Rudra (band)
Encyclopedia
Rudra is a Singapore
an band which was formed in 1992, and plays a style of black metal
-influenced death metal
with interpolations and extended passages of traditional Carnatic music
. Additionally, the lyrical content is derived from Sanskrit Vedic
literature and philosophy with some songs incorporating ancient mantras (shloka
s) into their song structures. The band describes this style as Vedic metal.
In early 1996, the band had a hiatus and the members were involved in separate bands. Towards the end of 1996, Kathir decided to resurrect Rudhra with a slight alteration to its name; thus Rudra (the most common English transliteration for the Sanskrit
word) was born. Kathir teamed up with Shiva and started work in the studio, soon to be joined by Bala and Alvin Chua to complete the line up before recording the self-titled debut album in late 1997, which was released in June 1998. The band played a couple of gigs and also starting work on new material. The band replaced its two guitarists with Selvam (ex-member) and Kannan in January 2000.
With that line-up Rudra released its second album, The Aryan Crusade
, in September 2001. In January 2002, Big O magazine named this album as one of the top 40 albums of the year. In July 2003, Rudra released a third album, named after the battlefield featured in the Indian epic the Mahabharata
, Kurukshetra
.
After touring in Singapore, India, Indonesia and Thailand, Rudra released Brahmavidya: Primordial I
, in April 2005. Brahmavidya: Primordial I represents a slight shift in the band's sound as it exhibits more black metal influences than the previous albums and presents a denser recording that showcases the band's progressive move into more dynamic leads, complex bass-lines, and tighter, faster drumming with a bigger emphasis on blast beats. With this release, Rudra toured the USA in January 2007.
In 2008, Kannan was replaced by Devan. In 2009, Rudra released Brahmavidya: Transcendental I as the second chapter in the Brahmavidya trilogy. They have collaborated with Singapore director Jacen Tan
on the music video for Hymns from the Blazing Chariot. In 2009, the band went through another line up change with Vinod replacing long time member Selvam.
In August 2010, Rudra headlined the first day of Baybeats
, an annual 3-day alternative music festival, held in Singapore. This was probably one of the rarest moments in history where an Extreme Metal band headlines a non-metal music festival. The band has also invited the interest of musicologists and research papers have been published about both Vedic Metal and the band.
In November 2011, Rudra announced that they will be closing the 2011 Brahmavidya Tour by headlining the Strawberry Fields Rock Fest @ Bangalore, India. It has been more than 7 years since the band last played Bangalore.
Singapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
an band which was formed in 1992, and plays a style of black metal
Black metal
Black metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music. Common traits include fast tempos, shrieked vocals, highly distorted guitars played with tremolo picking, blast beat drumming, raw recording, and unconventional song structure....
-influenced death metal
Death metal
Death metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal. It typically employs heavily distorted guitars, tremolo picking, deep growling vocals, blast beat drumming, minor keys or atonality, and complex song structures with multiple tempo changes....
with interpolations and extended passages of traditional Carnatic music
Carnatic music
Carnatic music is a system of music commonly associated with the southern part of the Indian subcontinent, with its area roughly confined to four modern states of India: Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, and Tamil Nadu...
. Additionally, the lyrical content is derived from Sanskrit Vedic
Vedas
The Vedas are a large body of texts originating in ancient India. Composed in Vedic Sanskrit, the texts constitute the oldest layer of Sanskrit literature and the oldest scriptures of Hinduism....
literature and philosophy with some songs incorporating ancient mantras (shloka
Shloka
A ' is a category of verse line developed from the Vedic Anuṣṭubh. It is the basis for Indian Epic verse, and may be considered the Indian verse form par excellence, occurring, as it does, far more frequently than any other meter in classical Sanskrit poetry. The Mahabharata and Ramayana, for...
s) into their song structures. The band describes this style as Vedic metal.
History
Rudra was formed in mid-1992 as a trio, then made up of Kathir (bass, vocals), Shiva (drums) and Bala (guitar). It was then known as Rudhra. A fourth member, Selvam, was recruited to supplement Bala on guitar. With this line-up they released a 4-track demo, The Past, in 1994. Prior to this release, Rudhra was also featured in a few underground death metal compilation albums with Singaporean underground metal bands.In early 1996, the band had a hiatus and the members were involved in separate bands. Towards the end of 1996, Kathir decided to resurrect Rudhra with a slight alteration to its name; thus Rudra (the most common English transliteration for the Sanskrit
Sanskrit
Sanskrit , is a historical Indo-Aryan language and the primary liturgical language of Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism.Buddhism: besides Pali, see Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit Today, it is listed as one of the 22 scheduled languages of India and is an official language of the state of Uttarakhand...
word) was born. Kathir teamed up with Shiva and started work in the studio, soon to be joined by Bala and Alvin Chua to complete the line up before recording the self-titled debut album in late 1997, which was released in June 1998. The band played a couple of gigs and also starting work on new material. The band replaced its two guitarists with Selvam (ex-member) and Kannan in January 2000.
With that line-up Rudra released its second album, The Aryan Crusade
The Aryan Crusade
The Aryan Crusade is the second album of Rudra released in 2001.-Track listing:# "Aryaputra"# "Hymns to Thee"# "Anantarupa"# "Malevolent Creed"# "Burnt at the Stakes"# "Rudrapatni"# "Amen"# "Homage to the Seers"# "Manifesto of the Demented"...
, in September 2001. In January 2002, Big O magazine named this album as one of the top 40 albums of the year. In July 2003, Rudra released a third album, named after the battlefield featured in the Indian epic the Mahabharata
Mahabharata
The Mahabharata is one of the two major Sanskrit epics of ancient India and Nepal, the other being the Ramayana. The epic is part of itihasa....
, Kurukshetra
Kurukshetra
Kurukshetra is a land of historical and religious importance. Historically the land belonged to Punjab now a district in Haryana state of India. It is a holy place and is also known as Dharmakshetra . According to the Puranas, Kurukshetra is named after King Kuru, the ancestor of Kauravas and...
.
After touring in Singapore, India, Indonesia and Thailand, Rudra released Brahmavidya: Primordial I
Brahmavidya: Primordial I
Brahmavidya: Primordial I is the fourth full-length album by Singaporean black metal band Rudra, released in 2005.-Track listing:# "Twilight Of Duality" 4:34# "Ananya Chaitanya" 4:01# "The Pathless Path To The Knowable Unknown" 5:15...
, in April 2005. Brahmavidya: Primordial I represents a slight shift in the band's sound as it exhibits more black metal influences than the previous albums and presents a denser recording that showcases the band's progressive move into more dynamic leads, complex bass-lines, and tighter, faster drumming with a bigger emphasis on blast beats. With this release, Rudra toured the USA in January 2007.
In 2008, Kannan was replaced by Devan. In 2009, Rudra released Brahmavidya: Transcendental I as the second chapter in the Brahmavidya trilogy. They have collaborated with Singapore director Jacen Tan
Jacen Tan
Jacen Tan is a Singaporean independent film director, and has been named by The Straits Times Life! as one of Singapore’s "most exciting young talents".-Background:...
on the music video for Hymns from the Blazing Chariot. In 2009, the band went through another line up change with Vinod replacing long time member Selvam.
In August 2010, Rudra headlined the first day of Baybeats
Baybeats
Baybeats is an annual 3-day alternative music festival organized by Esplanade, held in Singapore. It showcases various local acts as well as regional and international artistes...
, an annual 3-day alternative music festival, held in Singapore. This was probably one of the rarest moments in history where an Extreme Metal band headlines a non-metal music festival. The band has also invited the interest of musicologists and research papers have been published about both Vedic Metal and the band.
In November 2011, Rudra announced that they will be closing the 2011 Brahmavidya Tour by headlining the Strawberry Fields Rock Fest @ Bangalore, India. It has been more than 7 years since the band last played Bangalore.
Discography
- The Past (Demo, 1995 )
- Rudra (Album, 1998)
- The Aryan CrusadeThe Aryan CrusadeThe Aryan Crusade is the second album of Rudra released in 2001.-Track listing:# "Aryaputra"# "Hymns to Thee"# "Anantarupa"# "Malevolent Creed"# "Burnt at the Stakes"# "Rudrapatni"# "Amen"# "Homage to the Seers"# "Manifesto of the Demented"...
(Album, 2001) - KurukshetraKurukshetra (album)-Track listing:# Justified Aggression# Apostasy# God Of Delusion# Absolute One# Negate# Mithya# In The Vision Of The Blind# Temple Of Nothingness# Highlands Of Tranquility# Ye Immortal One# Asura Mardhini...
(Album, 2003) - Brahmavidya: Primordial IBrahmavidya: Primordial IBrahmavidya: Primordial I is the fourth full-length album by Singaporean black metal band Rudra, released in 2005.-Track listing:# "Twilight Of Duality" 4:34# "Ananya Chaitanya" 4:01# "The Pathless Path To The Knowable Unknown" 5:15...
(Album, 2005) - Brahmavidya: Transcendental IBrahmavidya: Transcendental IBrahmavidya: Transcendental I is the fifth studio album by Singaporean Death Metal band Rudra. The album was released in Asia on April 15th, 2009 through Trinity Records, and in Europe on July 6th, 2009 via Vic Records. It is the second installment in the Brahmavidya trilogy started by its...
(Album, 2009) (Trinity Recs - Asia, Vic Records - Europe) - Brahmavidya: Immortal I (Album, 2011)