Prepare for totalitarian wipe out at Defenders of the Faith: Doom Revisited

By Kshanika Argent

Upon entry at Doom Over Colombo earlier this year in February, a few things were clear about the kind of gigs Hela Distributions put together: metal fans were out in full force and judging by the sound check and setting up of interior and exterior metal furnishings, the guys put in quite a bit of hard labour to bring forth the rumblings of the metal underground with as best quality available to them.

The comrades at Hela Distributions and Ace of Spades Shri Lanka are back and have set out again with a juggernaut plans in presenting the second chapter of Doom Over Colombo scheduled for 24 June.  For those of you who missed the first concert, Defenders of the Faith: Doom Revisited will offer up a chance to breathe in unadulterated Sri Lankan metal in its heaviest and darkest form.

Manifestator is back for a second round of black thrash assault and little coincidence that the gig sets stage for ancient death metal outfit Genocide Shrines’ first appearance in the local circuit. Genocide Shrines’ is a project between heavy weight favourites Funeral In Heaven and Fallen Grace.

The band progressively delves back to the good old days of death metal’s inception to explore the meaning of death in death metal’s auditory sense. The band, while still in its infancy stages, has already signed on to Germany’s Iron Bonhead for a 12” MLP and India’s Cycloean Productions for CDs and tapes. They promise a totalitarian wipe out of everything local metal heads have seen or heard before.

Talking about the gig, promoter Kelum Dharmawardena said, “The point of this gig and all gigs henceforth will be to relive the spirit of D.O.C. Promoting pure local heavy metal of the black kind hasn’t been a walk in the park but we like to think we do a fairly exceptional job and that the effort pays off in further nurturing original home grown.”

“What we’re trying to recapture with Doom is the raw, barebones essence of local metal, which was an environment that most of today’s “established” metal bands had no little choice in springing from. Sure the sounds, venues and lighting have gotten better over the years, but we still keep metal real, and in that sense, true,” he added.

Defenders of the Faith: Doom Revisited features a stellar line up of bands, including legends, who since inception, have dedicated much to defend the faith and spirit of heavy metal in Sri Lanka. The headliners for the evening will be Tantrum who burst onto the scene almost a decade ago and have to their credit the title of best band from TNL Onstage 2005.

According to lead singer Javeen, the gig will be an ideal opportunity for fans to have a sneak listen to band’s new material from their forthcoming album, expected to be released in July/August. Newcomers to the Sri Lankan heavy metal arena, Goatmunition (a side project of Kandyans Pariah Demise) will play alongside supporting brethren acts Destroy and Discard, Necro Horde, Ravensung, Old Castles Massacre from Nittambuwa and Dhishti.

The gig is aided by Sulphur Sounds, AWN Radio, SLBM Syncidcate, SriLankan Death Militia, Skzin Studios and Ace of Spades Metal Merch which will have stalls of tees and other metal related merchandise for sale at the concert. Check out the Defenders of the Faith: Doom Revisited Facebook page for exclusive news updates and special video interviews leading up to the event. Keep the evening of 24 June free for pure, Sri Lankan heavy metal at its most purest!