves: Looking back in the past two years, what would be the most memorable thing you have done as a band? Maybe a certain gig or some other events which have made you more mature as a band?
Chinmay: Together As a band we’ve faced terrible things like line-up change, self-sponsored gigs outside the city which were canned eventually etc. Those experiences made us stronger as a band that is why we cherish every fucking time we step onstage.Eight Octaves: Last question of the day, what are the future plans for the band? Where do you see yourself after maybe 5 years?
Chinmay: The goal is kinda straight. Evolve as musicians and serve the fans with more aggressive thrashy stuff. The band just doesn’t dream to play all over India, but also want mark its territory internationally. The upcoming years will be crucial for the band but we will make the most of it for sure. Thank you and keep thrashing.
