Wednesday, May 27, 2015

Inner Sanctum Interview

1.Can you give us an update on what has been going on with the band since the recording and release of the new album?
Chintan: We have our hands full with the promotion for Legions Awake. We are working on the Studio Diary for our youtube channel and possibly a new animated video for one of our tracks.

2.Recently you have released a new album,how would you describe the musical sound that is presented on the recording and also how does it differ from the stuff you have released in the past?
Chintan:  Legions Awake is our length follow up to Provenance. It has 9 tracks written over a span of 4 years and it is basically a Death Metal record with elements of groove, melody and the right amount of aggression.

3.This is the first album to be released in 6 years, can you tell us a little bit more about what has been going on during that time span?
Chintan: Right from the get go Inner Sanctum has been a band that attached a lot of value to the live performances. We absolutely love playing on stage! So tha'ts what we have been doing for the last 6 years. Of course we wrote new music as well but playing live constituted a good 80% of our activities.

5.What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'Inner Sanctum'?
Chintan:  It’s based on a 90s porn movie. Tha'ts about it!

6.What are some of the best shows that the band has played over the years and also how would you describe your stage performance?
Chintan: Supporting Metallica in 2010 and Slayer in 2011 at Bangalore have to be the biggest and best shows for the band in terms of profile value but our recent feature performance at the Inferno Metal Festival at Oslo Norway was unreasonably satisfying .We brought our A game to Oslo.
I’d like to think that Inner Sanctum on stage is tight, aggressive and engaging.

7.Do you have any touring or show plans for the new album?
Chintan: Yes we do. Our initial plans involve playing shows in India. But by the end of the year we hope to travel abroad and do a tiny tour or two. The plans haven’t been finalized yet.

8.On the new album you had a few very well known guests, can you tell us a little bit more about their participation on the recording?
Chintan: It has been a dream of mine for several years to incorporate a solo trade off in one of the Inner Sanctum tracks. I wanted it so bad that Suraj and I actually incorporated one in Tainted Soils. But a solo trade off between guest artists had never been done before and it just seemed like such a great idea. So I discussed the idea with the rest of the chaps and they absolutely loved it. We wanted to involve metal guitarists who sort of represented a specific generation of metal and who had unique styles. So each of us made lists of guitarists we thought would fit the role and James Murphy, Christopher Amott and Daniel Mongrain featured in each of our lists! So we mailed each of them, discussed the idea and the song and a few weeks later we had a mind blowing solo trade off between three legendary metal guitarists on ‘Existence Denied’.

9.Currently you are unsigned, are you looking for a label or have received any interest?
Chintan: We have been independent for the last 8-9 years and we have done just fine. We absolutely love the freedom. In fact this album would not have been possible had it not been for the freedom we had as a band throughout.

If Inner Sanctum has to sign onto a record label, the offer better be that good that it makes it literally impossible for us to refuse. If a label gives us the right balance of exposure, finances and creative freedom then we might consider it.

We have received numerous requests, mainly by smaller labels, to sign on to them, but the offers haven’t been worth it to be honest.

10.On a worldwide level how has the feedback been to your music by fans of death and thrash metal?
Chintan: Everyone who has heard it has loved it. It would be nice if more people bought the album in India and abroad but the ones who have, have gotten back to us with amazing reviews/feedback.

11.Are any of the band members also involved with any other musical projects or bands these days?
Chintan: Michael is presently playing bass for Shepherd, an upcoming sludge band also based out of Bangalore.

12.Where do you see the band heading into musically during the future?
Chintan: I’d like the band to stay exactly where it is musically in the future as well. I think we have found our sound as such and if anything we should just improve on it.

13.What are some of the bands or musical styles that have had an influence on your newer music and also what are you listening to nowadays?
Chintan: That is actually a tough question. We listen to so much and such varied music these days that it is hard to pin point the bands or musical styles that have influenced our new music. So lets just leave it at that.

I recently checked out the Code Orange album ‘I Am King’ and absolutely loved it. Also, the Bloodshot Dawn album Demons is quite good.

14.What are some of your non musical interests?
Chintan: I actually am a lawyer and presently work for a law firm in Bangalore. I also am very passionate about cricket and I play for a club in Bangalore.

15.Before we wrap up this interview, do you have any final words or thoughts?
Chintan: Our new album “Legions Awake” has just been released worldwide. You can sample the album on our Bandcamp page and if you like what you hear please support us by buying the album on InstaMojo (Indian purchases) or Bandcamp (International purchases). We also have an Official Lyric Video for Wake of Destruction on our Youtube Channel which you should check out too!

► Instamojo - http://imojo.in/6sx02
► Bandcamp - https://innersanctum.bandcamp.com/album/legions-awake
► Youtube - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MrxzQRmYafA

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