Surprised by the mushrooming metal rock culture in India, visting metal ensembles from the Maldives, France and the United Arab Emirates hope to make headway in their countries even as threats of piracy and the availability of free music online loom large.
Struggling to find a foothold in the global rock scenario, metal rock bands Nothnegal from Male, the capital of Maldives, Hacride from Poitiers (France) and Point of View from Dubai (UAE) are wowed by the "overwhelming response" to their brand of music in India.
"The response has been very positive in India. I was very surprised that India has such a growing rock scene. I never expected to see so many fans of metal," lead vocalist Luis Roux of Hacride told IANS on the sidelines of a metal concert here.
"We know India for its Bollywood, but we had no idea that metal is growing so much," Roux added.
Despite Europe's contribution to rock music, metal is still on the fringes in France.
"It's a marginal genre. It's popular among young people, but it's not recognised in the media – it's not on the TV, it's not on the radio. It used to be looked as a country that did not have any metal bands but it's getting recognition now," Roux pointed out.
Roux, who describes the tenor of Hacride's music as "groovy and progressive", said that metal is facing stiff competition from a huge profusion of new music and artists thanks to the internet that gives a chance to musicians from across the world.
"With the internet, music is accessible to all. That is a good thing but there are so many artists out there on the web..it's a huge competition," rued Roux.
Lead guitarist Hilarl of Nothnegal felt similarly, though the cyberworld has been instrumental in popularising the band's songs.
"We have toured almost 20 countries in Asia and Europe. Our music is more popular in Europe. This is largely due to our compositions which can be found online," said Hilarl.
He confessed that the Maldives is yet to recognise the metal genre but hoped that just like India, the island nation in the Indian Ocean will also have a healthy rock scene in the future.
"It is still on the fringes…it's underground. But we were astonished that India has a developed rock scene. We can definitely hope for the better for our nation," said Hilarl.
However, piracy has dealt a heavy blow to the budding musicians.
Chirodeep Lahiri of Kolkata, who plays the drums for Dubai-based ensemble Point of View, felt piracy is the dark side of the internet that otherwise provides a huge boost to newcomers.
"It's got both sides. Because of piracy and indiscriminate music downloads, album sales drop. In one way it is a boon as music reaches a lot of people," Lahiri told IANS.
Ron "Bumblefoot" Thal, the current lead guitarist of Guns 'N' Roses, felt artists who have been through a struggling period turn out to be seasoned and true professionals whereas others who experience a swift rise to fame often turn out to be one hit wonders.
"But now people achieve quick fame because of the internet and later on you see they can't stick around much," said Thal.
Despite the negatives, Lahiri reckons metal will "prosper and only continue to grow".
(Sahana Ghosh can be contacted at sahana.g@ians.in)
–Indo Asian News Service
