DIRGE

Since their formation in 2014, DIRGE have become one of Mumbai’s most talked-about post-metal bands.

Regularly showcasing their unique blend of doom rock, metal and psychedelic sludge across the Indian underground, Dirge has toured with contemporaries such as Primitiv; Shepherd, Bevar Sea and Djinn & Miskatonic, opened for world-beating international acts, and performed at festivals across India, including Bangalore Open Air and Control Alt Delete in Mumbai.

Using their time post-pandemic to write and record a follow-up to 2018’s Ah Puch, the band’s forthcoming self-titled album – scheduled for release in early 2023 on Immersive Sounds – finds the quintet taking a sonic journey of discovery. Offering up a truly devastating and personal statement, particularly when compared to the wide-sweeping vistas of Mayan myths and South American jungles of their debut, Dirge looks inward while simultaneously reflecting our world at large.

“The album is an attempt to evoke emotions that lie at the core of discomfort,” explains bassist Harshad Bhagwat. “The soundscapes have been designed to suit the ethos of each song and the lyrics are inspired from real life experiences of anger, guilt, sorrow, and fear. We want to take the listener on a journey of self-actualisation through this album, as our aim is to create a sense of catharsis through the experience.”

Clocking in at just over forty minutes mins, Dirge will consist of four explosive tracks – the first of which you can hear right now in ‘Condemned’ – that showcase just how truly special these guys are. Produced by the band and long-time associate Apurv Agrawal (Pacifist, Cowboy & Sailor Man, Honey’s Dead) who also added synths to the album, it has been mixed by Sanford Parker (YOB, Pelican, Eyehategod) and mastered by Brad Boatright of Audiosiege (Sleep, Neurosis).

You can stream their new single ‘Condemned’ here!

Pune, India based sludgy doom outfit DIRGE will release their debut album, “Ah Puch”, on October 19. YouTube channel “Stoned Meadow of Doom” is streaming the track “Montezuma’s Revenge” from the album. Some weeks ago, Decibel Magazine premiered the song “La Malinche” as well.

“In addition to their sludgy influences, Dirge draw from more upbeat death/doom, offering brief respites from the lethargic pace of the song.” – Vince Bellino, Decibel Magazine

Stream “Montezuma’s Revenge” on Stoned Meadow Of Doom, here:

https://youtu.be/R6TH4qE5w3w

DIRGE’s debut offering “Ah Puch” is a concept album based on Mayan, Aztec Mythology mixed with historical events. The story revolves around the resurgence of the ancient Mayan God of Death – Ah Puch – during the conquest of Yucatan peninsula by Hernan Cortez. The music has been written to accentuate this theme, sending the listener through this fantastical world accompanied by a thick wall of sludge, and clouds of bong-smoke. Though this is the band’s debut album, with an ambitious concept behind it, the band are no strangers to the world of metal.

Formed in 2014, DIRGE started out as a band in Pune, a city then brimming with several acts in the local metal scene. They were unique from their peers, marked by a sheer dark, moving intensity and gritty heaviness in their music. The band soon found itself a full lineup and trudged forward ever since, winning fans, supporters and accolades over the next four years as a band and releasing a single along the way in 2015. They have played shows in the Indian underground circuit alongside contemporary acts in similar styles, like Primitiv, Shepherd, Djinn & Miskatonic and have opened for international acts such as CHU (Kazakhstan), Defiled (Japan) and performed at festivals like Bangalore Open Air (2015).

With Candlemass, Eyehategod, Neurosis, Sleep, Crowbar & Acid Bath as their primary influences, the band naturally found itself crafting a sludgy, grim and morose sound that channeled equal parts death-doom, New Orleans sludge, atmospheric post-metal & the melodic sensibilities of contemporary bands like Paradise Lost, YOB & Pallbearer – literally an amalgamation of sounds spanning three decades of slow and heavy music.

A strong lyrical and visual theme matches the murky, sludgy sounds the music is awash in. DIRGE looks backwards in time, finding inspiration in bloody Mayan myths from the jungles of South America. Building up to their debut release with over 51 minutes of carefully crafted tunes, the 6 tracks on ‘Ah Puch’ are cathartic & pulverizingly heavy, shifting from rapid tremolo picked sections, tribal drumming patterns to dark, looming riffs delivered with the deliberation of classic death-doom. Supplemented by emotive, melancholic lead guitar playing & pained vocal screams akin to the feeling of despair that death brings, the songs strike a chord with any fan of dark, slow-paced metal.

‘Ah Puch’ will be the the band’s maiden foray into a full length release, aiming to win over fans of the genre from across the spectrum globally. This will be DIRGE’s tribute to the masters they’ve learnt from, a grand display of their own crushing sonic might and an attempt to leave a mark that shall everlast in the metalsphere with the help of producers Sanford Parker (YOB, Eyehategod, Pelican, etc) and Brad Boatright (Sleep, High on Fire, Bell Witch, etc). And this is only the first of many tales to be told, for as long as there is death, dirges will be sung…

LINE UP:
Ashish Dharkar – Guitars
Varun Patil – Guitars, Backing Vocals
Harshad Bhagwat – Bass, Backing Vocals
Tabish Khidir – Vocals
Vineet Nair – Drums

Produced by DIRGE & Apurv Agarwal
Recorded by Apurv Agarwal at DBF Funhauz, Malad – Mumbai
Mixed by Sanford Parker (Hypercube Studios) Chicago, Illinois
Mastered by Brad Boatright (Audiosiege) Oregon, Portland

Artwork by Gaurav Basu (Acid Toad)
Photographs by Benjie Thomas

PRE-ORDER:
https://www.instamojo.com/dirge_india (India)
https://dirgeindia.bandcamp.com (International)