Solar Deity, Epic Black Metal band, made it’s debut out of nowhere. We spoke with the band’s vocalist Aditya Mehta about his personal journey, transition from Death Metal to Black Metal and origins of the band, Solar Deity.

Greetings from MetalIndia Magazine. Your debut album made a big splash on the social media right from its announcement. How are you guys feeling about it?
We’re feeling great. There were quite a few people excited about this project, and they spread the news. We were only too glad to release the album!

Both of you being from Death Metal background, how did you get into Black Metal? Tell us the story and inspiration behind Solar Deity.
During the making of Exhumation’s ‘Consider This’, I understood that I had a very different idea of how extreme metal should be made. By the time Consider This came out, I knew for sure that I’d have to get another band going to realize my vision. For a year, I was frustrated and angry about a few things but didn’t say anything because I was feeling quite helpless at that time. I decided to let the frustration build up, and allowed myself to be as angry as I wanted, and everything that I’d been feeling for a very long time began to take shape when I announced the birth of Solar Deity on my 30th birthday.

Black Metal is the extreme sub-genre of metal always associated with darkness. How and why did you guys choose a name like ‘Solar Deity’ for the band?
It’s what my name means. ‘Aditya’ is Sanskrit for ‘the Sun God’.

Which musical and non-musical influences are present in the album?
I make exactly the kind of music I want to hear. I mean every note I play, every thing I say, and every word I sing. I do exactly what I think needs to be done, and I go about it with a sense of purpose.

What is ‘In The Name Of Satan’ all about? Since we didn’t have access to lyrics, would you please walk us through the concept/ theme/ tale behind each track?
Sure.
‘An Everlasting Fire In Those Of Purest Flesh And Blood’ is the temple bell ringing because of the gentle breeze.
‘Declaration Of Satanic Victory And Eternal Reign’ is the announcement of the ultimate triumph.
‘Blasphemous Chanting On A Moonless Night’ is about the journey of Satanic priests from their home deep in the forest to the black temple.
‘Ceremonial Feast At The Black Temple’ is the celebration of the triumph. At the end of the song, the seas, earth and sky rumble, and the priests rush out of the temple to see what all that noise is. Satan appears before them, as he is very pleased with their devotion.
‘Last Rays From A Dying Sun Cannot Penetrate The Impending Darkness’ has the temple bells ringing again, this time more frequently because of the harsh wind.

See, the trendcore poseurs of the scene won’t be able to enjoy the story as it is beyond their understanding. These fag-ass shitcocks will spend their whole lives wondering why a LaVeyan Satanist had to write about a mythological deity he doesn’t believe in, when instead they should be pulling up their family and relatives who brainwashed them into believing all this ‘god’ shit.
Anyway, in one sentence: In The Name Of Satan is the soundtrack to my spirit.

We would like to know about music making process of Solar Deity. What is it like? When and where was the album recorded?
When I wrote the intro/outro riff to ‘Orphanage Carnage’ (from Exhumation’s ‘Among the Dead’), I realized that music comes to me when I’m not trying to think it up. I can’t sit with a guitar and come up with stuff; I think of riffs and passages and songs and then pick up the guitar to tab it all down. Yash is an avant-garde drummer; he plays whatever he feels like, while I’m very narrow-minded about how I want music to sound. So I made him record the drum parts I wanted – we did it riff by riff. The guy didn’t even know what the songs sounded like till they were made. Anyway, he was thrilled with the results. The album was recorded at Ayan De’s Midicore Studios. Ayan is a hotshot producer who works with alternative and punk bands and likes acoustic stuff. He doesn’t give a shit about metal, and I still don’t know why he agreed to produce this album. Anyway, the awesome thing is that Ayan likes plush, polished, rich production, but he still understood the vibe I wanted to create. He gave me a great tone which was raw as fuck, a tone I want to use for the rest of my life, and he gave Yash that intense drum sound. The best thing is he gave Solar Deity a unique, distinct sound. We don’t sound like any other band, do we? And it’s still black metal as hell! I’ve already told Ayan De that I want all the music I make to be produced at Midicore Studios.

What does the artwork depict? Who designed the logo and the artwork?
I must tell you this story. When I announced the birth of Solar Deity, we had to crop an Exhumation pic to use as our band photo, and Yash had painted an inverted cross on his shirt rather clumsily. Aakash Dwivedi, even after I’d waved off his offer of fixing the pic, made the inverted crucifix a thousand times neater and sent it to me. So while people, instead of asking me how I was going to celebrate my 30th birthday, or even just wishing me and telling me to have a nice day, were pointing out that it was a cropped Exhumation pic (that’s what it is – an Exhumation photo cropped to perfection) and that Yash was trying to look evil, this guy I hardly knew set the whole thing right even though I’d told him not to bother.I knew instantly that this was the kind of person I needed to work with. And sure enough, when it was time to think about the artwork, Aakash was the first guy I thought of. Aakash worked super-hard on the logo and the artwork to give me exactly what I wanted. He is one of the most professional people I know, and he is exceptionally skilled. The artwork shows the priests going to the black temple on a moonless night to celebrate the triumph.

Aditya, how did you manage the shift of style from Death Metal growls to Black Metal shrieks so well?
It was very easy – I was free to sing what I wanted, I was relaxed and stress-free.

Unlike other Indian bands, who start promoting even single releases few weeks ago on the social network, Solar Deity’s release came out of nowhere (even though everyone was aware of the fact that you are working on album). I mean, no pre-release hype was created. Any special reason behind it?
Yeah… I like to surprise people.

 Any plans of playing gigs with a live line-up?
We’ll start playing live after a few more releases. We’re going to get a bassist and another guitarist, and it’s going to be a real pain finding the right people. It’s okay if people aren’t very skilled as long as they are cool people – we’ll just get musicians who are chilled-out in general and passionate about music.

What can we expect from Solar Deity in future? What about your other project, Exhumation?
You can expect black metal – lots of it. We’ll be making different kinds of songs; there’s going to be a lot of variety, but it’s going to be within the realm of black metal. We’re never going to turn into pussies and try to make people hop or anything.
Now that you’ve brought up Exhumation, I have to tell you that Exhumation’s first bassist Aritro Roy was going to play on Solar Deity with me. He was so happy when he heard the riffs that he gave me a keyboard! Not that I’m going to use it for Solar Deity… I have no plans of going symphonic or anything; I’ll use the keyboard to make other kinds of music. Anyway, Aritro has gone into hiding again, and I can’t wait to hear what he has to say about In The Name Of Satan!

Aditya, how has been your journey so far as a musician? You started off with ‘Mortuary’, (Thrash Metal band) and then moved on to the extreme sub-genre of metal with ‘Exhumation’ (Death Metal) and now ‘Solar Deity’ (Black Metal). Is there any other genre you’d like to explore?
It’s been great. I feel just like I did over a decade ago when I was in Demonic Resurrection, and nine years back when I’d just started Exhumation. It’s amazing being in a band, playing the music you love, and having a blast in general. I’ll be starting my other band Angry Dwarf when Solar Deity takes a break. I’d rather not reveal the style of music right now, but I can tell you that it’s going to be a lot of fun.

Well, that’s it. Thanks for your time. Speak out to your fans and supporters.
Do things that you think should be done without expecting to be thanked, simply because they need to be done. Ask the rickshawallah his name, ignore a celebrity and pretend you don’t know who they are. When beggars extend their hand for money, shake it or low-five them. Buy a kg of muskmelon ice-cream and give it to someone who you think deserves it. Go over to their place unannounced, hand them the ice-cream, and say bye and leave.

Download the album ‘Solar Deity – In The Name Of Satan’ from this location

Interview by Dinesh Verma & Hetal Bhagat