Interview by Infernal Zine with Kathi

1. First of all, where is the place for Rudra in the overcrowded scene of Singaporean metal?

First of all, I won't consider the Singaporean metal scene overcrowded. There is only a dozen dedicated metal bands or so in this island. Amongst these bands Rudra is one of the oldest. Just to add on, Rudra belongs to the 2nd generation of extreme bands in Singapore.


2. Well, "Rudra" is the first and only full-length album in six years of activity, why so little?

Yes, sadly it is true. This is mainly due to the lack of support for metal from the music industry. And this has victimized us. Even established local labels like Pulverized records don't sign local bands. We have been active by mainly producing demos, gigs and contributing towards compilation albums. After one of us got a job, we decided to produce our self-produced/financed demo, which eventually became the album you are now holding.

3. Now, since we "hit" this matter, please tell us more about it. How did you get to sign with Singaporean Candlelight Prod. and what's your history as a band?

During the time when we released our demo-album, Candlelight Productions was set up. It immediately signed us after getting a copy of the demo-album. Thus, we became the first band in the Candlelight Productions' roster.

Our history stretches back to 1992. That's when Bala, Shiva and me got together to form a band, called Rudhra (Rudra with a 'h'). At that time we were heavily into Slayer, Sodom, Kreator, Bathory, Sepultura and Death. We started playing Metal in the likes of Bathory and old Sodom. Slowly we progressed into the much cliched style of Death metal with the inclusion of Panneer, our second guitarist then. Then we started playing gigs and finally we did a 4-track demo in 1994 called 'The Past'. Soon after our relationship strained due to our differences in opinion. We decided to quit. In 1996, I called up Shiva and invited him to be part of my band that I wanted to start. We jammed and immediately clicked. We decided to call it Rudra and recruited Alvin. Later Bala returned to the fold. Finally, we released a full-length demo-album, which eventually became our self-titled debut.

4. By the way, did you knew that Bestial Records is currently distributing your album here and it seems that it is getting very well on to the Romanian metallers? Taking in account this would you say Rudra has greater success outside the borders of Singapore?

Yeah, I am aware that Bestial Records is distributing our album there and it is true that we have greater success outside our homeground.

5. I'll not start to comment on the Sanskrit chants because I don't know anything about them, that's why I'll ask you to do that. But, as I can see every track starts from a maxim of such famous men like Einstein or Aleister Crowley plus some gurus which aren't so known to me. So, why did you choose to quote from the works of such different individuals? Is their work having a great impact on you?

Firstly, Sanskrit is an ancient Indian language. Its written literature, which is still available, spans to about 4000BC. Most of the Indian philosophical scriptures are written in this language. Moreover, Sanskrit belongs to the Indo-European group of languages in which even your language could be part of. Some scholars comment that Sanskrit is the mother of European languages since it is the oldest in that group.

Every track ends with a maxim from a person or scripture that has influenced me. In fact I had a hard time choosing the 9 from a pile of books in my personal library. I'm an avid reader of Philosophy, Religion, Occult and a little History. My belief is such that I must not miss the whole. I don't exclude anything that comes my way. I'll take all diverse thoughts and find the unity in it. Thus I don't see conflicts, but a perspective or facets of One unity.

6. You mix English lyrics with Indian words which express things like gods, different states of mind... anyway things that are linked with the Indian religion and mythology. So, in the case of this words why didn't you try to use their correspondents in English? Is the "Indian Way" too comprehensive and deeper to be expressed in English? Is it more intellectual and intelligent? Make me a parallel between the Indian society and the Western one?

The reason why I didn't translate those words is because there is no English equivalent to certain Sanskrit words. Most of the time we end up using lots of adjectives to a noun. For example, If I say 'Ananda', there is no perfect counterpart for this in English. Instead we use a relatively close word 'Bliss'. Therefore, I wished to express certain ideas the way it is to prevent interpolation of new ideas. I would not say that Sanskrit or the Hindu Way is sophisticated. It is how you see it. If there were a difference between the Indian society and the western, I would say that the former is more Introverted while the latter is extroverted. That's all.

7. On the other hand, do you really believe in what you write?

I firmly believe in what I write.

8. Now, if we want to go back wouldn't it be better if we'll start playing just folkloric music? How do you see this mix between folklore and metal, strictly speaking about music? What is the place for the traditional indian music parts in your music?

Metal didn't exist a few decades ago. While folkloric music has been around since time immemorable, even before the advent or invention of musical instruments. Basically modern music is a progression or extension of what has been done before. This idea of mixing metal and folkloric in music is a representation of a way of life. The way of life where you remember the past and live the present. You learn from the past by remembering it and live the present by learning from it. Because taking only one of these extremes would not be practical, as we will not be able to progress. To progress is to take reference with what was before. That's the reason why my past culture, which is represented by the Indian traditional music, is introduced to the present metal. It is a way for me to remember and pay tribute to my culture.

9. Is Rudra a Black Metal band, or else how could you describe your music?

That depends on how you see it. We can be death metal, black metal or any metal. It is a matter of perception. But we prefer to call it Vedic Metal since we adopt a certain culture here.

10. Beside you, there were featured other musicians (dealing with the traditional instruments) on the album too, so, I presume the material might look more complex on the tape than on your live shows. Do you try to produce live the same thing as on the album with all intros and traditional stuff?

Yeah, definitely. It will be a difficult task to reproduce the sounds in the album. Presently, we have omitted or substituted all the traditional instruments when it comes to a live set. This is mainly due to technical constraints in venues. We are forced to throw the traditonal indian music segments out of our set. But sometimes we substitute the Indian drums by changing the style of drumming on our regular skins.

11. Have you ever played outside Singapore? If you had, then how was it? If you hadn't when will you?

We have never played outside Singapore. Candlelight Productions wanted to bring us to a Malaysia but the economy is bad now so we have postponed all our gigs. We are intending to do a mini-tour with another band in Chicago, USA somewhere late next year, after the release of our next album. Before I forget, we are signed to Abyss Records, in the USA. And they'll take care of us in the US.

12. From what I can understand out of your lyrics I can divide them in 2 categories: one dealing with the Indian religion and the other dealing with a more social-oriented way like how christianity and organized religions uses to abuse people. Am I right? But now I would like you to speak more about the track "Wareligion" which tends to describe Rudra as a chrisitian band?! Also I can't miss Shiva's special thanks to God in the booklet?!

I would not say you are wrong. That's how you perceived it to be. And I have to respect that. Firstly, let me explain my point. There are no two categories here. Both categories you've mentioned are based on the Hindu view on life in general. The Hindu tradition never separated society from spirituality (notice I'm not using the word religion here). Religion is a fixed set of values or rules that have to be followed no matter what. Here, in the Hindu tradition, we don't have such rigid rules and it's all up to choice. Our goal of life is not to bow to a thousand gods to appease them or yearn for heaven where someone sits on a throne and you can massage his legs. Our goal of life is to know thyself. Because we are the reference on which everything is perceived and interpreted. Every song is written based on this tradition where you are advised, and NOT ordered, to understand your Self. Basically, I think the confusion lies between a Fact and an Opinion here. The organized religions express an opinion but proclaim it to be a fact. This is when the problem starts. A fact is something that cannot be disproved, simply because it is true, a fact. But what I did in the album is to express opinions. Therefore all lyrics are based on my individual metal constitution. I have no right to impose it on others and I truly understand that. So there is no problem here. You can take it or leave it. And there is no issue of abuse here. To abuse is to forcefully impose ones values, beliefs or inclinations on another. I have not abused anyone by they listening to our songs. I have expressed an opinion and it is only true to me and not to anyone else. It is worthy to quote Frederick Nietzsche here. He said, 'There are no facts, only interpretations'.

If you notice the lyrics in Wareligion, I propose an inquiry by pointing out a contradiction. Because I chose to point out an apparent contradiction in religious beliefs. You know, religions cause more destruction than anything does today. Such lyrical lines only provoke you to question and inquire but never conclude. Because questioning is the first stage in learning. And that's what Socrates said. Just like the way you questioned me. You wanted to know something therefore you probed. Knowledge is sought by that way, clearing your doubts. And about Shiva saying thanks to god is his choice. This is another problem due to the inadequacy of the English language to accommodate the Hindu idea of God. God is derived from the word good (removing an 'o') and devil is deified evil. This is a christianized word where qualities are attached to god. We prefer to call the supreme, Brahman. Brahman is beyond good and evil. Neither does it have a form nor a name, but we understand that without using a word we cannot comprehend it. Therefore, we call it Brahman but again it doesn't have a name. This is my belief and I am not imposing it on anyone.

13. RUDRA is the name of the destructive force of nature, the destroyer of the earth. So, do you think nature is superior to humans and finally why did you choose this name?

No. It is not the destroyer of the earth. Only in Semitic belief does existence starts and ends with Earth. We view existence as the universe and recognize it to be in a state of flux where three actions are sequential. It is creation, preservation and destruction. We named ourselves after the god of destruction, Rudra, because it not only symbolizes the final dissolution, but also the destruction of conditions, beliefs, pre-conceived ideas etc… to pave way to the dawn of knowledge.
I believe nature is superior to humans only as long as he/she is ignorant of one's nature. After knowing your Self, you are the ruler of nature. Read the lyrics to Atman and you'll find what is the idea of the Self.

14. Tell me more about the two demo-version tracks "Ananda" and "No War" featured on this album. Why did you choose them and how was this demo like?

Ananda means Bliss (no better word in english to represent this state) and it talks about the worldly experiences. No War is a song about the weaknesses of the Human mind. These 2 songs were recorded somewhere during the period when we were signed to Candlelight Productions, to be used for miscellaneous purposes. We decided to include these 2 tracks to add value and lengthen running time.

15. Who was the late "Saint of the Gutters" whose this album is dedicated to?

We prefer it to be a mystery for now. Sorry.

16. The problem of the Asia's "spiritual gurus" was and still is a thing very much debated on by mass media. My personal opinion is that most of them are fanatics or rogues, but what can you tell me concerning this?

I accept that everyone sees the same object, but interprets it in his or her own way based on the person's conditionings and notions. Therefore, I respect your opinion. In my opinion, I don't like to make a hasty judgment on anyone because we fail to see many other influencing factors and hindrances in knowing anything. Like I said earlier, the western culture and the eastern are very different. To judge an eastern mind with a western approach will be futile. You will not be able to understand it fully. And I agree that an eastern mind will not be able to comprehend a western mind fully. I won't blame anyone for this as rarely is someone introduced to eastern thought. That includes me as well. I studied western secular knowledge all through my life. At the same time I am not dismissing the fact that there are frauds and fanatics in both cultures. The mass media is a business institution where the sole purpose is profit. Therefore, they are interested in news that is shocking rather than things that are ordinary or normal. Due to this, the media sensationalizes things that are foreign to the average mind to attract attention. Can't you see this same tactic employed by most so-called black metal bands that know a little or nothing about the Black art or the Occult?

17. Singapore is an exotic place for me, now normally I would ask you what do you know/think of Romania?

You've been to Singapore? Actually it is really not that exotic. It is a concrete jungle. But of course when compared with other countries, your view might stand true. I don't know much about Romania except that many countries such as Hungary, Slovakia, Croatia surround it… But I do know that it has a great Soccer team.

18. Thanks for your time! Any last comments?

Thanks for granting us this interview and I truly appreciate it. We thank all those who bought our album and Adrian of Bestial records for distributing it.

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