Great Indian Rock fest enthralls Mumbai

Mumbai, Nov 2: Thousands gathered for the first leg of the ''Great Indian Rock'' festival headlined by Norwegian black metal band ''Satyricon'', at the Andheri Sports Complex here.

The two-day city chapter of the fest, that concluded yesterday, had 13 of the country's top rock/metal bands, including Rainbow Bridge, Scribe and Zodiac. Though all the bands demonstrated admirable technical prowess, Delhi-based ''Them Clones'' stood out for playing a convincing live version of their hit power ballad ''Zephyrita'' in front of a head banging audience. ''Bhayanak Maut'' worked the audience in a frenzy as well with a barrage of speed/trash metal.

Headliners, Satyricon gave a sterling performance with a combination of numbers from their old albums and upcoming album ''The Age of Nero''. Their style ''Black Metal'' marked by melodic medieval themed riffs and thunderous double-bass drum propelled, went down well with the audience.

''We have come all the way from Pune just to catch the show, and its been worth it,'' Payal Jain, an audience at the show, said.

The 13-year-old Great Indian Rock Festival is a major event in the country's rock music calendar and has been a launch pad for a number of the country's top acts like Indian Ocean and Orange Street, who have played at international venues through the festival.

The festival will move on to Delhi, Shillong, Bangalore, Calcutta, Hyderabad and culminate at Pune on November 15.

UNI