Mahanth is Editor

usindiamonitor has been a headbanger since middle school, and in high school even had the long hair to go with it. Through most of my many visits to India in the 1980s and early 90s, virtually nobody of any age I met could stand heavy metal music when I pulled out the cassette tapes during gatherings of relatives and friends. This was due to lack of exposure- it might be hard to believe for the kids of today but there was no concept, no opportunity for a vast majority of Indian youth or adults to even access metal songs and bands before the Internet became widespread in South Asia, which was a few years after Internet penetration in the West. Music stores would sell tapes or CDs, but metal was nowhere to be found in their selections. TV programming and popular culture among the youth back then was mostly focused on Indian music and mega, mega pop stars like Michael Jackson and Madonna until about the mid-90s, when MTV arrived and opened a little variety to the import diet. Even as that transition began, metal still was not available to most Indians due to affordability of premium channels, and for those who could afford it Western soft rock and pop music remained far more popular.

In those days I used to longingly hope that one day the exposure would increase, appreciation for metal would soar, and that India could actually become a vibrant part of the metal scene. Whether you are a metalhead or not, everyone should be cheering for metal to succeed in India because it has the potential to build mighty bridges between India and the West. What could possibly be more hardcore and metal than India, a place that will assault all your senses? And unlike Western countries, India is demographically young in addition to being the most populous nation in the world. All of this in theory should form a perfect foundation for metal to thrive in. So, usindiamonitor is highly pleased to report that this metal revolution is happening before our eyes just as I hoped and prayed for. Some years ago I wrote about a handful of high quality Indian bands I had come across on the Internet that focused on the very niche genre of Hindu heavy metal. That was 2017, and since then the scene has only grown.

One of the measures of the success of the Indian metal scene is that an elite group of homegrown Indian bands are achieving success overseas and aggressively touring through many different countries, including the United States. Indian heavy metal has finally arrived in a big way. For a traditional and conservative culture like India, this is a big deal even if it was inevitable to keep metal down. One of the leaders of this revolution is undoubtedly Bloodywood, who are arguably the best metal band to ever come out of India. You can learn more about them in the short video documentary thanks to Vice Asia.

Let’s hope the Indian metal music growth curve keeps going higher and higher for the good of Indians and US-India relations through shared joy, passion, and headbanging!