AGAINST EVIL – interview with the band

Against Evil is an Indian Heavy Metal band who are set to release their new album next month. After getting the infamous Arch Enemy Guitarist Jeff Loomis for a guest spot, the band talk about their exeperience working with him and talks a bit about metal releases of 2017 .

How do you describe your music to people?

I would call it a mix of classic heavy metal in terms of simplicity in songwriting with a modern sound in terms of production.

Tell me a little about your creative process – how does a song go from a basic idea to a fully-fledged, album-worthy creation?

Our song ideas usually start with a guitar riff. When we think something sounds good and catchy, we try to add more riffs to it to make it into a complete song (intro-verse-chorus). We then add drums, bass to it which gives us a pretty good idea if the song is working for us or not. We then try to come up with vocal ideas, melodies and finally, the lyrics.

Is there anything you want to experiment with musically that you haven’t attempted yet?

No. Not really.

Are you self taught musicians or have you had formal training?

We’re all self-taught musicians thanks to YouTube tutorials, sites like Ultimate-Guitar.com and a whole lotta inspiration from bands like Judas Priest, Accept, Iron Maiden, Megadeth etc.

What are some fun facts about Against Evil that fans wouldn’t expect?

Well, most people think we’re still teenagers/college students. But we’re all pushing 30! except for our drummer, “John” who passed out of college last year.

Tell me about your experience working with Loomis and what’s your take on the new Arch Enemy record?

It was an amazing experience and an honor working with Jeff Loomis. To be honest, we still can’t believe that he did a guest spot on our album. It all started when we shared the stage with him at New Delhi on his maiden tour of India in 2016. We got to hang out with him and also gave him a CD of our first album “Fatal Assault”. We wrote a song called “Sentenced to Death” which is a thrashy, aggressive song and we felt it needed a “virtuoso-style” shredding guitar solo on it and Loomis was the first person that we could think of. We sent him a message asking if he would be interested and not only did he agree to play the solo, he also said that he liked our music a lot! We are extremely thankful to him for making this happen amidst his hectic touring schedules with Arch Enemy. I really liked “Will To Power”. I think it’s a great album.

How well was 2017 for Metal? Care to share an album that was a big disappointment for you.

I think 2017 was a great year for Metal overall. There were a lot of great albums released by some of my favorite bands like Firewind, Iced Earth, Havok, Arch Enemy and also new bands like The Ferrymen. There weren’t any “big” disappointments really but the new “Accept” album was bit of a letdown for me.

How is the Metal scene in India? Is Metal still a “sacred” thing in India?

The metal scene in India always has its ups and downs. On one hand, there are a lot of good bands putting out quality music and on the other hand, there aren’t many opportunities for bands to promote their music in the form of live shows, festivals, etc. But nowadays, it’s nice to see bands getting together to organize “DIY” shows rather than waiting for someone to do it.

Out of all the places that you’ve played so far with the band, where was Against Evil met with the best reception?

I think it was when we played at Bangalore in 2016 alongside Kryptos. Great crowd! Easily one of the best shows we’ve played till date.

If you could change one thing about the music industry, what would it be?

I guess it’s too late to change anything about the music industry. That’s a sinking ship man!

Now that we have got a guest slot from Arch Enemy, How would you react if you get a message from Arch Enemy asking for an Indian Tour with y’all?

That would be absolutely insane! Arch Enemy has been one of my favorite bands for a very long time.