Shock Therapy is a Hyderabad based band comprising of Akram-ul-Haq - Guitars, Jay Awasthi- Guitars, Krishna Chaitanya Pottepalem- Bass, Aniketh Yadav- Drums and Rahul Das- Vocals
I first saw these guys perform at PEARL 2010 in the Till Deaf Do We Part Event. For a newly formed band, these guys struck an amazing chord with the crowd there. To this day, their performance of their OC ‘Kill the Cupid’ remains as one of the most memorable moments of the whole event. While deciding the agenda for this issue, we just knew that we had to get these guys’ interview. Front man Rahul Das answers our questions about the band.
Q. How did you guys come up with the name SHOCK THERAPY? Have you changed the band’s name before?
A. We believe that every band needs to have some underlying theme to it, otherwise it’s quite pointless. And when we met up, we realized that all of us were pretty much sickened by the perverse nature of humanity, and how humans revel in killing each other and destroying the whole planet. Shock therapy is essentially a medical treatment that s given to people with twisted minds. And this is our attempt at making others realize this twisted side of the human psyche.
Q. How long have you all known each other? How did you meet?
A. We started the band around a year and a half ago. Our first gig was at IIIT Hyderabad. We had known each other reasonably well for4- 5 months. In that time we started jamming a bit as well. After getting to know each other better we decided to start a new project in Hyderabad.
Q. What genre of music do you consider your work to be? Who are your major influences?
A. We consider ourselves to be part of the brutal slam death genre...As for bands we admire; we’re generally influenced by bands like Waking The Cadaver, Cephalotripsy, Human Rejection, Human Mincer, Devourment, Katalepsy
We’re not influenced by any Indian bands per se, since few Indian bands play the sort of music that we do.
Q. What are the main themes or topics for most of your songs?
A. Most of the topics are based on everyday occurrences in our lives. One of our OC’s called Sparrows came into being after a discussion about how we barely see any sparrows in the city any more (We’re all nature lovers). So essentially, if we see something on a day to day basis that has an impact on our lives, we write about it.
A. We believe that every band needs to have some underlying theme to it, otherwise it’s quite pointless. And when we met up, we realized that all of us were pretty much sickened by the perverse nature of humanity, and how humans revel in killing each other and destroying the whole planet. Shock therapy is essentially a medical treatment that s given to people with twisted minds. And this is our attempt at making others realize this twisted side of the human psyche.
Q. How long have you all known each other? How did you meet?
A. We started the band around a year and a half ago. Our first gig was at IIIT Hyderabad. We had known each other reasonably well for4- 5 months. In that time we started jamming a bit as well. After getting to know each other better we decided to start a new project in Hyderabad.
Q. What genre of music do you consider your work to be? Who are your major influences?
A. We consider ourselves to be part of the brutal slam death genre...As for bands we admire; we’re generally influenced by bands like Waking The Cadaver, Cephalotripsy, Human Rejection, Human Mincer, Devourment, Katalepsy
We’re not influenced by any Indian bands per se, since few Indian bands play the sort of music that we do.
Q. What are the main themes or topics for most of your songs?
A. Most of the topics are based on everyday occurrences in our lives. One of our OC’s called Sparrows came into being after a discussion about how we barely see any sparrows in the city any more (We’re all nature lovers). So essentially, if we see something on a day to day basis that has an impact on our lives, we write about it.
Q. How has composing music together affected you guys personally? Connection and balance between your personal lives and the songs that you write
A. Once you get into metal, it sort of envelops you. It embraces you, empowers you. And then, it then just blows you away. It becomes a part of your life. It changes the way you live, and your outlook towards life.
Q. Which songs do you perform most frequently? Do you ever play any covers? Do you have a set play list?
A. When we started off, we did play covers of bands like Slipknot, Mudvayne and Hatebreed. After a while however, we decided to start focusing on original compositions, so that we could develop our own music. Our first OC was a song called Kill The Cupid. It was followed by other OC’s namely Sparrows, Project Mayhem, Fight Club Fight Know Your Right(inspired by the movie Fight Club) and In Search Of My Sanity. We’re presently working on a song about deforestation that will be out soon.
Q. How has your music evolved since you first began playing music together?
A. Well, I for one was first not into metal at all, after a while I started listening to black metal, which really inspired me. Akram, one of our guitarists, is also into alternative. Our other guitarist Jai is into the Hardcore/deathcore genre. Our drummer Krishna Chaitanya and our bassist Aniketh are the ones who are truly into the brutal slam death genre
Q. How often do you guys rehearse and practice?
A. We generally meet every Saturday and Sunday to jam. Our bassist Aniketh lives in Nellore. So about two to three days before a gig, he comes down so we can do some serious jamming first.
Q. What has been your biggest challenge as a band?
A. One of our initial difficulties was finding decent instruments. When we started the band, all of us were studying, so it was difficult to raise money for the instruments. Sadly, it’s a problem that most Indian bands face. Also, initially it was difficult to get the Hyderabad crowds receptive to our sort of music, since it’s not a very common or commercial genre in India. But we refused to quit. We kept working at it, and it started to show during the gigs.
Q. What’s your ultimate direction for your band?
A. Right now we’re just going with the flow of things. We’ll deal with whatever gets thrown at us later on. Right now we’re recording an EP. Apart from India, we’ll also be promoting it in the United States, UK and Australia
Q. Any last words for upcoming bands?
A. Stay true to your music.
Stay Brutal
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