They do come across as the stereotypical hard rock/progressive metal bands with the garish tattooing, dark clothing and the deep voices. And a quick dash of conversation with the members of New Zealand-based hard rock act Solstate and Norwegian-based progressive metal band Benea Reach reaffirms the same. However, their love for the unadulterated and the original does come across as a whiff of fresh air especially when other bands prefer playing covers rather than originals.

“The best part about playing heavy music is the sheer amount of energy that transcends into not only making the song but also performing it in front of an equally energetic audience. And while most people might assume this kind of music to be plain noise, we say that this noise is the new silence,” says Troy McKubre, lead vocalist and founding member of Solstate.

Both the bands were in town to perform at the Fuel Great India Rock Festival at Oasis on Friday. The bands performed alongside Mumbai-based Bhayanak Maut and Scribe, and Pune-based Zygnema. While Solstate's music is plain, hard hitting untampered rock with a taste for acoustic tunes, Benea Reach is a progressive metal outfit. Speaking about their unique name, founding member of Benea Reach and drummer, Marco says, "The name basically is a play on the Latin word Benea which means 'Glory' or 'Grace' and the word Reach. So the band name literally translates into Reaching out for Glory."

The distinctive sound of the Norwegian black metal genre is the USP of the band. Speaking more about it vocalist of the band, Ilkka adds, "To be very honest the Scandinavian rock scene is distinctive divided. While the Swedish bands are more into melodic metal, bands from Norway are more focused on the power and sheer brutality of the music. As our band has three Swedes and three Norwegians we do incorporate a little of all this."

... contd.