Spectral Decay brings stressbuster line up of rock and metal to Bengaluru

This weekend’s line up of metal melodies in Bengaluru is bound to knock your socks off

You might not expect it from metal music, but there is something for everyone at the upcoming second edition of Stress//Test, a gig series started by city-based organisers Spectral Decay, featuring performances by Dirge, The Earth Below, Megadrone and Maneating Orchid.

If you are into ambient, psychedelic music, Megadrone will be ditching their guitars for modular and semi-modular synths and effects at the gig. Founder Ganesh Krishnaswamy tells Metroplus that it is going to be an hour of drone, spectral music and 1970s-inspired psychedelia and minimalist styles. Given their approach, Krishnaswamy — who is part of stoner/doom metal band Bevar Sea and Kryptos — hopes everyone gets comfortable, stays off their phones for a while and sit or lie down. “We have a generative video to complement the music, they can choose to watch that or close their eyes and nod off. The idea is for them to completely immerse themselves, their physical and mental states, and travel for an hour,” he says.

For those who dig rock, grunge and noisy kind of heavy music, Mumbai-based The Earth Below is making its live debut at Stress//Test 2. It is the first time that singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Deepak Raghu’s solo work will be performed live. As a drummer, Raghu has fronted sludge band Shepherd and sat in for seasoned acts including Millennium, Bevar Sea and Dying Embrace, plus rock band Mad Orange Fireworks. When the time came to put his own band together for The Earth Below, there was a certain dread (logistically speaking, at least) but jamming with guitarist Ashish Niraj Dharkar and drummer Shreyansh Kejriwal infused the right amount of enthusiasm to get things off the ground.

There was no better platform to launch The Earth Below’s live set than Stress//Test, according to Raghu. “We’ll be performing songs from our debut full-length Nothing Works Vol 2 as well as road testing some new material that we’re currently working on.”

Plotting a launch of their own are Mumbai-based band Dirge, who are returning to perform in the city at another Spectral Decay show (their last was in mid-2022). This time, they are touring with their second album, a self-titled record spanning 40 minutes of doom and post-metal, out on March 10. Guitarist Varun Patil says, “We’re really thrilled to be playing the full album live, especially after getting such an overwhelming response over our singles.” Bengaluru holds a special place for the band for being a receptive audience every time they’ve played over the years. There are CDs and merchandise of their new release made available at the show, with Patil noting he is looking forward to share the stage with all the other artistes in the lineup.

Local mathcore/metal band Maneating Orchid’s vocalist Kaushal LS says they will keep the energy “frantic and unhinged” for the audience to be on the edge. Their chaotic style of music makes that an easy task, best heard on their debut album Miasma and the follow-up album Hive Mind. Kaushal, who also doubles up as the co-organiser of the show with DSimon Santiago, says Maneating Orchid especially relishes lineups where things are unconventional, even within metal gigs. “The bands on this bill are absolutely stellar. Even though every band may have a fairly different sound, the desire to express our honest creative selves is what ties us all together. We’re pretty stoked to watch all the bands on this lineup. It’s going to be wild!” he signs off.

Spectral Decay presents STRESS//TEST 2 on March 12 at Fandom at Gilly’s Redefined, Koramangala. Tickets: ₹799 available on Insider.in + ₹499 cover charge payable at the gate.