Band Interview - Zohak
Zohak has been on the metal scene for quite some time now, but they have really got their act together now and with the Megadeth Tribute Night coming, the buzz is really on. I caught up with the founder and lead guitarist for a small talk.
Me: Who are Zohak’s major influences?
Shezan: Everybody in the band are fans of Maiden, Megadeth, Pantera, Sepultura and Carcass. You can find a bit of all this and, of course our own style in our music
Me: What is Zohak’s current line up and also highlight the changes you have made till now.
Shezan: What can I say, we’re every bit the hardcore Megadeth fans. Jokes apart,the thing is we’ve changed around 2 guitar players,4 bass players,2 drummers,1 vocalist. That leaves only me from the original line up.Its a tough job to get like minded people together…and I think this lineup is the strongest…me on guitar, Jimmy on vocals, Ravi on bass and Tao on drums. It’s all about thrash and speed metal.
This line up is all about anger and aggression…We are all fired up to go out there and screw some new age balls with our music.
Me: Enlighten us on the bands musical direction and where the band is headed now
Shezan: Earlier we tried focusing on melodies, which worked, to a certain extent. But something was missing all along…but now with the inclusion of Jimmy and Ravi….we are going for more speed and grooves along with melodies. We’re experimenting a lot more these days…and just hope it works. What we are ultimately trying to do is get our own sound. Its a bit tough, but eventually we will get there. Lets just say we’ve taken the faster and heavier route
Me: Tell us more about your album and live performances
Shezan: We need to save up to record our songs first and I don’t see it coming for the next 4 months. We’ve got around 6 originals, to which the crowd has responded well. But we want to make sure the songs we put on our album are the songs we all believe in.
As for the performances, while playing live we try to have fun. If we have 30 minutes onstage, we know no one can take them away from us and we love to play live. What we are trying to do is establish ourselves as a live act. After all it is all about playing live.
Me: Tell us more about the Megadeth Tribute Night. Its been a long time coming now.
Shezan: Ahhh..the Megadeth night….everyone knows how we idolize the band….and we so wanted to do the Megadeth night. In fact its been 4 months overdue…but as my luck has it, with the line up changes and all, its been really hard for us to get our act together. We had planned it with Ninad in the band…but he had to leave due to his personal problems….that sort of left us high and dry. We had finished about 7 songs by then….
Then came in Mizad. We re-worked the whole set with him…but he had to leave because of his personal problems. That left me and Tao hanging and wondering what next?
Now there is no rhythm guitarist in Zohak and I’ll be playing using the rhythm of the bass guitar. It’s quite scary but I’ll manage and I think its going to take a month or so…because the night is for us and more for the Megadeth fans. We want to make sure that we have to be so tight that even a cockroach can’t squeeze through!
Me: Which are the Indian bands and musicians you idolize?
Shezan: Well there’s Xenon, but they don’t exist any more. I like Sceptre…the grand daddy’s of Indian thrash metal. I’m desperately waiting for their album. They have awesome musical sense.
From the newer bands I really like Brute Force. I think they have done something which no other band has done. They have won every major competition they have entered and have come out with some kick ass music. Wayne, Anand and Akshay are kick ass musicians and they make a great live act too….
I am not a hardcore Brute Force fan to say the very least…but they have kept the metal flag flying in the face of all this nu-age and grindcore nonsense.
But…one thing we want to do is open for Sceptre.On a good day and stage, that should be fun.
On that note we part and thats the end of my interview with Shezan. Hope to see you at the Tribue Night. Please do post your comments.
November 14th, 2007 at 12:37 am
Man Zohak changed so many band members [:O]…i saw em at MM i saw Jimmy was on vox and i just saw Tao and rest i don’t rem…coz i saw Zohak for first time..And yeh waiting for the Megadeth night[I m not that great fan of Megadeth but will surely enjoy]
And yeh Satish nice work ehh…Keep It Up..\\m/
November 14th, 2007 at 2:22 am
Sceptre sux cock.10 yrs and we are still waiting for an album.Sceptre is just a cover band.otherwise..lesse how things go for Zohak.
November 14th, 2007 at 7:23 am
go n suck donkey ballz sagar… u dun know what sceptre did for indian metal scene… so stop talking crap…!!!
anyways y u so angry on sceptre???
November 14th, 2007 at 8:06 am
Sceptre is one of the best thrash metal bands around now…. N though they dun hav an album out till now, u cannot deny that they r the band that make u wanna go wild…. Remember the Wall of Death… As far as Zohak is concerned, I wish all of ‘em good luck n I cannot wait for the Tribute night! Shezan, please finish this thing off….. V cant wait any longer…. Cheers!!
November 15th, 2007 at 6:35 am
@ ulhas..dont start a lame fight now,temme wat did Sceptre do for indian metal?? play covers?? wall of death??blah.
they dont even have good ocs man.n if u happen to like them..its fine buddy.but u got a bad taste for music.
November 15th, 2007 at 10:01 am
to start of.. sceptre promoted trash metal in india for 8 years… and dude go and listen to thier ocs man.. each song has a diffrent texture which probably u dun understand… [:D]. and making an album is not the only job for a band right?? they shud be entertaining and thats what sceptre is.. go n check sceptre’s history b4 talking bout them… and dude buy sum good music taste from me… or else i can give it to u for free!!!
November 15th, 2007 at 11:12 am
Wall of death for a trash metal band? how gay is that !
November 15th, 2007 at 11:19 am
@ulhas - what history dude ??? played metallica covers, then when no proper lead guitarist was there, they played slayer medleys without solos, and shit metallica songs ! and they even had played an unplugged show with nirvana and duran duran covers - great promotion for trash metal indeed !
November 16th, 2007 at 5:48 am
@All the motherfuckers who hate sceptre in general
Ok see guyz i am not very good at logic…but u guyz should go and get laid by ur moms and dads…and yeah dont forget to please ur pet’s sexual and erotic desires…one more thing…u can take sum acid…shove it up ur stinking asshole and enjoy the high u get…thats the only thing u guyz can really do..any replies against this post is not allowed cause i say so…if sum1 does post agains this thing…its clear that u are a retard..dumb…blind or even worse..constipated…cheers
November 16th, 2007 at 7:19 am
@ rutraj…dude…u ve got a great vocab.n besides posers like u arent entertained.@ usman u r damn right man.nailed it.
@ ulhas..textures??wat crap?? Sceptre has been “promoting” thrash metal u say??bah.none of their songs r worth listening man..a band can put up a good show by playing ocs..not medleys.i ve been in the metal scene for more than 8 yrs..watching bands & stuff.I agree Sceptre was one of those early thrash metal bands in India..but u cant ve a band who headlines & plays 5 covers & 3 ocs.
Sceptre is crap.period.
November 16th, 2007 at 7:20 am
Sceptre is too monotonous besides man.But,lets see how their album is.
November 16th, 2007 at 8:49 am
@sagar : Metallica is not the only thing sceptre covererd… they have covered megadeth more than any band… for the list of megadeth songs they covered check out a topic in sceptre community.. the one where one guy was flaming scpetre against brute force… and i see u dun get the word texture…. which part of that word u dint understand??? by texture i mean every song is diffrent from other.. have u heard nuclear, revolution, charred, energy, now or never?? u can make out difference in each song and none of the songs sounds same.. and if u feel they r same.. sorry my brother go and get ur ears checked…. and if u say u r in the metal scene for 8 yrs u probably must be knowing how hard it is to make an album.. sceptre would have released 10 crap albums but whats the point…. d00d support indian metal.. it needs ppl like u who r knowlegable bout metal..
@usman.. thats proves their versitality.. dude its not that they cant play solo or stuff… seen teemeer?? any day?? he can nail a megadeth solo evn in his sleep… his crop include half of the new bands… pratyush of systemhouse33(fingers) learns from teemeer.. and many more. the whole zohak band is by product of teemeer…still u questioning his credibility?? strange!!! playing solos is not the end of everything… what matters is what do ppl enjoy…
November 16th, 2007 at 11:40 am
Sagar, get a copy of Sceptre’s new album which should be out soon. Please listen to it, and you’ll know why we like Sceptre so much.
And Sceptre dont do Megadeth simply because they’ve done enough of it and you cant enjoy yourself on stage doing it. And whats the big deal with playing OC’s. Sceptre plays for the crowd, and they love it.So many of my friends go “Kya gaana hai, kya solo hai!!” when I make them listen to Sceptre.
And i’ve kept Sceptre’s Charred and Revolution on my iPod. And i find myself singing the chorus at times…
Nothing can stop us!
No one can save you from us
We are your destiny
And we are out on a quest
A humble request, please give Sceptre one more shot. See u at the next gig, neck pain guaranteed. [:d]
November 18th, 2007 at 4:20 am
@all the ppl out here….
bhai log…
the shit is if u dont like a band dats ok….
but u aint got the rights to label it a cover band or shit band or watever….
and i aint a scep fan….
so.. lemme ask u one question
how many of u cunts know as to how much hard work goes down in putting in a oc….
bc hav u guys checked charred… its one the most amazing thrash song from an indian metal band….
and if u aint got the balls to get dat u dont deserve to be alive
November 18th, 2007 at 4:22 am
by the way i didnt understand as to what shezan was trying to say by this…
“but they have kept the metal flag flying in the face of all this nu-age and grindcore nonsense.”
dude what non sense r u tallking about…..
hope u clarify this man….
am waiting…
November 18th, 2007 at 7:26 am
@Zubair….
Dude i dont like Nu-age and Grindcore music…to me its non-sense…but thts my opinion if u like tht kind of music good for u…but i am more into old school thrash…
“but they have kept the metal flag flying in the face of all this nu-age and grindcore nonsense.”
by this i mean tht there arent any thrash bands….every new band comin up is grindcore or nu age….and in the face of all this…BRUTE FORCE has kept the THRASH METAL FLAG high up….the first thing tht comes to my mind when i hear the name Brute Force is pure fucking thrash metal….
November 18th, 2007 at 7:40 am
@ everyone….i completely agree, everyone has their own music taste & everything but all in all sceptre sux cock.
@ ULHAS, brother u can tell me abt textures al day..i play drums for an underground tech .death metal band.so technicality is my strength.as for the textures,sceptre lack originality.i know aniket personally…hes a good drummer n everything,but those ppl as a band suck.
November 18th, 2007 at 12:14 pm
oh!!! if u r a so called drummer for a so called band then u suck evn more.. u might be knowing what goes into an oc….
@usman
and u talking about they covering nirvana.. when slayer can cover maiden… why cant sceptre cover nirvana??
November 18th, 2007 at 6:36 pm
@shezan
dude i respect ur opinion and aint got any qualms about it… but i disagree wid u that every other band that comes up is nu-metal grindcore….
infact if u see more of the bands that come up play thrash…
its the most popular genre….
and its sad to say… most bands that play thrash dont do justice to the genre… very few come up and reallty lift the music….
infact the ocs they come up wid dont have anything new and are stagnant… honestly i feel sad about it coz am myself a thrash head….
the point is bf have kept the metal flag flying amidst a pool of shitty thrash bands as well as other bands….
and if ur talking about metal i guess there are several nu met bands that kickass….
i know there is a rift between nu-age and thrah under the skin… and i hate that i know it exists
November 19th, 2007 at 1:49 am
@Zubair…
dude i agree with u…but then i seriously dont like tht kind of music and seriously i am not scared of being vocal about it…to me it just dsnt make sense…
as for BF…watever dude..they have still achieved a lot…everyone has thier opinion..lets just leave it at that
November 19th, 2007 at 3:24 am
@ Ulhas yea i definetly know what goes into an oc..but merely aping a thrash metal band doesnot serve anyone’s purpose. besides i dont think this is much of an issue.in my opinion Sceptre sux ass.as for Ulhas u can follow more apers in the metal scene.peace.
November 19th, 2007 at 7:34 am
can i know for which tech. death metal u play drums for??
November 19th, 2007 at 10:32 am
@ ulhas..yea..we have a band, not named yet.we need a bassy.
November 19th, 2007 at 10:40 am
Man Zohak is a real lameass band to interview man !!! U want interviews go get some good n real bands that have actually done some good for the public n thenselves man !!!
That Zohak’s Guitarist plays all scammed up stuff his leads starts when he secretly turns down the volume and we call it technical mishaps ! Dude satish uve started something good man dun ruin it by takin interviews with such lameass bands !!
Cheers Asif !!!
November 19th, 2007 at 10:44 am
Yeh dude i second that but i like the Zohak Drummer anyhow he’s got ome talent anyway what does Zohak mean dude u didnt ask that ??? lol
But anyway Zohak sucks in anycase so it really doesnt matter so people stop bullshitin abt sceptre n STOP LOOK we r actually commentin abt some band called ZOHAK !!!! LOL
November 19th, 2007 at 1:11 pm
@shezan
dude u said u hate gridcore
but dude u say carcass are one of ur influences
thats kinda strange…. and did any nu-age band kicked ur ass out somewhere… wat u u trying to prove that u gonna kick their balls….
can u kick pdv’s balls… or scribes balls or atc’s balls or wat…
dude the point is
its not about kickin balls but playing music… but sadly in the small rock communty that we have there are ppl like u who discriminate on genres…. and spread a bad word abt things that are actually better…
dude i have seen u guys play and if u ask me honestly i am shocked to see u gettin intervied man… dunno for wat does any1 even giv a fuk about zohak…!!! dude i know theres nothing u have achieved wid ur band the fact is other bands have kicked ur ass or balls or watever that guys like to kick…
dude ask urself man… i aint ur enemy but hate the attitude that u show up… if u cant do something dont stop others from doin it.. just by spread some wrong shit about them…
btw wat nu-age bands balls wud like to kick can u mention them???
i know u cant.
period.
November 19th, 2007 at 1:43 pm
@zubair
but atleast they making an effort… to bring up the music…!!
tu toh salla aggressive hogaya… lol… i think u r a nu-age grind core fan…. me too… but man chill maar re…
November 20th, 2007 at 5:28 am
@sagar.
dude
metal core grind core and nu-age are diff off shoots of metal genre.
they r all diff and hav diff style of riffing…
they also do have variations in them and sometimes they might sound similar….
to giv u an idea…
lamb of god is a metal core band…
six feet under, carcass etc. are grind core..
slipknot is nu-age neo-shock metal…
hope this might giv u an idea…. of the diff genres.
u wud come to know of their sound once u listen to em…
till then njoy listning to all these diff genres….
cheers
November 21st, 2007 at 1:21 am
one more thing… shezan also plays for the band Atmosfear… atmosfear covers six feet under, massacre which are grind core bands…. apart from that shezan hates Slayer which is also covered by Atmosfear… so jus to survive in a band, shezan has sold out and since all these things are true and against him, he has nothing to say.
November 21st, 2007 at 1:45 am
@Shezan haters….
wow i dint know so many ppl hated me….
atmosfear guys are my friends…i play for them as they cant find ne one else to play for them at the moment…..i dont hate Kryptonic Kaos….but i am no big fan of thiers either….they are doing wat they believe in so be it…
I never bragged about being in ATC…i was asked to play…then i opted out…then i asked them if i can join…then they opted out…
neways…i really dont give a fuck about ppl who hate me…so u guys can crib all that you want about me being interviewd and shit….but the bottom line remains…i still got interviewd…i still play live…zohak still gets gigs…and we still keep makin our music…take it or leave it…
@aditya…
dude maybe i am on this so called ‘ego trip’ but i dont thing tht no band is better than zohak…haha..is this a fuckin joke dude…i like many bands…and i also make it a point to go to thier gigs…
@shirish…
yea dude all the band members got fed up and left…
November 21st, 2007 at 2:45 am
hmmmmm scam… guys.. wat is this open mike night… da guy wanted 2 nterview shezan and he did.. finished.. it is hisblog u know.. also… zohak wat ever may be has played some great shows in the past.. and are good musicians.. every1 has fucked up off days. and so who ever has posted scrap bout the band. lets see u guys get together and kick some ass.if not then shut the fuck up…
now…
we all in this together.. and i said this at out last gig and dedicated a song..”SOLD” or sell out,,, 2 people just like u… critics are required in every scene.. so dat people learn from mistakes other than dat… we really dont need u around… and inorder 2 critisize u must knw how 2 provide suggestions 2 fix the problems 2.. u know dats y we can call u know it alls….
wat v really need is for people in this scene.. 2 respect every band for tryin ..
if u think about it,,this dream we dream is far fetched inough 2 have . people .. bad mouth us…..
i guess im just dreamin but.. y not speak our mind.. at shows.. scream out wat u feel.. come kick out asses in person if u have the balls.. safe behind the internet any1 can become a critic… where are the real fans….people who love a band and their music so much t hurts… y do v leave that kinda respect for bands in the UK and US. they already have it made dont u think.. support the scene dont smear shit all over it..
okie…
bye…
November 21st, 2007 at 7:45 am
Ok, Mr Ralph/Shirish/Asif/Ryan you’re game’s up. You are posting from the same IP address.. And i’ve got enough balls to locate you and screw you up. Its just that I dont have time for loonies like you who have no other work than criticise sincere efforts.
So much for a 15 year old… correct bozo?
And as for Mr. Sagar, I have recieved inputs from the people who know their art, that even a monkey, if given Vic Firth sticks, can drum better than you. Technical death, my left foot.
November 21st, 2007 at 12:55 pm
arre maa kasam! baat toh kuch zyada hi badd gayi hai! hey satish! pls dont get so angry man! ppl r jus posting their comments! let them be! one thing i know is that shezan has never been this way to any of his friends! if he cant get along wid any of the ppl above, it cannot be jus his fault rite! v all have our likes and dislikes and nobodys here to prove anything! pls end this matter here and its also time for Zohak as well as shezan to do what they do the best! \m/
November 23rd, 2007 at 2:30 pm
@sagar— dude, u dont like sceptre..its cool..but u dont hav the right to doubt their credibility..
im not a sceptre fan either but us not liking them does not make them crap at all.. they are still out there kicking ass onstage while ur at home yet forming ur band.. after reading wht uve said above (abt technical strngth n textures etc) m really waiting to see ur band live.. all the best..(n m not being sarcastic)
@ Ralph/Shirish/Asif/Ryan/?
u hav a prob with someone..say it on the face like a man…ohh sorry…but ur not (i can proudly n blindly say that)… all this diff id shit got wasted na…in the end u got a cock slap on ur face na…
but i wonder who that person is…
wht say Shezan, Mangesh? lmao…..
November 25th, 2007 at 11:46 pm
well said.. people…..
November 26th, 2007 at 2:06 pm
I wanted to write here something since ages .. but never felt like it .. u guys know y ? cause i hate it .. i hate it when people like the person who just diss bands and their sincere efforts when they do not deserve it .. i hate it when people actually go off topic and talk nonsense .. don’t get me started on shit like that … shezan is a good guitarist … and is a great guy .. i am sad that his dream of playing live continuously with zohak has had some problems or the other .. and i salute his efforts to keep his music running .. and i will help him always in whatever he does for this so called “Indian rock community” ….
every person has a right to have his own opinion abt another person .. and in music a particular genre/band … but u cannot say that u hate them and they play shit .. whereas rest of the music world appreciates the same .. not only the fans … but critics alike .. that goes for those lame scepter comments .. yes i have not liked them covering mainstream metal acts, i agree to that .. but the same cannot be said to their original works .. which are a par above many other originals of other bands ..
@satish .. dude .. nice interview .. but need to work on more questions though… next time go a bit personal ..
December 3rd, 2007 at 1:24 pm
@ jimmy..yea sure buddy.
@ ashwin…u r right in a way.but frankly..the reason i went off the topic is becuase shezan mentioned about Sceptre.i dislike Sceptre because they play Mostly covers at gigs.Is this a band for you?? You have a band which is around for 10 yrs & still plays 5 covers & medleys?? bah!!!
I dont like their ocs either man & Ulhas mentioned abt Sceptre having nice textures.lmao.Frankly its everyones opinion at the end of the day.cheers!!
peace
August 22nd, 2008 at 3:26 am
Sagar
I guess since you been on the metal scene for 8 yrs ,Looks like you have been listening to Madona & blahh blah . You are just a another nerd dumb asshole who knows shit about music . So guys lets contribute for him & take him to the asylm . You watch a lot of balaji serials no wonder you bitch like a woman . Leave this Idiot aside . Take him to the moshpit .