INTERVIEW: Avishek K.C. – Underside

Nepal is better known for being the country of Mount Everest and the home of the Gurkhas, but UNDERSIDE, a four-piece from the capital Kathmandu, are determined to also make it a powerhouse of metal, and this is something they are already well on their way to achieving, what with them organising the Silence Festival, successfully touring Australia last year, and currently supporting Canadian metalcore legends CANCER BATS on their headline tour of the UK. Prior to playing in Stoke-on-Trent recently, we spoke with the band’s vocalist, Avishek K.C., to talk about a wide range of topics, spanning from the Nepalese civil war to this year’s Download Festival lineup.

Firstly, how did UNDERSIDE form?

Avishek: The band was formed after Bikrant [Shrestha, guitarist] came back to Nepal from Switzerland to set up the Silence Festival, which was the first rock and metal festival to be held in Nepal, and he invited us – and we were on the verge of breaking up at the time – to play at it. We had just returned from doing a tour of England, which was actually the first time that a Nepalese band had toured outside of the country, so we met Bikrant, started hanging around with him, and after a while, he joined us.

Growing up in Nepal, was there much of a rock and metal scene?

Avishek: Yeah, there was, and still is, a lot of rock ‘n’ roll, especially in Kathmandu, where we’re all originally from, and that’s most likely down to the fact that Nepal has long been a fixture of the hippy trail. Also in Kathmandu, there is a lot of live music, and you can actually see a band play there every night of the week in pubs, bars, and that, so yeah, Nepal does have its fair share of rock ‘n’ roll.

Also growing up at a time when the country was at civil war, how do you think that has shaped the band as musicians?

Avishek: It was such a weird time to grow up in, as there was all this shit that was going on, which initially didn’t feel normal, but the more time went on, we began to accept it as part of ordinary life, and I think it also helped us to develop thick skins. We also used to have a lot of time off school, because all of the schools would shut down for around ten days at a time, because there would be frequent bomb threats, so yeah, we didn’t really think anything of it as kids, but when we got to about 13, 14, and started to fully understand exactly what was going on, and it was also around this time we first formed the band, we began to question why the civil war was going on, and that fuelled us to move forward with UNDERSIDE, because the world of rock and metal was really one of the few places where we could truly be ourselves. As at the time, there was a nationwide curfew of 10pm, so it wasn’t the best time to be going out. Maybe it was different in the places that weren’t being bombarded, but it generally wasn’t a safe time for anyone, so the only outlets for us was to go to gigs which would take place in the middle of the afternoon, and to go to each other’s houses and have some jamming sessions.

From where did the name UNDERSIDE originate?

Avishek: Well, I am a big Maynard James Keenan fan, and when he was in PUSCIFER, they brought out a song called The Mission, which had the lyrics “Whatcha know about the ways of the underside”, and I thought it sounded really cool. This was around the same time we were starting the band and the words just clicked in my mind, and in regards to where Nepal is situated, we like to think we are on the underside of the world.

You just mentioned Maynard and PUSCIFER there. Which other bands/artists serve as your main musical influences?

Avishek: We are also mainly influenced by bands such as PANTERA, SLIPKNOT, and METALLICA, and our core elements were initially shaped by much of their work, but now that we’ve changed everything in regards to our sound. Actually tonight, we’re going to be playing all new songs, because we recorded our EP [Satan In Your Stereo] back in 2014, which we were supposed to have released the following year, but then the Nepal earthquake happened, then our drummer left, then our bassist left, so it wasn’t until the end of 2017, beginning of 2018, that we decided, “Fuck it, let’s just get it out”, but by that point, the EP didn’t really reflect how we sounded, which our new songs will be able to do much better.

How would you describe the band’s new songs?

Avishek: They consist of our own blend of groove and thrash metal, but they also still contain some elements of the bands we grew up listening to.

What would you say was UNDERSIDE’s songwriting approach?

Avishek: We all take part in the songwriting process, but it’s very different now to what it was, as before, we would pretty much start from a little riff, and then find a part that went along with that, but I think that is something we outgrew over time. Now, we start with an idea, for example, one of the new songs is based on Gadhimai, which is the world’s biggest animal sacrifice festival, and takes place in Nepal every five years, where 300,000 animals are sacrificed in five days, and I actually went there once for the engagement of one of my friends. PETA have put pressure on the temple trust that run the festival to ban it, but the next one (which will take place this November/December) will most likely still go ahead.

Obviously, myself and the rest of the band are totally against the festival, and we wanted that to come out in our sound, so we began to experiment with different riffs and other different things – also with our live sets in mind – and when we go back to Nepal after the CANCER BATS tour has finished, we will be filming a video for it. That’s the perspective we take now when we’re writing songs, and we’re also focusing on other themes, such as the Maoist guerrillas who fought in the Nepalese civil war, an event which happened at the Nepal-Tibet border, and cutting yourself up and feeding yourself to vultures, so after we write the lyrics, we will then move on to putting together the music.

You’re currently supporting CANCER BATS on their UK headline tour. Did that come about via the Silence Festival?

Avishek: Yeah, it did. We’ve been doing Silence every year since it started, and we invited them to come and play at last year’s festival, which they did, and it was during that that their booking agent approached us and asked us if we would be interested in them becoming our booking agent. We accepted their offer, and they took us on, and the main reason, I think, why they had come to us was because they had seen us bond really well with CANCER BATS, as we found that they were all such cool guys.

The Silence Festival, it’s now the biggest music festival in Nepal, and I believe it’s huge in India as well now.

Avishek: Up until a few years ago, India had this massive metal scene, but it suddenly started to go downhill, but Silence is doing so well now, we had two stages last year, there was a really good crowd, and we’ve also had BEHEMOTH and SIKTH perform, but it’s not easy to put on a music festival in Nepal, and last year was the first time where we hadn’t been shut down by the cops, as in previous years, they would come kicking in, so that was positive.

You are bringing out a new album soon, aren’t you?

Avishek: Yeah, but we don’t know when we will be releasing it exactly, as we haven’t decided on a date yet, but this year, we’re aiming to bring out at least a few songs off the album as singles, and then unveil the whole album early next year. That’s our current plan.

Going back to the current CANCER BATS tour, how has that been going so far?

Avishek: It’s been great. The venues have been full every night, everyone has been really nice to us, so everything has been going exactly how we’ve wanted, that is expect for the weather! [laughs] Even though we are just one of the support bands, and not many people have really heard of us outside of Nepal, the crowds have been moving along to our music in the same way they do back home. We haven’t really had a bad night since we got here.

And how is the overall experience, for the band, of performing live?

Avishek: It’s what we live for, as for us, performing live is the whole point of playing in a band, and we do really want to grow that aspect, along with the sound and imagery, so if you come and see us live, then you’ll see what we’re all about.

Lastly, album aside, what are your plans following the conclusion of this tour?

Avishek: After going back to Nepal for a little while, we will be supporting CANCER BATS on tour again, this time in Europe, then we’re going to be playing at Download this June.

Download has a brilliant line-up this year, doesn’t it?

Avishek: Yeah, the whole band are really excited about it, as it’s one of the festivals that we’ve always wanted to play, and also SLIPKNOT and TOOL are going to be there as well. I just hope the weather in England will be warmer by then! [laughs]

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