The Down Troddence, popularly known as TDT is a six piece

thrash metal Thrash metal (or simply thrash) is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music characterized by its overall aggression and often fast tempo.Kahn-Harris, Keith, ''Extreme Metal: Music and Culture on the Edge'', pp. 2–3, 9. Oxford: Berg, 2007, . ...

band, originally from

Kannur Kannur (), formerly known in English as Cannanore, is a city and a municipal corporation in the state of Kerala, India. It is the administrative headquarters of the Kannur district and situated north of the major port city and commercial hu ...

district in

Kerala Kerala ( ; ) is a state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile regions of Cochin, Malabar, South ...

, India. The band consists of Munz (Vocals), Varun Raj (Guitar), Nezer Ahemed (Bass Guitar, Backing Vocals),

Sushin Shyam Sushin Shyam is an Indian music composer who works predominantly in the Malayalam film industry. He is also the keyboardist of the Indian folk metal band The Down Troddence. He started gaining popularity in 2018 with the films ''Varathan'' and ...

(Keyboards, Backing Vocals), Ganesh Radhakrishnan (Drums), and Advaith Mohan (Guitar). The band released its debut album titled ''How Are You? We Are Fine, Thank You'' on 1 January 2014 to positive reviews. It was produced by Keshav Dhar (

Skyharbor Skyharbor is an Indian/American progressive metal band with members from New Delhi and Mumbai, India; and Cleveland, Ohio, US. History The band was initially guitarist Keshav Dhar's studio project, before TesseracT vocalist Daniel Tompkins co ...

) at Illusion Audio, New Delhi.

History

Band formation

The band started off as a two-man studio project by Varun and Munz in 2008, called Ultimatyum. After roping in Sushin (who had collaborated with Varun on a previous project called 25 Aug), Prayag (drums), Rinoy Balan (guitars), and Shaib (bass), The Down Troddence as a full-fledged band became a reality. Due to the departure of Shaib due to personal reasons, Nezer came in to take over bass duties. Following the release of their first single "Death Vanity", Prayag was replaced by Ganesh (previously with progressive metal band Purple Blood) on drums. The band got its first big boost with the release of the music video for their single "Shiva". The video received the Best Music Video award at the IndieGo South Asian Music Awards. Following a series of victories at college fests in and around South India, the band went on a short hiatus during which time the various band members shifted base to other cities. Munz, Nezer and Ganesh shifted to

Bangalore Bangalore (), officially Bengaluru (), is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Karnataka. It has a population of more than and a metropolitan population of around , making it the third most populous city and fifth most ...

, while Sushin moved to

Chennai Chennai (, ), formerly known as Madras ( the official name until 1996), is the capital city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost Indian state. The largest city of the state in area and population, Chennai is located on the Coromandel Coast of th ...

to work as the studio programmer for famed South Indian music director

Deepak Dev Deepak Devraj Komath (born 30 April 1978), better known as Deepak Dev, is an Indian music composer, best known for his compositions in Malayalam cinema. He started his career in the Film Industry through the movie ''Chronic Bachelor'' (2003) di ...

. At this juncture, Rinoy also departed the band and was replaced by Advaith Mohan (of Chennai-based band Iterate), who is also based in Bangalore.

Debut album

The band had already released three singles independently before 2012, and wanted to work on a full-fledged debut album. By mid October 2012, pre-production work on nine tracks had been completed, and Keshav Dhar of Skyharbor fame, agreed to produce the album. Tracking was done in Bangalore during November. After a long wait of almost a year, the debut album titled ''How Are You? We Are Fine, Thank You'' was released at Counterculture, Bangalore on New Year's Eve, 2014. The digital version of the album has gone on to become the top-seller on Oklisten.com in the span of 5 days.

Awards and major performances

Some of the major achievements of the band are listed below:- * Best Band – Critic's Choice – Rolling Stone India Metal Awards 2014 * Best Band – Popular Choice – Rolling Stone India Metal Awards 2014 * Best Song (Nagavalli) – Critic's Choice – Rolling Stone India Metal Awards 2014 * Best Song (Nagavalli) – Popular Choice – Rolling Stone India Metal Awards 2014 * Best Album (How are you? We are fine. Thank you) – Critic's Choice – Rolling Stone India Metal Awards 2014 * Best Album (How are you? We are fine. Thank you) – Popular Choice – Rolling Stone India Metal Awards 2014 * Best Artwork (Abhijith VB) – Rolling Stone India Metal Awards 2014 * Best Music Video Award (Shiva) – IndieGo South Asia Music Awards 2011 * Best Vocalist Award (Munz) – IndieGo South Asia Music Awards 2011 * Best Instrumental (Ortniavis) – IndieGo South Asia Music Awards 2011 * Opened for UK Based band Cypher 16 in Bangalore (2011) * Best Keyboardist (Sushin) – Decibels Semi-Pro Band Competition (

Saarang Saarang (means 'Chital' or Spotted Deer in Sanskrit, a common sight on IIT Madras campus) is the annual social and cultural festival of IIT Madras. It is a 5 day long festival usually in the second week of the year. Founded in 1974, Saarang is ...

2012) * Best Band –

Festember Festember is a cultural festival organised at National Institute of Technology, Tiruchirappalli (NITT). It is a 4-day event held annually in the third week of September. It was first incepted in 1975 by then students of NITT, and has now evolve ...

2012

Musical style and influences

TDT has always been noted for its unique blend of conventional thrash and groove metal with a large dose of traditional Kerala folk music elements, art forms such as

Theyyam Theyyam (/ t̪eːjjəm/; romanised: ''teyyam'') are Hindu ritualistic dance forms practiced in northern Kerala and some parts of Karnataka. Theyyam is also known as Kaḷiyāṭṭaṁ or Tiṟa. Theyyam consists of traditions, rituals and c ...

in particular. The band also incorporates a lot of traditional folk sounds and instruments in the form of ambient layers in their music. Rhythm structures used in their songs too are primarily inspired by folk music. Lyrically the band has a strong philosophy of talking about inequalities and injustices which are ever present in India's social and political systems. A common theme in their music is the effort to project the voice of the under-privileged and down-trodden people. Another big influence on the band has been the Malayalam Folk Rock band

Avial Avial ( ml, അവിയല്‍, pronounced ) is an Indian dish with origins in the Kerala, Tamil Nadu, and Udupi regions of India. It is a thick stew of usually 13 vegetables commonly found in the Western Ghats and coconut, seasoned with c ...

, who also speak about similar themes in their music.

Band members

;Current members * Munz – vocals (2009–present) * Varun Raj – guitar (2009–present) *

– keyboards, backing vocals (2009–present) * Nezer Ahemed – bass, backing vocals (2009–present) * Ganesh Radhakrishnan – drums (2010–present) * Advaith Mohan – guitar (2012–present) ;Former members * Rinoy Balan – guitar (2009–2012) * Prayag MP – drums (2009–2009) * Shaib – bass (2009–2009)

References

External links

* http://bitemymusic.com/full-list-of-indiego-winners/ * http://www.indianmusicrevolution.com/Interviews/Interview-MunzThe-Down-Troddence.html * http://www.highonscore.com/the-down-troddence-release-their-debut-video * http://www.headbangers.in/blog/the-down-troddence-release-debut-album-at-metal-factory-bangalore/ * http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/malayalam/music/The-Down-Troddence-bags-eight-awards/articleshow/37076197.cms {{DEFAULTSORT:Down Troddence Indian thrash metal musical groups Music bands from Kerala Musical groups established in 2008 Musical sextets