Prateek Rajagopal’s introduction to the Indian metal scene in 2013 was rather dramatic. Enlisted as the new guitarist of Mumbai-based band Gutslit, this ‘barely-legal’ guy looked unconvincing to be let into a pub, let alone play death metal. But, once on stage, the Muscat-raised guitarist originally from Palakkad, Kerala, delievered some relentless and brutal chops.
Skip to 2019, and Rajagopal, 24, has done multiple Europe and Asia tours and founded projects like Minerva Conduct, alongside musicians Nishith Hegde and Ashwin Shriyan. This year also sees the debut album from his solo project, Hoia (named after a supposedly haunted forest in Romania), a new listening experience in comparison to his earlier musical output.
When asked about his five-track release named Scavenger, which talks about nostalgia and anxiety, he says, “Composing for Scavenger opened new paths for me as a producer. Currently, I’m exploring the scope of creating soundtracks for visual media.”
The record opens with Write Across that sets a mood with gloomy guitar melodies, and fades with a retroistic piano tone. The longest song, Escape Orb, has guitar passages that drown into an eerie atmosphere, but also a headbang-able rock riffing in its second half. Piano and synth play out together with ecstatic drumming in Electric Wizard, followed by an interlude, Part II. The title track gets a little drony, but is pulled back with a bluesy solo in the end.
What distinguishes this release from Rajagopal’s previous efforts is not just its treatment of horror-aesthetics, but also the difference in approach. “Earlier, I used to write music on guitar and drums but, with Hoia, I was purely thinking about the song first and had no restrictions on the use of instruments. I bought a hardware synthesiser to work with and even used my vocals for the first time in a production,” says the guitarist.
Available on Apple Music