Combine ‘metalcore’ and ‘melodic death metal’ and you get an odd mix. A little known Chronic Xorn, possibly one of the finest metal bands from Kolkata, shot to fame after they were featured by Headbangers India, a couple of years ago. Now with their debut album titled FROM MERCY out, the group is on a mission to hit the stages across the country and make some memories along the way. Just after their performance in Chennai on Sunday, Angshuman Majumder, bassist of CX, puts his guitar down for an interview with CE...
Tell us a little about your new album
We started working on it around the end of 2011. The cool part is that Chronic Xorn is the only metal band in the country to have released an album from a commercial record label and whose music can has a physical existence in music stores. Another aspect that stands out is the fact that our drums have been recorded live – which is not very common in the Indian metal scene.
What’s the tour been been like so far? Anything really memorable or crazy, happen yet?
The tour has been really great so far and of course, the road is quite paved with several brickbats and obstacles. We have experienced line-up changes over the years. However, we now have quite a steady line-up and are ready with full force.
As for crazy stuff, personally I think one of the craziest experiences was when we missed our returning train from ISMU, Dhanbad on our first gig out of Kolkata, a few years ago. The train was at around 5.30 am and we woke up at 6! So yeah, that was a mad rush...lugging heavy instruments and all.
What do you look forward to doing in Chennai now that the show is done?
Umm…Maybe check out Marina Beach in the morning. If we wake up, that is. (Laughs)
How did you come up with the name of the band? Do most people ask you what it means when you introduce yourselves?
Well, yes actually a lot of people do that – because ‘Xorn’ is derived from the German word ‘Zorn,’ which means anger. Since our music deals with a man’s inner dark feelings, frustration and anger – we think the band name suits us pretty well.
Are there any Chennai-based groups that you would like to collaborate with?
We are good friends with the guys from ‘Escher’s Knot’, great band and great guys. Although we haven’t thought of any collaborations as of yet – it would be great to do something like that soon.
What are you working on next?
We are really looking forward to our pan-Indian tour throughout October and November, where we will be playing in around 10 cities, promoting the album. We will be playing with some great bands and musicians in this period. So, we are really excited about that. Also, we’re trying to promote the album in Europe and US, so that’s where our focus will be next.
