RUDRA is no new name to India. They have played in Delhi, Bombay and Bangalore and have left all and sundry speechless with their unique Vedic-scriptures-influenced-death-metal. The Singapore based band has just finished recording their third full-length studio album "Kurukshetra". What follows is an exclusive interview with their vocalist / bassist, KATHI.
Bold Mighty Hails, my friend. Thanks for taking out time for this interview. Can you please give a brief introduction to RUDRA for our readers?
Our salutations to you. It’s really a pleasure doing our first interview with an Indian Metal magazine. Rudra has been around for about 11 years. With a few line-up changes and still keeping to our roots, which is Extreme Metal, we have released 2 albums. The 3rd album entitled Kurukshetra will be released next month.
I believe you have just finished recording your new album. Can you tell us something about it? With the SARS and shit, did you face hassles in recording it?
Yeah the SARS did destroy our recording plans. We were supposed to record our album in Malaysia, about 400 miles from Singapore. But the SARS problem didn’t permit us to travel outside Singapore. Instead we decided to record the album in Singapore since we had no other choice. The very reason for us to record in Malaysia was due to the lack of good studios that can produce good metal recordings in Singapore. Surprisingly at the time when all our recording plans were destroyed, a new studio opened its doors to us. The studio was just 3 days old when we started recording. And it was our first experience recording the album digitally. We did face a few problems but we resolved them as we got more familiar with this new recording format and environment. Basically we managed to capture the aggression we wanted in this new album very well in this studio. Although the album may have its shortcomings, this is truly our best album. We are proud of this work.
Your sound is uniquely kick-ass. Can you tell us something about your influences? How long have you been into (death) metal and how long have you been into spiritual reading?
During our early days we were heavily influenced by the heydays of Death Metal. We are talking about the early 90’s here. Bands such as Obituary, Death, Sepultura, Bathory, Deicide, Sodom, Slayer, Black Sabbath etc.. occupied our CD decks most of the time. My personal spiritual reading and study started in 1993. About 2 years after I started playing in a band and 1 year after forming Rudra. Gradually both philosophy and extreme metal merged and became Vedic Metal. And Rudra became the vehicle to bear the Vedic Metal flag.
What are you trying to convey through RUDRA? Some people feel it’s blasphemous to include religious / spiritual textures into music. What do you have to say about that?
Our goal is to present to the world the wisdom of our ancients. There is so much to be discovered in the philosophical works of our ancestors. We are particularly inspired by the Advaita Vedanta philosophy. To some it may seem religious but to me and to many others, it is a non-sectarian philosophy that brings about a cognitive change in the human psyche. After all I was born in this culture and why should I be ashamed to talk about it, write about it or be proud of it. We call our music Vedic Metal. Rudra is a vehicle to carry this philosophy. This is nothing new in extreme metal. We have bands like Nile & Melechesh already doing this. And I have this to say to that man who considers what we do as blasphemous: Both orthodoxy and unorthodoxy in philosophical matters have its own merits. But we prefer to be unorthodox in this matter. I prefer peaceful co-existence so don’t make that judgment on us.
Have you faced problems from authorities because you come across as a "Pro-Hindu" band (from your covers, logo, etc.)? If yes, please give details.
No. We have not faced any problems being what we are. And we have to make it very clear that there is great difference being ‘Hindu’ and ‘pro-hindu’. We are the former.
What is your label agreement for distribution across the globe?
We have licensed this recording to Trishul Records again for worldwide distribution of the album. It is up to them how they choose to distribute it.
What’s your touring schedule usually like? What kind of gigs/ clubs / festivals do you play? Which countries have you played in the past? What are the gigs planned for the new album?
We have full time jobs and that doesn’t permit us to tour. We do festivals and small shows. We have played in Malaysia, Thailand, Bali & India. We hope to reach the European and American shores with this new album. We were supposed to be on the bill for Milwaukee Metalfest. But again the SARS spoiled our plans. Perhaps next year we’ll be there.
What’s the biggest / most memorable show you ever played?
The most memorable show will of course be the Delhi gig at IIT in 2001. That was our first gig outside Singapore and our first visit to India as Rudra. It was like almost paying homage to the land that makes us what we are!
How is the scene in Singapore for a death metal band like you? Are there plenty of gigs? Are there many bands and many fans? Do authorities mess with Metal?
The scene here is fine. But here we occupy more of a veteran status. There are only 2 extreme metal bands in this island that has a decade long history. One is Impiety and the other is Rudra. For that reason we do have our loyal friends & fans. Lately there has been at least a gig a month in this small island. But we prefer to play 3-4 shows a year locally. The authorities don’t mess much with us unless slamdancing breaks out.
You have been to India before and seen many bands play. You have also heard some on tape / cd. Which one were you most impressed with, so far?
I like Mindsnare, Threinody, Sceptre, Metakix, Fate & Demonic Resurrection. Metakix’s debut album is good. Hope to see more extreme metal albums from India.
Any Last words?
Thanks to Metalindia and long live the Indian metal scene.
Interview By : Rattlehead Ram (rattleheadram@yahoo.co.uk)