As the date for the second installation of Doom Over Colombo, Defenders of the Faith: Doom Revisited looms ahead, the organisers of the concert Hela Distributions believe they are on the road of reviving all that is intimate and sincere in the metal genre.

Speaking to Daily Mirror, Kelum Dharmawardena of Hela Distributions made this bold statement: “We believe that the extreme metal community, being the dominant subculture of metal in Sri Lanka, deserve much more than that is available here in this island.

As to any observing eyes, it is an obvious fact that the extreme metal community (with the exception of a few bands who belong to other genres like long time comrades Paranoid Earthling) are the only ones in the island who are really working and inking deals with international record labels such as Legion of Death Records and Iron Bonehead Productions, and have everything from 12” vinyl, tapes and CD’s being released in their name.”

The guys behind Hela Distributions are nothing if not bold; the last gig, hosted at Women’s International in February this year, saw metal fans out in full force supporting Shri metal legend Whirlwind who headlined, and the debut performance of black thrash metal assaulters Manifestator.

This time around, two new equally terrifying entries bring more new meaning and sound Defenders of the Faith: Doom Revisited in the form of Goatmunition (a side project of Pariah Demise), and Genocide Shrines (a project between metal heavy weights Funeral In Heaven and Fallen Grace). These bands will be setting the stage for headliners Tantrum who will be performing their biggest concert since the South Asian Band Fest in New Delhi last December.

The band has a host of new material from their upcoming album which is scheduled to be launched in July/August. Apart from the stellar band line up, merchandise stalls Skzin Studios and Ace of Spades for tees, CD’s, posters and other metal related paraphernalia for sale.

On the merchandise, Dharmawardena said, “Our merchandise stalls are simply unparalleled to anything you will see elsewhere in the country. We believe in giving back to the metal community and the bands who take part in our events, which is why we always give out incentives to the performers on booking them not only because most of them have been our comrades for years, but as tokens of appreciation and encouragement of the endless possibilities with bigger promoters that await the ones who conquer.”

The gig is aided by Sulphur Sounds, AWN Radio, SLBM Syncidcate, SriLankan Death Militia, Skzin Studios and Ace of Spades Metal Merch. Check Ink Magazine on Facebook for exclusive news updates and special video interviews leading up to the event. Keep the evening of 24, June free for pure, Sri Lankan heavy metal!

Defenders of the Faith: Doom Revisited at Clancy’s from 5p.m. tickets are priced at Rs. 600 per metal head available at the venue.

By Lake Argent