Death metal and ageless classics come to Bengaluru this weekend

I Built The Sky
| Photo Credit: Elgin Huang Jiale

Magnetic Music 03 Edition

December 13 and 14, 8 pm onwards

ZLB23, A Kyoto Speakeasy, The Leela Palace, Old Airport Road

Entry: Via WhatsApp message to Zia + 91 -9632060433

The third season of ZLB23 brings a whole different lineup to the now-famous speakeasy housed within The Leela Palace. This time around, an entire week of music programming is planned around local artistes paying tribute to some of the world’s most cherished musicians.

To kick things off, the Kishan Baalaji Collective aka KBC will pay tribute to British pop-rock favourites Coldplay (who are themselves India-bound in January) on December 13, followed by a set that features songs by British rock icons Deep Purple and Led Zeppelin.

Kishan Baalaji Collective
| Photo Credit:
Special Arrangement

“Magnetic Music is one of the core experientials at ZLB23. While Season 01 was about Jazz and R&B from around the world, and Season 02 was an Indian-accented repertoire that brought Indian Fusion back to its roots, we thought that we should find a way to relive ageless classics to celebrate what these icons gave to the world,” a press release says.

Bangalore Death Fest

December 15, 6 pm onwards

Fandom at Gilly’s Redefined, Koramangala

Entry: ₹1,899 via Insider.in, plus ₹500 cover charge at the door

The second edition of Bangalore Death Fest — put together by longstanding gig organisers Extreme Underground India — will mark the India debut of death metal veterans Malevolent Creation, alongside Chennai band Moral Putrefaction, Virodh featuring members from Bengaluru, Assam and Sikkim, plus Darjeeling technical death metal band Obliterating Vortex.

Malevolent Creation
| Photo Credit:
Special Arrangement

Malevolent Creation — who have been around since the mid-1980s and synonymous with pioneering death metal — will stop by India as the final show on their Asia tour. The band’s vocalist and bassist Jesse Jolly says, “Not only are we are looking to establish new territories but also establish a strong foothold in the same territories, maybe for an annual visit or an annual circuit just to keep the fans engaged and keep them up to speed on where we are at and what we are doing.” While the frontman is not familiar with bands from India, he says he is “personally excited to visit Bangalore and get a taste of it”.

I Built The Sky, YogiEatsProg

December 13, 7:30 pm onwards

Fandom At Gilly’s Redefined, Koramangala

Entry: ₹1,499 via Insider.in, plus ₹500 cover charge at the door

After making their India debut in December last year at the NH7 Weekender festival in Pune, Australian band I Built The Sky will be back in the country for two shows. While they already performed a headline set at The Hills Festival in Meghalaya, the instrumental progressive rock/metal band led by Rohan Stevenson will make their way to Bengaluru to cover even more ground.

The artiste says in a post on Instagram, “This Friday, December 13th, me and the gang are playing one final show In India. Going the extra mile and bringing a full set of tunes from The Sky Is Not The Limit, Coalesce EP, The Zenith Rise, The Quiet Place Away AND MORE and with support from the amazingly talented Yogi Eats Prog.” In the video accompanying the announcement, Stevenson adds, “We’re playing more songs, we’ve got a few acoustic numbers in there.” They are joined by local musician, producer, vocalist and sound engineer Yogeendra Hariprasad, founder of bands such as Pineapple Express.