Hailing from Bangalore Enthrall came together as 5 high school kids who shared a bond... Rock n' Roll and Heavy Metal. The band embarked on a journey to perform progressive heavy metal locally in India.
The band went onto release their debut album "Infernal Horizon" in 2005 while still being unsigned, things were looking up when Enthrall received an offer from an independent label in Greece, Metalfighters but changes were coming...
Due to various circumstances including relocation and family responsibilities the band members with the exception of Neil Rego could not commit to the complete album and Enthrall for all intents and purposes became a solo project. Neil, however, is at great pains to stress there is still a place in the band for the former members
"Enthrall was a brotherhood and if by a quirk of fate, the remaining members do decide to reunite Enthrall will be a band again" Neil RegoNevertheless Neil continued with the new album "Throes of Fire" while the composition, concept and bass came from Neil he was aided in the recording by Suraj Dutt, Varun Sood, Max Warnby and Pranav Murthy. The end result was a quite individual sounding progressive album and you can check out my review of it here...
Catching up with Neil other than my regular Heavy Metal Bullet interview questions I was also intrigued by the experience of metal bands in India in comparison to Europe and the US.
Heavy Metal Bullet (HMB): Do you think it is harder for metal music outside of Europe and the US?
Neil Rego (NR): It is quite tough for Metal Music outside of Europe and the USA to make an impact in my own country and in other countries. More than quality, it is the strength of promotion and visibility that a band from Europe or the USA garners. In India, metal is totally underground, hence, bands are relagated to performing at only a few venues, money is a trickle and hardly enough to support touring. The internet has been beneficial in helping bands in India.
"That T-Shirt probably saved me that Day"HMB: What was the first Heavy Metal Album you bought?
NR: Iron Maiden - The Number of the Beast
HMB: What was the last Heavy Metal album you bought?
NR: Dream Theatre - A Dramatic Turn of Events
HMB: What's the strangest thing you have seen at a gig?
NR: In 2002, I attended a Static-X gig in NY and I was wearing a Pantera t-shirt. I am unsure if I was the only guy wearing a Pantera shirt that day, but during a moshpit there was a huge hulk of a guy who was mowing down several guys. I was standing there and instead of getting beaten black and blue he just slapped me accross the chest and yelled "PANTERA". That T-shirt probably saved me that day.
HMB: Any funny band related stories you would like to share?
The year was 1996. Entrall were headlining a High School event. At that point it was unheard of that a bunch of teenagers, studying in a highly disciplined institution, would be performing Heavy Metal in a school hall. As we rolled on to our set, playing Enter Sandman (Metallica), We Will Rock You (Blitz Version) and Policia (Sepultura). We saw crowd surfing and the entrance door literally became a see saw. All of a sudden we see police barge in, jumping onto our stage and charging with ther batons. That day we felt like rousing rebel rockstars... It was the first time in school history, a show by teenage kids was broken up by the police while we were playing 'Policia'!!!
So go ahead and check the band out and help this Indian metal band get heard!
Enthrall Website
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