Members of Against Evil during their concert in Europe last year | Photo Credit: Special arrangement
Had everything worked according to the plan, the year 2020 would have been great for Visakhapatnam-based metal band Against Evil. The four-piece band that comprises of Shasank Devulapalli (lead guitar), Siri Siri (vocals and bass), Sravan Chakravarthi (rhythm guitar and vocals),and Noble John (drums) was all set to drop an Extended Play (EP) with six songs in March and then head to another tour across Europe after their maiden international tour in 2019.
“We had around 25 shows scheduled in Germany, Switzerland and Austria. But like millions across the world, we had to cancel our plans for the year and stay at home,” says Sravan.
The year 2020 has been a tough time for the bands of Visakhapatnam, as the pandemic brought to halt the growing music scene in the city. “In 2018 and 2019, the music scene in Visakhapatnam grew exponentially with the opening of microbreweries and restaurants that encouraged live performances. Apart from the established bands, a lot of budding musicians were seen playing at these places. But the pandemic and the closure of hotels for several months has impacted the momentum of the city’s growing music scene. Though the established bands are back in swing, it is the budding artists who have lost their shot,” says Samuel J Benaiah, Kairoz’s drummer and percussionist.
This year is special for this four-piece band as they celebrate their 10th anniversary in December. Started in 2010 by a group of enthusiastic engineering students, Kairoz has managed to stay afloat even when DJs took over the music scene in most of the city’s hotels and restaurants. “We had big plans for December 2020 as we wanted to celebrate it with our fans but that won’t happen due to the pandemic. However, we have a bigger surprise in store for our fans as we are all set to launch a new album in 2021,” he says. Along with Samuel, the band includes Johanan Yedidi, Paul Livinstone and Neil Joseph.
Members of Kairoz | Photo Credit: Special arrangement
Along with playing covers of Tollywood and Bollywood songs, Karioz also used the time during the lockdown to experiment with various genres of music and compose a few tunes of their own. “ We might be popular for playing good covers, but we wanted to launch something of our own. The basic composition of tunes and finalising of lyrics were done during the lockdown and the album was recorded the band met after relaxations were announced. The album has rock, pop and a few romantic songs,” adds Samuel.
Like Kairoz, the lockdown has been a productive period for the members of Against Evil. The band will soon be launching their third album, after All Hail The King (2018) and Fatal Assault (2015). “Initially, it was meant to be an EP with six songs but since we had so much time in hand, we decided to add a few more songs and release it as an album. We are holding the release as transporting the CDs, vinyl and merchandise to Europe, where our fan base lies, is difficult in the current scenario,” says Sravan.
With the relaxations and reopening of cafes, bars and restaurants, things have finally started looking up for these bands. Formed in November 2018, Revive, is another popular name in the list of the city’s established bands. “The live music scene is getting back to normal, as even restaurants want to offer much more than just good food and beverages to their customers. They are now open to hosting band performances. Apart from these commercial performances, we have been getting a lot of invitations for private gigs in the past two or three months. While the city is opening up with opportunities, tours and concerts still seem like a far off thing,” says J Prem Kumar, vocalist for Revive.
