Young as its members may be, this band certainly doesn’t sound like a bunch of newcomers. Goddess Gagged, the five-piece, post-hardcore, progressive rock-metal band has been riding the indie wave since 2008. The band’s bassist Krishna, explains “Arman and I started the band out in 2008 with Jeremy. We were a 3-piece band that simply wanted to play music like Porcupine Tree. The band was pretty much an inspiration for all of us. It was more on the spacey-alternative rock side of things. Arman had been looking to jam with someone for quite a while and we met through common friends. That’s when this took off. The Goddess Gagged you know today came into being in September 2010, with the addition of Siddharth on Vocals and Devesh on Guitars,”.
Brimming with intense, atmospheric guitar riffs and highenergy power chords fantastically teamed with super-charged vocals, it’s no wonder that the band has come to be known as one of India’s top progressive metal bands. Even those who don’t fancy metal as a genre are hooked. Since its inception, Goddess Gagged has gigged across the country, and even opened for the hugely popular Finnish rock band Poets of the Fall in 2011. Last year also saw the talented band work release their debut album– Resurfaces. Interestingly, the album can still be streamed on the band’s website, allowing listeners to get a feel of the music before actually buying the album. “We wanted to give our fans the entire Goddess Gagged experience. We hope that people pick up a copy of the CD once they hear the entire album, which has come together as a result of our time, effort and money,” says Krishna. When asked whether they faced any challenges as a band, he goes on to say that there were plenty. “Our producer Zorran Mendonsa is from Auckland, New Zealand. So we had to fly him and his gear down to record. Besides being financially challenging, the entire album was home produced, with the guitars recorded in Devesh’s bedroom and the bass and vocals at Arman’s house. Everything from the production of CDs, to the album art, to the release and distribution were all challenging tasks for us, but at the same time it was a fantastic learning experience,” explains Krishna.
Siddharth, the band’s vocalist, who has been in the rock scene for over a decade, feels that the indie music scene is growing exponentially. “More people are seeing live music as a form of entertainment that they are willing to shell out money for, which is what’s getting more sponsors interested. This, in turn has resulted in gigs and festivals mushrooming across India. It’s very exciting to be part of a scene that only seems to be getting bigger and better,” he concludes.
BAND MEMBERS
Siddharth Basrur Vocals
Devesh Dayal Guitar
Arman Menzies Guitar
Jeremy Dsouza Drums
Krishna Jhaveri Bass
Guitar
Volume 1 Issue 11
