part 2: black metal from India: Cosmic Infusion

OK, so, here it is:

The second (and final) part of the interview with black metallers Cosmic Infusion!

Don't forget to check out the band's music and give them your support, in whatever way you can.

Speaking of discussions, how much of a collaboration is Cosmic Infusion?

The way we work is, somebody gets in a basic idea or a riff to the jam room. And then everybody else starts to build around it. And that way since everybody has their own influences ranging from Classical music to jazz to death metal and more, there is a lot of richness that is brought to the songs. But since everybody in the band is a black metal head at heart, the final product turns out to be black metal eventually and has a lot of Cosmic Infusion written all over it. We have our jam room (The Dungeon) quite close to where we live. It’s at about an hour's travel from everybody's place, that is where all of the writing and rehearsing is done and a lot of ideas are born.

Can we talk about metal music lyrics? What do you think about the glorification violence in metal music? Also, when fans talk about metal music, they express a lot homophobic, patriarchal and machista language. Of course, bands like Slayer and Pantera have promoted that type of ignorant, sexist language. How would you describe your lyrics?

Metal, we believe has always been a form of expression which acts more like a release for anybody, since metal for most parts is written for yourself more than anybody else. Cannot make a generic statement but we feel its one of the more purer forms of music with things being said as people perceive them to be, without any deception.

Black Metal is a way of life more than a form of music. A lot of people relate it to Satanism, Anti-Christianity etc., but for us Black Metal is a way of life. Its about doing things which you want to do and the way you want to do it.

Black Metal in essence is just you truly being yourself! This also does translate into our live performances, which we have always given a lot of importance, and our lyrics as well, which generally involves concepts which we feel strongly about and is also story oriented a lot of the times which is quite evident from tracks like “Gothika” and “Crepheus.”

You say in "Gothika": "Now I am appalled to see the dirt and the hate of this wretched world." Then again on "Crepheus - Bringer of the End" the perspective is a bit different, isn't? How would you describe your views on violence on the EP?

Gothika is about a village where nobody has ever been before and is immensely blessed by nature. The people of Gothika and the spirits have never left the place. The aforementioned lines are said at a point in the song where a few outsiders who were actually welcomed into the village, actually mean harm to the village. That is when the people of “Gothika” and the spirits unleash their wrath upon the outsiders. And it turns quite brutally violent.

“Crepheus” is a celestial body born from the Black hole and naturally understands only one way of life, which is destruction. The song describes its journey through space destroying life forms, planets etc. Violence we believe is an act of emotion, which when held back will definitely destroy yourself, just like any other emotion in your life.

Do you ever wonder about how you can incorporate the effort and intelligence in the music, how to incorporate that same effort to lyrics, too, and make an intelligent statement through a story, a metaphor, and going beyond the usual metal clichés? Would it not be possible for Cosmic Infusion to write metaphors and stories about issues that motivate you or frustrate you in life, be it a personal issue, a broader social issue?

Black metal allows you to write about a lot of different things and in a lot of different ways. Our track Journey is more about an individual's life, the perception of life and realization. It also draws inspiration from our own lives. So that way we can still write a lot about personal issues with complete freedom. That is the beauty of Black metal.

Recently, in the news, there have been reports about gang rapes and the way that women are second or third class citizens in India. What is your view of this situation? Do you think that Indian men have their minds polluted with sexist ideas? I think that this is certainly the case in the U.S., with patriarchal, sexist, homophobic, gender-specific ideas. Here in the U.S., some studies say that 1 in 5 women (others say, 1 out of 4) women is sexually assaulted. It's appalling. Do you find that people in India are very angry and frustrated with this situation where rape happens a lot. I have read some people call Dehli the "rape capital" of India? Do your sisters, mothers and girlfriends feel safe to walk at night in Mumbai? In U.S. city streets women do not feel safe at night, not safe enough to walk alone without any concern, I think.

Yes. It won’t be incorrect if Delhi is called the rape-capital of India now. The women feel absolutely unsafe in the city at night. Although its a small number of sick people, the number is substantial in that city.

The situation isn't the same all across the country. Mumbai, for example is many times safer than Delhi, where you have a far lesser count of sick demented people and the city has been brought up in such a way that you will always have a lot of people who will stand up for you, if you are in a crisis situation.

Finally, for people reading this interview and who are interested in your music, what can they do to support your band?

Although we've been around for quite sometime, we feel Cosmic Infusion is just getting started and have a long way to go. We would love to have a lot of metalheads from all over the world with a similar liking for music and thought process be a part of this journey as we evolve as a band and as a unit. Do buy our debut EP, we are quite proud to have it and do try to come down for our shows. We keep people updated about the band on www.facebook.com/CosmicInfusion or on www.twitter.com/Cosmicinfusion And we would love to hear from anybody who wants to get in touch with us on cosmic.infusion.india@gmail.com Thanks for having this fantastic interview. Cheers and good luck to you! THE END.