MUMBAI: The city, once again witnessed the madness of Harley Rock Riders season six, at Richardson & Cruddas in Byculla, which is becoming the go to venue for rock concerts. An array of Harley Davidson bikes, with rock and metal music which was an overwhelming sight. Organised by Only Much Louder (OML) the two-day festival had two stages- the Harley Stage, and Guvera stage, which featured performances by some of the best bands in country with Trash Metal legends- Megadeth headlining the first day.
Apart from revving bikes and loud music, the event also had official Harley Davidson merchandise that fans could buy. SNLPRO provided the sound and lighting for the event. The gig was originally supposed to start at 4 pm, but was postponed by an hour, which eventually led to a change in the line up. It was announced later that four bands (The Down Troddence, Abraxas, Kraken and Noiseware) would not be playing, but the fans were in for a surprise.
Progressive rock band Coshish opened the Guvera stage with a melodic instrumental, eventually going on to play their original tracks. What initially was just a handful of people in the crowd, eventually turned into a sea of fans, head banging and grooving to the band’s tunes.
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Meanwhile, local legends Demonic Resurrection (DR) hit the Harley stage first. The band played a mixed bag of their heavy and slow numbers, including their all time hits ‘Apocalyptic Dawn’ and ‘Frozen Portrait’, and keyboardist, Mephisto, also lent his vocals to one of the tracks during the performance. DR was followed by Death Metal favourites- Bhayanak Maut, with the ‘Guttural Twins’ tearing the place apart, and ultimately starting up fierce head banging, and an intense mosh pit.
Back at the Guvera stage, Providence opened their explosive set, provoking fans to a much bigger and violent mosh. However, not everything went as planned. The band’s guitarist Shezan Shaikh was extremely disappointed with the onstage sound, and after a while got a bit abusive, demanding better sound quality. Nonetheless, it was a power packed performance by Providence, which blew their fans away.
Things on the Harley Stage were not going as expected either. To everyone’s surprise (and quite a bit of frustration) several bands, including Noiseware, Kraken, Abraxas and The Down Troddence, had their sets cancelled. However, in an act of utmost generosity, Mumbai-based band- Scribe, whose schedule was not affected, called upon the other four bands to join them on stage for one track each, putting music before everything else. At one point Abraxas’s vocalist- Karan Pote even joined Noiseware for vocals during their performance. Later on, local favourites Scribe set the stage on fire with their popular hit track ‘I Love you, Pav Bhaji’. Fans, organisers and other bands were all praise for Scribe’s generosity, accommodating other bands during their set.
While things seemed to be settling down a little at the Guvera stage, the Harley stage was being set for the most awaited act of the evening- Megadeth. The legendary band started its set with one of their greatest hits ‘Hangar 18’. The crowd, jam packed and fully charged by the time, responded by going berserk and screaming along with their metal icons. Megadeth went on to play hits like ‘Public Enemy No. 1’, ‘Sweating Bullets’, ‘Trust’, ‘She Wolf’, ‘Peace Sells’, ‘Tornado of Souls’, ‘Cold Sweat’, and their latest single ‘Fatal Illusion’, amongst others. While the band played one metal’s most famous ballads- ‘Tout Le Monde’, fans joined in word for word with Dave Mustaine. Vic Rattlehead, Megadeth’s mascot, was then brought on stage during ‘Peace Sells’. After keeping the crowd engaged throughout their set, Megadeth ended day-one of Harley Rock Riders with ‘Holy Wars’. Mustaine’s powerful vocals and riffs, Ellefson’s pounding bass, Loureiro with his smooth and cutting solos, and Adler’s hard hitting drumming, ensured the gig ended on a heavy note.
