An Interview with Sahil Makhija!

(Interviewed by: Devleena and Nilotpal Kalita on behalf of behalf of D. Mus.(DigiMusic))

Sahil Makhija better known as ‘The Demonstealer’ has been involved with the Indian metal scene and been an instrumental part in its development. Starting out with Demonic Resurrection in 2000 the band over its illustrious 11 career has released 3 albums and an EP, Won the metal hammer golden god award, played festivals like Inferno and Brutal Assault and been signed to Candlelight Records. He also runs Demonstealer Records, India’s only label for extreme metal along with a recording studio for local bands, the countries only heavy metal PR agency, a booking agency, a metal festival, a consultancy service as well as a heavy metal cooking show. If anyone lives, breathes and knows heavy metal, it’s him.   













Here's our interview with Sahil 'Demonstealer' Makhija, where he speaks about 2011, his experiences at Inferno and Brutal Assault, piracy, North East India's rock scenerio and many more:

Q: How did the year 2011 treat you? What are your expectations from this year?

2011 was personally a terrible year for me musically. Demonic Resurrection was supposed to go to the UK for a tour including playing at the Sonisphere Festival but the entire tour was cancelled as our VISA was rejected. We also played only 9 shows in the entire year. My humor metal band Workshop also disbanded after our bassist Riju quit so it was pretty shitty. I’m looking forward to 2012 as we’re (DR) writing new material for our 4^th album and planning a UK/Europe tour. Workshop is back with new members and actively gigging and our album is going to be released soon. I’m also working on 2 more albums of mine, Reptilain Death and my solo album Demonstealer so I’m thinking 2012 is going to be awesome.

Q: 10 years of successful music making and still counting. How has the journey been?

It has been an incredible journey so far, we’ve experienced the highest of highs and the lowest of lows and we still have a really long way to go.

Q: Tell me about the early days of DR.

I knew way back in 1998/99 that I wanted to call my band Demonic Resurrection and for 2 years in college I was drummer hunting with no luck till 2000 when I finally got the band together. The early years was just me kind of being a 1 man show writing all the music and giving band members their parts to play and we have a lineup change almost each and every gig which obviously didn’t really give us the chance to be a tight kickass band, we were also one of the few bands playing original music in a  scene full of cover bands. Within 8 months of forming we released our first album which was a very amateurish effort but it was a bold step at that time. It was an experience to say the least. I’d say the real DR took shape in 2003 and that is when we really got our shit together.

Q: What is the reason behind the massive line-up changes in the band?

People came and went, they had different priorities in life. Sometimes I had to let go of them. Whatever happened was for the best, we’ve got the strongest line-up of the band right now.

Q: DR has a vast expanse of musical styles. How will you describe the music that you make?


I would say it is a blend of melodic death metal with symphonic elements with a touch of black and progressive metal. Our music has always been a mix of different genres of metal which is why I coined the term Demonic Metal.

Q: What are you musical influences?

Constantly changing but some instrumental artists have been Iron Maiden, Metallica, Pantera, Sepultura, Fear Facotry, Marilyn Manson, Dimmu Borgir, Cradle Of Filth, Behemoth, Nile, Vader, Cryptopsy, Origin, Decapitated, Nightwish, Lacuna Coil etc etc and the list will go on endlessly.

Q: Comment on the musical style, influences etc. of DR's debut Demonstealer.

I was very influenced by bands like Nightwish, Lacuna Coil, Tristania, Theatre Of Tragedy at that time which explains the female vocals, gothic keyboards as well as bands like Dimmu Borgir, Deicide, COF etc which gave it a bit of the extreme metal edge.

Q: Who else manages the band?

I manage the band and Husain is also involved in booking the band for shows. Mephisto generally focuses on artwork related stuff.

Q: Demonstealer records has collaborated with top Indian metal acts. Share your experience while working with them.

It has been a blast working with the artists who have been part of DSR. Most of them are good friends of mine and I’m really glad to have contributed to their success and careers in whatever little way I could.

Q: Rise of Eastern Blood has featured band from Pakistan and Bangladesh. Would you shed some light on it?

I’ve known Babar from Dusk for a long time and we spoke many times of working together and he even told me that ‘Rise Of The Eastern Blood’ was a name he had in mind for a compilation and when Severe Dementia contacted me and were booked to play Resurrection VII and release their album I felt it made sense to put this compilation together and Babar was happy to give us the name and have Dusk be part of the compilation. So we got DR, Dusk and Severe Dementia and put it on the CD and released it.

Q: The EP- Beyond the Darkness-has brought about some new musical elements that were highly appreciated. Describe the EP in your own words.

For me it was a process of experimenting. JP had left the band and I wanted to experiment with the songwriting in DR and that is why the EP took a more celestial and ambient direction. Since we had no drummer I was able to kind of take the drumming style in a slightly different direction as well and Pradeep added some great melodic solos to the EP. I wrote the song ‘The Fallen Stars’ which is only keyboards.

Q: Demonstealer/DR was featured in Sam Dunn's documentary Global Metal. How was the experience?

It was pretty awesome. Sam Dunn got in touch with me and asked if I could organize a show as well so they could film it and we put together the gig with the help of Furtados and it was great fun. It was nice to meet Sam and his team and give them an insight into Indian metal.

Q: How was it like performing in Inferno Metal Festival?

It was like a dream come true. I remember seeing a video of Dimmu Borgir performing the song Reptile at Inferno Festival about 10 years ago and I was like man I wanna play there someday and then I was on that stage and it was awesome. We got a great response from the crowd so that made it even better.

Q: Share your Brutal Assault experience.

Like Inferno it was incredible!! Since the festival had a bigger lineup of artists we got to meet and see some of our heroes which was surreal. We got to sit and have a chat with Paul and Alex from Cannibal Corpse. Insane to say the least!

Q:Workshop is back! So what's the new album gonna be like? Anything new you guys ar upto?

The new album is going to be more melodic, more fun and more complex as well. Right now we’re just busy recording the album and planning the release and music video. It’s great to be back!

Q: How would you describe the current metal scenerio of India and how was it like 10 years ago?

There has been a huge change, we’ve come from a scene ridden with cover bands, hardly any festivals and venues or releases and hardly any international bands coming here to perform to having most bands writing original music, releasing it, new venues, new festivals, tons of international bands coming, more gear available etc etc etc. We have a long way to go but we’re growing really fast and there is a lot of promise here.

Q: Piracy indeed hurts the music industry a lot. But don't you think it has some good effects too?

Yes piracy has it’s pros and cons there is no denying that. Once again I’ll clear my stance on that I’m okay if fans want to download new music to listen to it but if you like it and listen to it regularly you should make the effort to buy it. Bands need that support.

Q: What are your current playlist toppers?

Right now I’m really digging Fleshgod Apcalypse, Origin, Decapitated, Nightwish, Dark Tranquility, Nervecell and Opeth.

Q: What are your favourite acts from India?

I’m a big fan of Kryptos, Acrid Semblance, Bhayanak Maut, Goddess Gagged, Exhumation and more recently I’ve discovered Dark Helm and Insane Prophecy.

Q: If I ask you to name a local band who you think has the potential to make it big, whom would you name?

To be very honest I think every Indian band has the potential to make it big. Honestly every band right from Bhayanak Maut, Undying Inc to Kryptos to Bevar Sea to Inner Sanctum to Albatross to Devoid etc etc all make great music and have the potential. Who will actually make it big? First that depends on what each bands definition of success it but in a more general perspective the bands that work hard and dedicate themselves to their goals and those that have goals will be successful.

Q: What do you think about metal in North East India?

I think there is a great scene there and the fans from the North East are very passionate about their metal. There are some good bands in the North East but I think they need to work a bit more towards promoting their music outside that region, I know given the resources it is not always easy but I’m seeing some bands working very hard to make a name for themselves like Arihant and Insane Procephy. Of course Lucid Recess and Boomerang have become fairly popular across the country. Of course IIIrd Sovereign used to be based out of Aizwal and they are awesome. I think the most successful band from the North East however is Soulmate and all bands from there should look up to them for inspiration.

Q: Some bands (National/ Interational) you would like to share the stage with?

We’ve shared the stage with most of the national bands we like so it has been great. On the international scene we’d love to share the stage with Behemoth, Nile, Dimmu Borgir, Fleshgod Apocalypse etc etc.

Q: Do you prepare the receipes of Headbangers' Kitchen yourself?
No I just use existing recipes and give my own spin to it.

Q:Thanks a lot for the interview. Last words for our readers?

Cheers & Stay Demonic! \m/