Threnody, the leaders of the Metal revolution from B’lore performed to a packed crowd at the Strawberry Fields [N.L.S.] rock competition this November. They won top honors and were recording too that night to release the successor of their Live at NLS’99 recording. A short, crisp and intense performance by the band gets you into headbanging frenzy and your neighbours an earache!! The band started with a cover of Kreator’s "Renewal" and this time around you can distinctly make out a better sound than their previous recording. Main-man Siddharth’s bass is loud and clearer which is quite a relief. But looking back in retrospect I feel that Siddharth’s vocals were a shade stronger on the last recording though. The solo’s been nailed perfectly by Premik adding value to this tightly performed cover! Next up they performed a new original "Disembodiment" which I must say is an absolute masterpiece. It took some time to get used to but now it’s got me in its invincible grip. A song that beautifully flows like a river with numerous mood changes varying from the dark and depressing to being out rightly aggressive and furious. It’s a cool song as it has al the various genres of metal incorporated subtly into it with even a bit of blast beats courtesy Satish. The band sounds complete on this one and the deficiency of a second guitarist is simply not felt. The loud audience can be heard cheering crazily in the doomy parts giving you some re-assurance that there are still some parts left in India where good, rock-solid metal is still appreciated. The song ends with Premik letting his Ibanez speak for himself playing a manic solo. Threnody really unleash some more serious metal mayhem on the mad crowd with their perfect cover of "Holier than Thou". But not before Siddharth’s habit of teasing and testing their followers a bit!! The vocals could’ve been improved on this one though. An exceptionally good cover otherwise is all I can say – nothing more, nothing less! Next up they do another original amongst the crowd’s plea for Slayer (which they too do very proficiently), which is a staple of their sets, "Unto the End". The band again proves its calibre with this awesome composition. Another song with numerous tempo changes like "Disembodiment" gets me into headbanging frenzy. After a word of thanx and encouragement to the numerous bands (literally!) which support Threnody they launch into "Orgasmatron" done Sepultura style. This one’s been dedicated to all the bands that made that event so special. The review’s getting to be boring and monotonous `cos they guys are flawlessly nailing one song after another!! Truly a band, which deserves some recognition internationally and not stagnate here. They finish off their set with a thrash version of Zeppelin’s "Communication Breakdown" continuing with the Threnody tradition of imparting sonic heaviness to classic rocks tracks which otherwise sound so lame! I personally hate Zeppelin but this song seemed so much fun when these guys infused their own ideas and juice into it. This awesome live CD – NLS 2k is strongly recommended for all the metallers who’re not fortunate to have witnessed that power-packed performance live (like me!!). Or B’lore dudes who’d like to relive that body drenching experience can, by mailing the band at threnody_3@yahoo.com or me for the Delhi guys at psychoray@ironmaiden.com. Cheers to Threnody for being so goddamn tight ad keeping metal alive. Here’s wishing the 3 threnodudes UP THE IRONS!