1. Introduce yourself.
Vyas: We are ‘Diabolus Arcanium’ from Chennai and I am Vyas ‘HEX’ Manalan, the band’s Lead guitarist and Lead Vocalist.
Harsha: I am Harsha ‘AGIEL’ Vardhan, the band’s manager/promoter.
2. What does “Diabolus Arcanium” even mean?
Vyas: “Diabolus” means ‘The Devil or Satan’ or whatever people want to refer him as and “Arcanium” means ‘A Mystic Sanctuary’. It’s a latin word which basically means “Satan’s Mystic Sanctuary”.
3. “Diabolus Arcanium” was formerly known as ‘Fortified Destruction’. How are things going in the band and when was the new line up formed?
Vyas: DA is not related to Fortified Destruction musically, the only relation is me, who formed both the bands.
FD played power metal and I was done with it. It wasn't who I am, I grew up listening more to ‘Black Metal’ and wanted to make Black Metal, so this struck me and I thought fuck Power Metal let me do what I want..
Diabolus Arcanium was formed on December 18th, 2013 with the last live band member crew, with the addition of Solas on bass as Kevin was not included.
4. FD had a really unstable lineup. Will the fans be able to see the difference in DA?
Harsha: FD and DA are very different musically. FD played Power Metal with Melodic Death Metal influence. Though we were one of the most popular bands during that time, we wanted to be unique rather. So we wanted to play Black Metal which is a very rare scene in India. By December 18th, 2013 we formed Diabolus Arcanium, with the new line up. We also started working on “Spellbound” our debut full length which is releasing worldwide digitally on 23rd February, 2014.
5. How did your fans receive your lyric video of the song “Of Fire and Ashes” from the album SpellBound?
Harsha: Of Fire and Ashes is one the most technical song from the album and the symphony is massive. We thought this song would be well accepted by the audiences as it sounds catchy too. We made the lyric video of it and it worked well with them.
6. “SpellBound” is the new upcoming full length album from you guys. How are you seeing ahead with the album?
Vyas: ‘Spellbound’ is our debut album, we came up with that in a quick succession. We needed to establish us well within this scene and globally. I am glad the album has come out well. People will like it and we hope to move on to the next level.
7. What are the Influences of your band?
Vyas: Our band is majorly influenced by Dimmu Borgir, Dark Funeral, Mayhem basically the early Norwegian Black Metal scene.
8. To many musicians out there, what message would you like to convey?
Vyas: Well for all the new musicians, what I would like to say is to work hard and stay committed. Focus more on originals rather than covers. Recognition will come automatically, if not sooner.
Interviewer: Shwetha Kamath
