BENGALURU : The renowned American death metal band from New York, Immolation, will perform for the first time in India at G-Shock Bangalore Open Air festival today at Aadya Farms, Yelahanka. The band relies on riffs written in dissonant harmonic patterns, often dueling between the two guitars, to progress songs, typically over complex rhythm and drum patterns. The four-piece band was formed on May 1986 and guitarist Bob Vigna and vocalist/bassist Ross Dolan have been the only constant members throughout the band’s history. In conversation with CE, the duo talk about their excitement to perform in Bengaluru, and their ‘dark’ songs. Excerpts:
This will your first performance in India. How do you feel?
Bob: We have been wanting to come to India for a long time. We are excited to play for our fans here.
Ross: When we go to new part of the world, we are always excited because we know we will be reaching more fans and be able to perform for new fans who have not seen us. We are as
excited as our fans.
What’s in store?
Bob: It will be a mix of everything. We have done 10 records, so it is tough to fit it in all. We will be doing new records and our earlier ones, almost all our records across our discography.
Ross: There will be some surprises. We get requests from fans on our FB page too. So we will play some of them.
Which is the song you get most requests for?
Ross: It varies. You can ask 20 Immolation fans and all of them will have different albums and songs. There are some songs from our first album Dawn of Possession. We will be playing two songs from that. Also, we want to play what we find exciting too. Some fans like our earlier songs but we have been playing that for 30 years now, it’s not so exciting for us. Bob: Deciding on a set to perform is a challenge, with limited time. Some songs might not sound well when performed live. So, we just want to play the ones that make our fans happy.
From all your tracks, which are your favourites to perform?
Bob: The newer material.
What has the response been like for your recent video When The Jackals Come?
Ross: Phenomenal. Bob directed the video.
Bob: I was managing a full-time job and also touring. So, I did not get time for it until we came back from a tour in South America a couple of moths ago. It is one of our favourite songs – it’s got speed, heaviness and some darkness. We are happy with the outcome. Videos are always great. It was like repromoting the record. When it comes to videos, people share and new people, who haven’t heard us before, also check it out.
Your songs are mostly based on current issues, earlier ones were predominantly about religion. Did you face any trouble because of it? Do you have enough creative freedom?
Bob: We haven’t faced any issues. Most of our earlier music were religious stuff and had double meaning. Now, we are more direct about the message we’d like to convey in our songs.
Ross: We try to stay ambiguous. Especially now, in our country, the scene is bad. It’s like the period during the civil war. We’d rather not get involved in that. We do not embrace the political mindset.
Bob: Also, it depends on how people perceive it. We could have a track where some people will know what it is exactly about and some people will perceive it in a different way. That’s the odd of it. People take whatever they want from it and as along as it works for them, it is cool.
Ross: We try to touch up on what’s happening in the world today but our music is actually about humanity. Most of our songs depict failure of humanity. You look around, you’ll see how humanity has failed us in so many ways. It’s not political. Hopefully, through our music, people will get a positive message. Sometimes, you need to see the darker side before you proceed to a positive direction.
How do you work on your songs?
Bob: Basically, I have a programmer on my computer. I work on some ideas with my guitar and put it on computer, add some beats and develop it. Then, I go over it with others, make some slight adjustments if needed. Over a period of time, we have now got used to fine tuning of writing. You learn from your mistakes and experiences and try to do better with every record. We have that fire and ambition in us to create something unique in every record.
Do you follow other genres of music?
Ross: Yes, I love jazz, classic rock, regular metal.
Bob: We are pretty open minded. There’s something all types of music can offer. I also get inspired by non-metal music.
Death Metal Band Performance
Immolation will perform at
G-Shock Bangalore Open Air festival today, from 6.30 pm to 7.45 pm at Aadya Farms in Yelahanka.