A band that carries the waft of an enigmatic affair, Serpents of Pakhangba is not like one of those usual bands. You press the play button, or you watch them start performing in front of you, and seconds later, you’ll find yourself being transcended to another world, an experience quite similar to the one I have when I listen to Sigur Rós, but that doesn’t imply that they sound like them. They are in a league of their own. They have a unique approach to creating music, where shamanic vocals and metal compositions mingle to give listeners an out-of-the-world experience.
A band formed in 2019, its inception is based on a freestyle impromptu jam with four musicians and a vocalist in the said year. “The whole 9-hour jam was audio recorded to hear, transcribe and arrange into conceptual song formats,” the band says. “That became our debut 2 tracks self-titled EP released on Bandcamp in 2019,” Vishal J Singh, the band’s founding member adds.
With influences from bands like Mr. Bungle, Arch Enemy, Wardruna, Heilung, Wolfheart, Meshuggah, and The Hu, Serpents of Pakhangba exudes what may be termed as an eclectic symphony that encompasses the genres, viz. Art Metal, Shamanic Metal, and Avant-Garde Metal.
When asked about what led to the particular name, they traced its roots to Pakhangba, a primordial deity in Meitei mythology. “Because he (Pakhangba) was a Dragon and was known to be a Shapeshifting God, I wanted to keep a certain little touch of my roots in the band and my love for Pakhangba is immortalized in the form of art,” the founding member, Vishal Singh, who is partly Meitei, says. “The shapeshifting word here relates with the genre-meshing sound of the music,” he adds.
The current lineup consists of Hinoki Dojo on Lead Vocals, Joy Chanda on Synth, Effects, Samples, and Second Vocals, Mousumi Datta on Bass and Flute, Varun Sood on Drums and Percussion, Vishal J Singh on Guitars, Songwriting, and Arrangement, and Tamara Kazziha on Violin.
The band’s sound, if personified, can be attributed to someone having a mystical comportement, who leaves an enigmatic trail in the minds of the listener. For this, what needs to be lauded is the sheer dexterity of every band member, which adds to the charm of what Serpents of Pakhangba is all about.
In addition to this, the band says that their music represents Kali Yuga, or the Dark Age, which, according to Hinduism, is believed to be an age full of conflict and sin. However, they have also made a point to have a pragmatic approach while creating their music by maintaining an equilibrium between bright and dark sounds to be as close to representing reality as possible.
We must also consider that this is not where the Serpents of Pakhangba stops. With a discography of 1 EP, 1 album, one cover, and two singles under No Binary Records, the band anticipates a new release in the forthcoming days. Additionally, the band’s work can also be enjoyed through The Silence of Day, a soundtrack collaboration of the experimental short film by Filmmaker/Animator Niranjan Raghu of the same title.
A band that heavily relies on female shamanic vocals and an experimental approach, the themes of their songs are in relation to “wise” feminist-centric tales, mysticism, ancient shamanic ritual or prayer, preserving mother nature, love, ancient warrior tales, love, peace, and war.
“At the moment, our songs revolve around these topics to which we create a story visually, and then we start creating the parts,” the band says when asked about a concept laid out before starting the composition. “It is mostly about exploring and putting out ideas and things that challenge us musically, and creating something that often stops our “attached” side of mind that creates limitation,” the band adds.
As much as the influence of Meitei Mythology can be found in the music of Serpents of Pakhangba, it is not always about what has been passed through generations by word of mouth. “It’s not always about the folklores but more like rewriting it in a manga-style comic story for the new generation,” the band says. “The storytelling part keeps us in one definite direction in the music writing-arrangement process so that we do not overthink or don’t over-experiment with the songs,” the band adds.
With the fitting share of mysticism, dissonance, and powerful vocals, Serpents of Pakhangba has not only been successful at eliciting what I would like to call sheer enchantment emanating out of music but has also been able to take a road less travelled, allowing lovers of music a treat without standing under the umbrella of mainstream scores.
From Thus Sings the Midwife of Planetary Transformation and Invocation (Songs from their first EP, which later became part of the first album)to Panthoibi (The last released single with the old lineup), the band members have shown both their individualistic and collective prowess through every composition.
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Carrying forward the musical odyssey conceived in 2019, the band is currently working on finishing their second studio album, with novelty welcomed in every track. “We’ve changed the sound a bit with this new lineup. I hope our friends and fans will like and welcome it,” the band says. As far as finesse is concerned, one can expect that the new album too, just like the band’s previous releases, will stand as a testament to what skilfully tying mysticism, mythology, and music together can result in.
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