The second edition of the Bandland Music Festival in Bengaluru on November 23 and 24 was as awe-inspiring as the first in 2023. Avenged Sevenfold and Extreme headlined the fest, with Bloodywood, Raman Negi and Bhayanak Maut putting in stellar performances of their own.
The latter, in my opinion, were the finds of this festival, and I fervently wish for them to grow and establish themselves further on the Indian metal scene. Sevenfold seemed a tad disheartening at first owing to the lack of time (1hr 30 minutes is virtually nothing for an artiste as big as them) for which they cannot quite be blamed.
Yet, the manner in which they chose to neglect some of their finest songs, such as ‘Dear God‘, ‘Seize The Day‘, ‘Cosmic‘ and ‘This Means War‘ was disappointing. Extreme, however, hit the ball out of the park the next day, with the icing on the cake being guitarist Nuno Bettencourt’s mock-tutorial and mini solo minutes before lapsing into ‘More Than Words.’ Of course, the way they began their set with ‘Rise’ cannot be discounted.
Bloodywood, Sutej Singh and DOT, who performed on Day 1, were brilliant, although the last will feel that she was the odd one out in a festival meant for rock lovers. On Day 2, The Local Train‘s former frontman Raman Negi performed to the best of his calibre, with the arrival of a new bassist post the release of his new album Chalte Purzay adding to his glamour.
The skill of former bassist Gaurav Chintamani to take up the lead guitar this time around was much appreciated, and I cannot speak highly enough about the new record, in which Negi continues exploring the humid themes he first began in his debut Shakhsiyat. This festival brings together rock and metal lovers of all hues and colours, and one wishes for it to continue throwing up such talented artistes year after year!
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Soliloquy 
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