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In this interview Devoid discusses their debut release, "A God's Lie", the intricacies of breaking out in the Indian metal scene, and their record deal with Demonstealer Records.

Tyler: You released your debut album "A God's Lie" on September 8, 2010. How well has the album been doing since it's release?
Devoid: The album has been doing rather well since the release. We've played four major cities in India as of yet and the album has garnered quite a response from old and new fans alike. We're pleasantly surprised about the recognition we have received from international reviewing web-sites and e-zines too. Good scenes...

Tyler: You recently signed with Demonstealer Records. How did that come about?
Devoid: We took nearly a year to record A God's Lie during which we tried every possible way to mix and master the record till we finally settled for the kind of sound you can now hear on the album. After this long stint we needed a distribution network and there weren't many available in this country. We knew Sahil Makhija since a while now having shared the stage with his band, Demonic Resurrection on quite a few occasions. Demonstealer Records (DSR) has been around in the scene since over five years now with networks stretching across Asia and parts of Europe and we were looking for just such a distribution. The production of the band's merchandise was also done under Demonstealer Records. With this in mind and the right contract we signed on to DSR.

Tyler: Most people don't understand the complexities of the metal scene in other countries, and the Indian metal scene seems to be the hardest to break out in. What did Devoid do to stand out from the crowd and make their mark in the scene?
Devoid: There was once a point in the Indian Metal scene when original compositions by bands were looked up on as a waste of time. The scene was largely dominated by bands who could pretty much pass of as a jukebox which kept belting out the crowd's favorite hits across all genres. We, I suppose, are lucky to have been a part of a wave of bands that refused to play only cover songs. This caught on, much to our delight and gave us an edge. At this point Thrash Metal was a dying art in India and we were one of the last bands that still played this breed of music, loud and fucking proud. We played as much we possibly could but since we were all pursuing a degree we always had to cut back on a lot of shows... one of the reasons it took us five years to shape the band. With time the crowd really started grooving to our sound. People knew the songs and the first time we heard the people chant them back, was the time when we first realized that this... is working for us.

Tyler: You recently completed a short mini tour with fellow DSR label-mates Albatross, and international touring act Nervecell. How was the tour for you guys?
Devoid: It was an experience unlike any we've ever had. We laid our hands on our album for the very first time only at the start of the tour, at Bangalore. That moment itself was surreal for all of us involved. While finally having our efforts on a digipack CD and holding it wasn't great enough, we were also going to be sharing the stage with Dubai Thrash/Death metallers Nervecell, throughout the album tour. Fucking kick ass. Albatross is the resultant of great musicians from four crazy bands and they were playing for the very first time live as a Horror metal unit so having them on board meant a lot more fucking fun. Their brand of metal was greatly appreciated by everyone across the country. But other than the fact that this tour was something that we had been looking forward to for a while now, we also gained a lot experience and perspective of our own metal scene. The Nervecell guys are amazing musicians and they really put in their everything to make things work so that the band and the music is still on and we draw our inspirations from them and bands like them. All in all the Preaching Venom/Dinner's a Lie tour left us really fucking hungry for a lot more shows.

Tyler: Devoid has a unique sound, and seems to cull inspiration from several different genres, artists, and musical eras. Tell us a little bit about your sound and how you've made it your own.
Devoid: We generally take inspiration from any good thrash or death metal band, old and new. Slayer definitely forms the core of the influence and it's evident in certain sections of the album. When we started out as a band we wanted to be as fast and brutal as Slayer (who doesn't? ...\m/). But somewhere down the line, Keshav and Arun churned out some melodic patterns which eventually made way into our songs and somehow, we were quite pleased with the overall sound. We've put in conscious efforts to sound as thrashy as possible but at the same time refrained from sounding like any other thrash act. Bands like Cannibal Corpse, Morbid Angel, Vader etc. have always been our role models and hence, certain death metal patterns have crept into our compositions as well. In fact our newer compositions have more death metal progressions. ÔA God's Lie' is definitely a mixture of all our influences and we've tried to make it sound as unique as possible.

Tyler: What was the writing process for "A God's Lie" like?
Devoid: The writing process for the album began a long time back. There are a few tracks in this album that we had made during the onset of the band and hence it is a mix-tape of sorts of all the tracks that didn't get chucked out hahah. Back in the day when we first started making music we had a heavy melodic influence in our guitar styles. As the years went by our influences started varying and by the end of the album we had arrived onto a new place from where we began but never forgetting to keep it thrashy and aggressive. Both Keshav (Leads) and me worked on riffs individually and pooled it in during the jam sessions and that's when Shubham (Drums) played his part of arranging the riffs to make a coherent song. As far as we're concerned, although the process was seemingly endless we had the best of our times writing for "A God's Lie".

Tyler: Overall, is Devoid happy with where they're at, musically?
Devoid: Our musicianship has improved a lot since the last 5 years and although we're satisfied with what we have achieved in this album, I think we're a long way from where we imagine ourselves to be. We are working hard to get there and I think an improvement will be evident in the next album. As I mentioned earlier, we are trying to incorporate more death metal progressions in our newer songs. Everyone knows playing death or thrash metal is no child's play and there is no shortcut to getting it right. So presently, we're trying hard to achieve the tough goals we have set for ourselves.

Tyler: What is Devoid's main goal at this point in time?
Devoid: As of now, our goal is very clear. We want to play as many shows as possible to promote the album. Going international will be a big step forward and that's exactly what we're working towards. We're already in talks with some international organizers and things seem to be falling in place right now.

Tyler: Are there any plans for more tours, albums, etc...?
Devoid: Hell yeah! A bunch of new riffs and patterns have emerged and compositions for the next album have already begun. Pretty damn excited about the newer stuff as it's more brutal and in your face. As for tours, well we just completed our 4 city ÔA God's Lie' tour at the national level. Although there is no particular tour in the pipeline, we do have around 3-4 shows confirmed in the coming months.

Tyler: Is there anything you'd like to say to the fans?
Devoid: Thanks for your continuous support towards Devoid and the Indian Metal scene. 'A God's Lie' is a very personal debut album and we have written it as what we are, pissed off Indians. We hope you guys help us promote the album and its message extensively as its the need of the hour for our country. Keep the spirit alive and see you people at our next gig.

Check out Devoid's official facebook.