Ston'd
Ston’d is a metal band hailing from Bangalore. Its story starts in the summer of 2005 when Anoop (bass) and Abijith (vocals) met Aditya (guitars) for the first time in a mutual friend’s jam room. No one had a clear idea about what they wanted their band to sound like. There was a huge difference in influences ranging from Lamb of God to KoRn to the ‘80s band scorpions. Nothing really came out of that first meeting. Aditya got an offer from another band. Abijith went on to do vocals for the nu-metal act Shnellpsyche. After a couple more months, and a couple of chance meetings with the future guitarists of Ston’d, the band was finally formed at then end of 2006. The original line up consisted of Abijith on vocals, Hitesh and Sudhir on guitars, Anoop on bass and Kartik on drums.
Debuting in “Unwind Underground”, and after around seven shows, the band saw a line up change with Aditya, who had first met Abijith and Anoop 2 years ago, replacing Hitesh on guitars.
The band has always maintained that with heaviness in music, there must be a perfect balance of melody as well. Technical Guitar riffs and drumming patterns with melodious leads and heavy vocals define the band’s sound.
Shows played include “Unwind underground”, Campus Rock Idols 2007, and National Law School – Strawberry Fields 2006 to name a few. Ston’d has already played a few out station gigs, including the 2007 Pondicherry Freedom Jam, which was followed by the Manipal Institute of Technology fest Revels ‘07, where the band placed third, and a few college gigs, including the SJBIT and BMSCE college fests, where the band placed second in both instances. The band aims to play at every show possible, both in and outside Bangalore.
Long-term aims include recording and releasing a demo album.
BAND MEMBERS :
Aditya : Youngest and newest addition to Ston’d. He is completely new to the genre but seems to be coping well with the increase in technicality of the guitars. Influences include Mark Tremonti (of Alter Bridge and Creed) and bands such as DevilDriver, Ko яn and Lamb of God.
Sudhir: A quiet and unassuming manner belies his skills on the guitar. His riffs have been paramount in defining the band’s sound and his guitar leads add immense depth to the music. Mark Tremonti, Yngwie Malmsteen, John Petrucci and Slash are his favourite guitarist but he claims he can’t really call them his influences. He aspires to be a neo classical guitarist.
Anoop: Perhaps the most hilarious one in the band. Whether it’s his antics on stage, to head banging in the jam room, and growling during songs, he keeps the band shaking with laughter. A furiously intense bassist, he draws inspiration from Shiv of KCOR (from Bangalore) and Rajesh of Abandoned Agony (also from Bangalore). The level of concentration and devotion, as well as skill he shows on his bass (and how he drives the rest of the band to the point of irritation by just not stopping to play in the jam room) will not lead anyone to believe he has been playing for less than a year.
Karthik: He has adapted fairly well with the genre of the band. His initial influences were old school bands, such as Iron Maiden, Metallica, Megadeth, and Ozzy. In his own words, “Ozzy is God!” He faces the challenge of covering highly drum technical bands with a positive attitude. The result is a very technical drummer who provides a solid foundation for the rest of the members to build upon. His inspiration when it comes to dumming is Mr. Sukumar, his drums teacher, who currently plays in the Bangalore act Altered Scales.
Abijith: The band’s front man. He lends his heavy vocals to the band’s defining sound. Starting off with singing covers of Marilyn Manson, to Deftones, he has finally found his true calling. His growls are as heavy as his screeches. He completes the band’s sound with his spot on vocals. Early own compositions saw a lot of melody driven singing followed by heavy vocals. He also believes in high lyrical quality.
Band Setlist:
Corrosive – Original
Nothing Remains – Original
Eyes of Chaos – Original
Ego – Original
Disaster Area – Original
Silent Hatred – Original
Slave New World – Sepultura Cover
Only For The Weak – In Flames Cover
My Last Serenade – Killswitch Engage Cover
Haunting – Threat Signal Cover
Equipment the band uses : Ibanez, Schecter, D’Addario, Zoom, Korg, Stranger, and Marshall, Mapex Drum kit, Sabian Cymbals, Boss, and Givson.
Band Influences :
Mudvayne, Lamb Of God, Creed, Alter Bridge, Soil, Children of Bodom, Cradle of Filth, Deicide, HIM , Himsa, Avenged Sevenfold, Dimmu Borgir, Killswitch Engage, Arch Enemy, Underoath, Lacuna Coil, Atreyu, Bleeding Through, The Black Dahlia Murder, Drowning Pool, As I Lay Dying, Shadows Fall, Machine Head, Superjoint Ritual, Soulfly, In Flames, Fear Factory, Probot, Unearth, God Forbid, The Agony Scene, Trivium, Every Time I Die, Blood Has Been Shed, Eighteen Visions, All That Remains, Twelve Tribes, The Dillinger Escape Plan, Martyr AD, DevilDriver, As I Lay Dying, Threat Signal, Heaven Shall Burn, Caliban
Band Thanks: Kcor, Abandoned Agony, Kaashmorah, Nascent Forge. All you people associated with The Rehab. Theorized, Sknow, Audiophile and Guruskool. Manju, Kris, Varun, Dan, Kishore, Viju, Santu, Vicku, Thanks for all the support! \m/
“We have always been questioned about the name of the band. No, we are not stoners or drug abusers. There are many ways to get high and tripping. Music is one trip that money can’t buy. We are Ston’d. Ston’d on Music.”
VIDEO LINKS :
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7R9UA-juDIw
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p_2n5K70KF4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZWHHmxSD4Rw
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wENZMyynyZ0
