animal factory

The core of Midhaven is guitarists Karan Kaul (front) and Aditya Mohanan, plus drummer Aviraj Kumar (rear). The band started in 2011.

The Mumbai metal mavens use heavyweight guitars and tiny amps to mash Western crunch with Eastern tones and tales on Of the Lotus & the Thunderbolt, their second concept album.

The Hindu god Shiva is known as the Auspicious One and the Destroyer—both of which actually seem … kind of auspicious. But in the realm of metal, the history of named-checked deities typically runs more along the lines of Odin, Thor, Mephistopheles, or even Cthulhu. Shiva, despite the impressive appellations, is rarely the subject of songs—with one notable exception.

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