Despite all odds, Mumbai- based metal band, Zygnema have amassed a huge fan base, toured Europe and even been awarded Rolling Stone’s Best Metal Band
When you say the words Indian music, the first thing that comes to mind is Bollywood. My mind conjures an image of vibrant colour mixed with a punctual noise. If you dig a little deeper, you might hear the plucky strings of a sitar, or the melodic sounds of the veena. Never would I think to associate Indian music with metal.
Zygnema are proof that metal music is very much alive within India.
Formed in December of 2006 at their guitar teachers house, the band members instantly connected. It was a moment that was months in the making. Each of them, a self-described “college punk,” had been scouring through university campuses to try and find like- minded individuals. Eventually, after being called around to jam, they met.
“We clicked because we shared similar music tastes,” says guitarist Sidarth Kadadi. “Of course, we listen to Bollywood music if it’s great. But metal was the music that was really shaping us. We then started listening to American metal bands like Megadeath and Mastodon. I just heard freedom in it.”
Zygnema – made up of vocalist Jimmy Bhore, bassist Somesh Panicker, Kadadi and Mayank Sharma are now nearly twenty years into their music career. Surviving and thriving in a culture that doesn’t widely embrace metal, their persistence is somewhat remarkable.
“Back then [in 2006] the metal scene was picking up,” Bhore reflects. This point was something I felt particularly intrigued by. It makes sense that India, a country with over 1.4 billion people would have some sort of a metal scene. I just didn’t realise how deep it ran.
“There was, and still is, a great metal scene over here” Bhore says. “People outside don’t have a great insight into it. But I’ll tell you, we have insane shows, wild bits and great metal bands that have been performing for a very long time. If you go on the internet and research it, you will see some insane live shows from India.”
Kadadi acknowledges, however, that metal is not traditionally apart of the Indian musical diet. It is, in fact, a rather tight niche in a larger population. Both Kadadi and Bhore also stumbled into metal almost by accident.
“One of my friends gave me a tape of his because he didn’t like it,” Kadadi recalls. “Then I started listening to it and I was particularly struck by it. I found it obscure. I was already familiar with Bryan Adams and Bon Jovi through MTV. But then I heard Metallica and it just changed everything.”
The band then began playing in local battle-of-the-band competitions, initially covering other artists. “Back then, if you played original music, you were looked down upon,” Bhore explains. “So we decided to take songwriting more seriously to stand out.”
“It was an interesting time,” Kadadi adds with a grin. “Small steps.”
“At first, we only played in Mumbai. We wanted to support the bigger bands because we knew if they were playing, there would be a large audience. So, we entered every competition we could. It was all about attracting attention,” Bhore continues.
As the band began winning competitions in Mumbai, their exposure grew, and they started performing across the country. This was when things began to really change for Zygnema.
“After a while, people started recognizing us. They knew the lyrics to our songs—it was mind-blowing. Then we entered this big competition organized by Yamaha. Forty countries performed in the grand finale in Bangkok, and we ended up winning,” Kadadi recalls, a smile creeping across his face.
Winning the competition led to an opportunity to perform in Germany in front of 70,000 people. That was the defining moment for the band when they realized their lives had changed—there was no turning back.
Since then, Zygnema has toured Europe and released two full-length albums. When I ask Bhore about the state of the metal music scene in India, he pauses before responding, as if to carefully choose his words. Glancing across his screen from side to side, he opens his mouth before closing it again. He’s appears to be really thinking about this answer here.
“The Indian metal scene is the niche of the niche. It’s not mainstream music. I’ve been listening to and attending shows since I was a kid, and I haven’t seen much growth. We’ve accepted that it won’t be another Bollywood. But whatever we have is great nonetheless.”
Zygnema’s most recent EP, Iconic is due for release in March. Their most recent single ‘Grind’ was released on November 20. It can be streamed here.
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