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October Fest. Ah, the beautiful season post-Autumn, pre-Winter when beer flows like the waters of the Nile and when the world unites with the common goal of getting drunk out of their senses. The Germans got it right when they dedicated 4 whole weeks for this magnificent festival and India was not to be left far behind.

The Kingfisher October Fest 2010 was held in Bangalore from Oct 22^nd to 24^th in Bangalore and of course, I couldn’t miss it, especially since De Profundis, the extreme metal band from UK and Lacuna Coil, the multi-award winning melodic Goth metal act from Italy were headlining. There were a lot of bands that played over the 3 day fest (Theorized, Requiem, Eccentric Pendulum, Slain etc) but the bad sound at the indoor hall ensured that I didn’t spend too much time in there. I watched Kryptos and Cypher16 from the door and as the night spread its dark wings over the city, I moved to the main stage to watch the headlining bands take the stage.

De Profundis was the first band on. They didn’t waste too much time with preliminaries and after the intro ‘Ephemeral Burden,’ proceeded onto the crowd slayings in typical fashion – with fast riffing, intense drumming and the overpowering vocals of Craig Land. The moshpits were invoked with relative ease and despite playing a short set of only 5 songs, they made sure they made their presence felt. Bass player Arran brought the depth in a gunny sack, handing it out in rich measure and pretty much ensuring that their next visit to India will be met with much fanfare. Guitarists Roman and Shoi Sen were spot on, skillfully combining haunting melodies with the inherent darkness that surrounded De Profundis. Their last song was ‘The Mourner’ and the tension in the air was palpable as the crowd waited for Lacuna Coil to take the stage.

And when they did, of course, everyone went crazy. Christiano Mazzati found his place behind the skins and Cristiano Migliore (guitar), Marco Biazzi (guitar) and Marco Zelati (bass) picked up their respective stringed weapons of melodic destruction but nothing was louder than the response Christina Scabbia (female vocals) got as she took the stage with Andrea Ferro (male vocals). In fact, it took me a few seconds to tear my eyes away from her! Obviously. To be watching the one of the most pioneering front(wo)men of metal for the first time, looking as ravishing as ever was a big deal by itself but nothing could’ve prepared me for when she actually started singing. The sheer intensity of her vocals blew me away and coupled with her great live act and on-stage charisma, she was a treat to watch. As the band moved into ‘I’m Not Afraid’ after the first track ‘Underdog,’ I prepared myself for a great night, and I was not disappointed. Rich melodies infused with heavy guitars, like nerves splayed around in a muscle, all drowning in a maelstrom of synth and percussion. The band was highly energetic and played almost all their greatest hits, including ‘Heaven’s A Lie’, ’Swamped’, ’Closer’ and ’Spellbound,’ the first single from the band’s 2009 release ‘Shallow Life.’ One of the highlights of the night was when Christina tested the vocal capabilities of the crowd and invited them to join her on the band’s cover of Depache Mode’s song ‘Enjoy The Silence.’ However, despite the band being great, the sound was a big letdown as is the case with most gigs at Palace Grounds. The guitars sounded muddy and distorted at times and for the larger part, I could barely hear second vocalist Andrea Ferro. Even when I did, he was just lost in the wall of sound. The gig ended with ‘Our Truth’ and as the song ended, I started finding my way out of the enclosure, dodging all the drunk men who’d set up camp all over the place.

All in all, I had a good weekend; loads of metal, beer and almost 750km of highway. I’d love to see Lacuna Coil again, maybe in a smaller venue with better sound.

De Profundis’s Setlist:

Ephemeral Burden
Ablaze In Autumn’s Fire
Nocturnal Splendor
Crimson Black Bleeding
The Mourner

Lacuna Coil’s Setlist:

Underdog
I’m Not Afraid
Fragments of Faith
What I See
Closer
I Won’t Tell You
To The Edge
Heaven’s A Lie
Enjoy The Silence
Wide Awake
Swamped
Fragile
Survive
Spellbound
Our Truth