Postcard Spotlight is an interview series showcasing young leaders and creative minds who are making their mark with their unique talent and drive.
In the spotlight this week is Sahil Makhija, a musician and the frontman of Demonic Resurrection, a Mumbai-based Blackened Death Metal collective. Read more to know his journey.
Tell us about your journey – when did you first get introduced to metal music?
I got introduced to heavy metal during school. I think my first brush with the genre was in the 6th grade. A friend made me listen to Iron Maiden’s self-titled album on his walkman. I distinctly remember being blown away by the song Running Free and my brain could not wrap itself around the song ‘Phantom Of The Opera’ but I totally enjoyed it. However, that was a one off incident and I deviated to more commercial music before being drawn back into the genre around the 9th grade. I was given a bunch of Metallica and Iron Maiden CD’s and cassettes to listen to and I remember I thought it was ‘too heavy’ at the time but something about it stuck with me and I dived deeper and deeper into the music. Pretty soon I was listening to bands that my school friends, who introduced me to metal, found too heavy.
What’s the story behind your stage name Demonstealer?
As I explored deeper and deeper within the world of heavy metal, I fell in love with black metal. Bands like Dimmu Borgir, Cradle Of Filth, Old Man’s Child, Behemoth, Emperor and so on and so forth. In this genre, everyone seemed to have a stage name, and that concept really resonated with me. I loved the idea of a different persona on stage and having that kind of larger than life image. While most of the black metal musicians got their names from norse mythology or books like Lord Of The Rings, my 16-year-old brain wasn’t as well read. So after much thought and deliberation and realizing my love for demons and all things fantasy, I thought of Demonstealer and Demonslayer. The latter was too cheesy, so I went with Demonstealer.
A guitarist, a vocalist and a drummer – you don many hats. Which aspect of your musicianship do you think describes you the best?
I think I would best describe myself as a songwriter. Lyrics and music, I put that together to express myself through music. I’ve always looked at instruments as a means to an end. The end being the song. I never wanted to be the best guitarist or drummer or singer. I wanted to write music that resonated with people, that people wanted to listen to, that I wanted to listen to. For me, it was always the bigger picture. I started out as a vocalist so that would be my primary instrument so to speak, but I think now I enjoy playing the drums the most.
Tell us a little about your most memorable performance to date.
I think just from an experience point of view it would be Inferno Festival in 2010, which was Demonic Resurrection’s first international performance. After 10 years of bursting onto the scene, we finally made it not just to the international stage but to the festival we used to dream about. It was really a dream come true moment. Of course, we have plenty of shows which are memorable for not so nice reasons like getting stuff thrown at us or being heckled and so on and so forth. But Inferno 2010 was a dream come true.
Headbanger’s Kitchen has become quite popular over the years. How did this thought of bringing food and music strike you?
The show is actually ‘accidentally popular’. I started it because I just started to get inspired by watching cooking videos on Youtube, and I was already posting and kind of writing out recipes on Facebook for fun. So when DR shot our first music video, I asked the director Srinivas if he would help me film my recipes. He said he would, but he felt just a recipe was boring and we should do something more exciting and that’s how we came up with the original concept of the show which was me cooking a dish inspired by a band who I would interview on the show and then they would taste the food I made. I did this for almost 4 years but the channel didn’t see any success and I felt it was best to devote my energy to making more music. However, I still enjoyed cooking so I started shooting videos on my own in my kitchen as and when I felt inspired. In December 2015, I got started on the Keto diet and seeing that I was making pizza out of cauliflower, my mind was blown so I filmed those recipes and that’s where the channel found success. I was one of the first channels doing Keto recipes, and it was just being in the right place at the right time. Next thing you know the channel has blown up from 5k subs to 10k in a few months and within a year I was nearly 100k. It was never planned or ever dreamt of even, it just happened.
If you had to bring one artiste to the Headbanger’s Kitchen, who would it be and why?
I’ve had the pleasure to interview some real legends on the older format of the show, and meet some of my heroes as well. I would love to have Nergal and the rest of Behemoth on the show. I’d love to make them like a whole roast pig or a leg of lamb or something quite meaty.
What advice would you give to an aspiring musician, especially a metalhead?
Keep your day job and play music on the side as a hobby.
How do you like to spend your free time?
I spend time with my wife watching shows or movies. Sometimes I take a nap but honestly, I don’t have much of a life outside of food and music. Like if I’m not working on either of those, I don’t know what to do with myself.
Which are your favourite accounts to follow on Social Media and why?
Some of the music accounts I like following are Metal Drummers United, Metal Drummer Nerdz and other extreme metal drumming accounts. I also follow all my favourite bands and musicians. When it comes to food, once again, I follow many accounts that I barely remember the name of, but they post lots of food porn. It’s just eye candy.
Where can people get in touch with you?
People can find me and my various projects on almost every single social media platform. Depending on what you use, search for Headbanger’s Kitchen, Demonic Resurrection or Demonstealer. These are the 3 profiles I handle.