Having taken their names from three atheistic schools of Hinduism, an angry antitheistic force is penetrating deeper into the emptiness of religion
The sound of the tabla on Contaminating The Ganges is the most ominous part on Drowning The Elephant God, a direct shot at the mythological deity Ganesh, whose idols are immersed in water bodies every year either during or after the nine-day festival of Ganesh Chaturthi. While Maharashtrians won’t take too kindly to this critical attack, Heathen Beast have a much more extreme force to deal with: their third song on their new release is called Bakras To The Slaughter, a sensitive topic for Muslims who won’t react sensitively to this diatribe. Not exactly the poster boys of vegetarianism themselves, Heathen Beast explain their stance by clarifying that they are meat-eaters against inhumane slaughter.
The tables are on the song about Bakri Eid as well, and even in the middle of the title track, and why not? Heathen Beast are no strangers to Indian musical instruments. Samkhya – the bassist, and Mimamsa – the drummer, are brothers born to parents who are heavily into Indian classical music and own and run a studio. It is at this studio that Heathen Beast records its religion-bashing metal. When there is no commercial work on, and the vocalist/guitarist Carvaka, who works in an advertising firm in Kolkata, is in Mumbai, the studio emanates hellish sounds as the trio captures the blasphemy to unleash it upon this god-fearing world.
More direct than on their debut, Ayodhya Burns, the band moves away from questioning Blind Faith and criticizing Religious Genocide, and pulls up three religions for their destructive practices. The Marathis are made fun of for Ganpati Visarjan, the celebration of which cause pollution of air, sound and water; the Brahmin caste is criticized for polluting the Ganga, the holiest river of India; and Islam is attacked for the mass slaughter of goats and cows on Bakra Eid. How the religious faithful will react to this music if they come to know of its existence is debatable. Some will accept it as freedom of speech while the response from others might be harsh, and maybe even violent, which is why Heathen Beast aren’t revealing their true identities. The members operate under the names Carvaka, Samkhya and Mimamsa – the three atheistic schools of Hinduism, and even their friends who know the three musicians jam every now and then aren’t aware that these young men who graduated from college last year are the extreme force known to the underground metal scene as Heathen Beast.
Obfuscating details about their lives, Heathen Beast say that who they are and what they look like is not important, and instead talk about all that drives them to create music of this nature and the meaning behind it. With only EPs being released from their ordnance, Heathen Beast‘s fury may seem fugacious, but its relevance cannot be questioned. May the short blasts lead to loud explosions and eventually a big bang that empowers many more people to reject religion without hesitation, to challenge the notion that an almighty god exists and controls this world from high heaven and that hell awaits the heathen unbelievers; to be free from the shackles of faiths that only chain and divide, and to draw strength from within without fearing wrath from above.
“The Drowning Of The Elephant God” releases 23rd May, 2012, and can be downloaded along with Heathen Beast‘s 2010 debut “Ayodhya Burns” from HEATHENBEAST.BANDCAMP.COM
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