Vocalist Parash of Nepali death/black metal band, ANTIM GRAHAN, talks about their journey and upcoming album.

How are you guys doing? Please tell us about the origin of the band. How did you come up with the name?
AG: We are doing absolutely fine, Thank you very much!! The band originated about around 8 years from now when we were still in school. And the name came up when one of my brother’s friends randomly spoke out the name as we all we trying to settle with one.

You guys have been around for more than 8 years. You started of as a symphonic/melodic black metal band and gradually shifted to Death metal? What made you change the sound?
AG: Actually this is the general perception with everyone because of our 5th album “Putrefaction Eternity”. We have not shifted ourselves to Death Metal as such. We believe in doing something different with our each new album rather than just sticking with the same genre for the sake of it. And the new album was more of Brutal Death Metal/Grindcore and very less elements of Black Metal in it. So it was more of an experiment album. We go back to Black Metal for our next album.

As a musician, which bands do you worship? How do they influence your music?
AG: The band has so many influences as each individual listens to completely different genres. Collectively, we are listening to Gorgoroth, Old Dimmu Borgir, Nile, Devourment, Alcest, Messuggah, Nortt, Shapes of Despair, Emperor, Unmerciful, Origin, Cryptopsy, Decapitated, Satyricon and so on. They have a huge influence in our music since we have been listening to them for a long time now and are the main reason that we have been drawn into the world of extreme music.

You have been consistently releasing albums almost every year. How do you maintain this consistency? Are you working on any new album? If yes, please tell us something about it.
AG: Hmm… Not every year, but yeah few have been in a year’s time. And when it comes to consistency, I believe that it is your passion in this music that entitles you to keep marching on. It has become a part of our lives and we make sure to have some time together for jams almost everyday. And yes, we are working on our 6th album as we speak and like I said earlier, we return back to Black Metal veins. We are studying some materials for our new album and will be sort of a concept album. All will be revealed more about this very soon.

Who designs your album covers?
AG: Miss Asmita Shrish who is currently residing in the UK.

Have you played outside Nepal? Please tell us about your experiences.
AG: Yes, we had the opportunity to play in India, Hyderabad few months back in Deccan Rock 2011. We shared the stage with Decapitated alongside with few other awesome bands from all over the globe. It was an absolute honor and a kickass showdown!!

Suggest some extreme metal bands from Nepal.
AG: Binaash,Define Mental, Hatebook to name the few prominent extreme metal bands from the local scene.

Any Indian bands you listen to or like?
AG: I haven’t had the opportunity to get into the Indian Metal scene but from what I have heard, it is supposed to be absolutely kickass and I would love to get few recommendations from you. We did see Devoid at the Deccan Rock Fest and they were brilliant!!

How is the scene in Nepal? Do the bands get the support to play and promote their music?
AG: The music scene is Nepal is definitely developing. But it’s more of like a volunteering service out here because we don’t usually get the support for extreme music. The gigs and albums usually are done through our pocket!!! The music here is promoted an independent record label for the underground scene of Nepal, KtmRocks Records. And it has been doing this for a past decade for numerous metal bands here.

Anything you’ll like to say to all the metalheads and fans in India?
AG: We played once in India and the appreciation was absolutely huge there!!!! And we are definitely looking forward to seeing all our brothers and sisters in India very soon. So I believe that the support will be always being there and we will try to release our new album in India!! All hails to all our legions from Kingdom of Nepal.

Interview by Dinesh Verma & Hetal Bhagat