By Nawaz Yasin Islam
SHILLONG: In what could be termed as a knockout punch hitting hard to blow out living daylights, a mega musical event held at U Soso Tham Auditorium on Saturday last signaled the dawn of a new year for metal enthusiasts.
Dreams of fanatics waiting to step into the moshpit and taste the exhilaration of having faces blown inside by the brutal force of symphony dished out by their favourite bands from the region was realized thanks to the initiative of a young group of ‘worshippers’ who live each day to spread the word of music.
R n T (Ryngkatlang & Treilang) Group, one of the newly formed self help groups from Pohkseh which was established in June 28 with a group of 10 young energetic youths aged 20-23 under the leadership of Rubinus Teidor Lyngdoh (Chairman, 22) made sure that January 2014 is not only remembered as the first month of the new year but also as the month which kick started the proceedings for an eventful year.
The show gained much appreciation for providing a platform enabling the young and talented musicians of the State to perform live in front of their biggest critiques, the ever hungry raging audience!
A stand out performance from amongst all the budding talents was Plague Throat, the three piece dead metal outfit who had just released their debut EP ‘An Exordium To Contagion’ via Incanned Productions. Their technicality and precision in presenting riffs can only lead you to one conclusion…Cannibal Corpse and Death have left behind residues that will only grow stronger with time!
With music that doesn’t get more direct than a silver sword ripping through the exposed heart, Plague Throat took the audience by surprise with their ferocious intensity the moment Nangsan strummed the ‘stringed-weapon’.
With merciless drumming to accompany the powerfully tight riffs, the gut wrenching vocals and brutal technicality sure dislocated spines in the ‘head bangers ball’ which was wreaking up the designated zone below the stage.
Packages that surprised the audience include debutants Raped Jihad and Secret passionate who didn’t hold themselves back when it came to shredding the set into pieces.
The stage also witnessed a reunion of unique band Kredence who came with their weapons, all the way from Mairang and Undead from Shillong who were hibernating for the last two years.
Saturday’s concert only showed that in metal, when you return, you return louder and stronger!
Open jaws and throbbing heartbeats waited in anticipation in front of the expected avalanche of raw, unedited and insanely powerful music that can rightfully be labeled as ‘Symphony of Destruction’!
Top performances were delivered by none other than Dead Note who were in tune following their fresh return from performances at the ‘Hornbill Festival’ at Nagaland.
Heralding warfare in the right manner were other bands like Aberrant, Still Status, Meth, Dymbur, The Pillars from Nongpoh and Wave of Anger.
Angst and technicality mashed in the right ratios and powerful vocals set the standards to be followed for the night. Aberrant came in with their new line up following the exit of Bhabor from the band and the young Rex ripping through the drum set with flawless perfection despite the glitches in the system earned the respect of ‘sensitive’ ears.
Much is expected from this band who is currently working on their own EP to hit the stands soon.
‘Mpowering D Young Gun’s’ was the meaningful theme behind the stellar show on Saturday and due credit goes to Rubinus Teidor Lyngdoh and his team who joined hands with Meghalaya Aids Control Society(MACS) to provide the much needed platform for recognizing the tremendous potential bottled within each artist.
Efforts of audio consultants Bari (Mawprem), Malvern Mukhim (MCM sound), Julius L Basaiawmoit (Audio Consultant and Mixed Engineer), host of the event M R Andreas and the Bouncer Association of Meghalaya (BAM) deserve a special mention for their hard work. BAM was the guard wall in a furious sea of carnage!
The presence of Dr. Jemino Mawthoh MLA as the Chief Guest of the event was also recorded to be very inspiring for the young musicians. We can only hope that the coming months lead us towards more eventful evenings!