Spiral Shades – “Hypnosis Sessions” [SoundCloud Album Stream]

The Skinny: Formed by Vennesla, Norway-native Filip Petersen and Mumbai based singer-songwriter Khushal Bhadra, Spiral Shades is a heavy rock record unlike any other. As avid fans of obscure ’70s rock, doom and proto-metal, prior to forming Spiral Shades both Petersen and Bhadra relied on YouTube to unearth lost music and showcase their individual talents as musicians. Each would upload their own cover versions of songs they had discovered online but it wasn’t until one evening in the Summer of 2012 that Khushal happened to stumble onto Filip’s video channel where he was immediately taken aback by the Norwegian’s choices and impressive guitar playing.

“We appeared to possess identical influences and a love for the ’70s,” recalls Khushal. “Later we discovered that we shared in the belief that music created in that era had a certain kind of depth and emotion. My late father got me into bands like Black Sabbath and Deep Purple when I was young and those bands completely changed my world. Since then I have been trying to unearth bands with similar vibes.”

Frustrated by the absence of a metal scene in Mumbai but buoyed by the discovery of a like mind, Khushal reached out in hope of exchanging ideas and recommendations. The pair soon fell into discussion about their reverence for Scott “Wino” Weinrich; compared notes about Necromandus’s Barry “Baz” Dunnery’s guitar technique and debated which John Gallo band ruled more, Orodruin or Blizaro. Forming a friendship and shared admiration for the music they played they began sowing the seeds of what would eventually become Spiral Shades’ debut album.