MUMBAI: Entombed Metal Fest (EMF) organised by Frameshift Initiatives, which started in Pune in 2012, has been striving to keep the metal scene alive in the city for three years now. The latest edition of the fest, which took place in August 2014, saw acts like Demonic Resurrection, Anarchy, Admantium and others.

January will see yet another edition- Volume VII of the fest, and for the first time will include international bands like Defiled from Japan, who will be headlining, and Malapetaka from Malaysia. The other bands announced to perform at the event are Dhwesha from Bangalore and DeathForge from Mumbai. This time, the festival will be held at both – Mumbai and Pune on 11 and 12 January respectively.

Defiled has been in existence since 1992 and is currently signed to one of the most respected extreme metal labels - Season of Mist Records. The brutal death metal band will be making its first ever trip to India and will be playing at both cities.

Co-founder of EMF Sanjeev Gupta said, “When we started the fest, we were doing our homework and learning about how to successfully organise it. We could not get international bands because we were in an experimental zone. Now, we are more confident about the event and booking international bands seemed like the right thing to do. The bands we approached were also excited to come play in the country.”

Gupta stated that the core team will be working on the festival in both cities and it is entirely self-sponsored, although Pepsi MTV Indies will be promoting EMF. He said, “We tried to approach brands for the previous edition but it is not easy to get sponsors who are ready to pay for a metal festival. Sponsors are sceptical about the turnout at the fest and investing in metal is not very profitable. Even though MTV Indies is promoting it, it would be better if we have cash sponsors on board.”

The festival is scheduled to take place around the time when heavy metal festival BIG69 will be hosted in Mumbai on 17 and 18 January. Gupta added, “Our rates are also really low, i.e., only 400 rupees and we want people to attend both the metal fests. It is about keeping the scene alive at the end of the day. So, we really hope that metalheads attend EMF as well as BIG69.”

He revealed that their previous two Mumbai editions of the festival were not as successful as the Pune ones, and they suffered losses. Gupta said, “In comparison to Pune, the production costs in Mumbai are more and the venue is expensive, and there are a lot of other factors. Although we have gained profits from the Pune editions, they are never substantial amounts, but the Pune scene is expanding.”

The organisers will soon be announcing two other bands from Mumbai as part of the line-up. The festival will take place at Raghuleela Mall in Vashi.