THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: If you want to know the problems that plague the heavy metal scene in small cities, ask Jithin Peter. He has lived through a lot of it with his project Prophets of Yahweh before he could release a debut album; nearly seven years after formation. “The continuous lineup changes were the biggest problem of all. At one point, I stopped playing live shows, shifting priority to releasing a record,” says Jithin, who recently released his self-produced eight-track debut named Oronodromozro.
Primarily holding guitaring and vocal duties, he also arranged the tracks in the album with help from bandmates Robin Xavier, Martin M J and Gokul V G. We speak to him to find out what makes his sound stand out from the rest of the heavy music in the country.
Seeking wisdom
Jithin started the band in 2012 disillusioned with the Indian extreme metal scene which hardly addressed his favourite subject—theology.“Oronodromozro is sort of like a prophecy. It talks about how certain things repeat themselves in the universe and that there is a pattern to how events unfold,” says the 30-year-old, revealing his interest in writing about abstract spiritual and philosophical themes.
The guitarist’s assurance that he stayed away from genre constraints—informing that he’s open to anything from orchestra and jazz to rock and blues—shows in the album. Death metal with progressive elements is a clear influence, but compositions like Exodus don’t shy away from vocal versatility ranging from deep growls to screams and paced-out riffing with foreboding interludes.