Kryptos is an Indian heavy metal band from

Bangalore Bangalore (), officially Bengaluru (), is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Karnataka. It has a population of more than and a metropolitan population of around , making it the third most populous city and fifth most ...

, India, formed in 1998 by Nolan Lewis (

vocals Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or witho ...

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected string ...

s) and Ganesh K. (

bassist A bassist (also known as a bass player or bass guitarist) is a musician who plays a bass instrument such as a double bass (upright bass, contrabass, wood bass), bass guitar (electric bass, acoustic bass), synthbass, keyboard bass or a low bra ...

). They are one of the pioneers of the modern Indian heavy metal movement. Since their inception the band has released six albums: ''

Spiral Ascent Spiral Ascent is the debut album by Indian Heavy Metal band Kryptos. The album was released on June 25, 2004, through the band's own mini label, Clandestine Musick. Niklas Sundin of Dark Tranquillity Dark Tranquillity is a Swedish melodic ...

'' (2004), ''

The Ark of Gemini ''The Ark Of Gemini'' is the second album by Indian heavy metal band Kryptos ''Kryptos'' is a sculpture by the American artist Jim Sanborn located on the grounds of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) in Langley, Virginia. Since its dedica ...

'' (2008),''

The Coils of Apollyon ''The Coils of Apollyon'' is the third studio album by the Indian heavy metal band Kryptos. The album was released in India on February 18, 2012 through Bangalore-based record label, Iron Fist Records. Internationally, the album was released on ...

'' (2013), ''Burn Up The Night'' (2016), ''Afterburner'' (2019) and ''Force of Danger'' (2021).

History

Early years (1998–2003)

Kryptos was formed in late 1998, Essentially a classic heavy metal band—they focus on fusing NWOBHM styling with elements of 1980s

thrash metal Thrash metal (or simply thrash) is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music characterized by its overall aggression and often fast tempo.Kahn-Harris, Keith, ''Extreme Metal: Music and Culture on the Edge'', pp. 2–3, 9. Oxford: Berg, 2007, . ...

. Their primary influences include

Black Sabbath Black Sabbath were an English rock band formed in Birmingham in 1968 by guitarist Tony Iommi, drummer Bill Ward, bassist Geezer Butler and vocalist Ozzy Osbourne. They are often cited as pioneers of heavy metal music. The band helped de ...

, Judas Priest and

Iron Maiden Iron Maiden are an English heavy metal band formed in Leyton, East London, in 1975 by bassist and primary songwriter Steve Harris. While fluid in the early years of the band, the lineup for most of the band's history has consisted of Harri ...

along with secondary influences such as Coroner,

Kreator Kreator is a German thrash metal band from Essen, formed in 1982. Their current lineup consists of lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist Miland "Mille" Petrozza, drummer Jürgen "Ventor" Reil, lead guitarist Sami Yli-Sirniö, and bassist Fréd� ...

, Mercyful Fate, and Candlemass.

Debut album (2004)

Their debut album ''

'' quickly spread through the underground circuit in India as well as countries like Germany, Argentina and other parts of Europe. The album although long being out of print and is today considered a landmark release in Indian metal history. Dark Tranquillity's Niklas Sundin designed the album sleeve.

Signing with Old School Metal Records and second studio album (2006–2009)

Kryptos signed with Old School Metal Records from California, United States in April 2006 and became one of the first metal bands from India to sign with an international metal label. Vocalist/bassist Ganesh K. and guitarist Akshay 'Axe' Patel left the band in November 2006 which led to various changes in Kryptos' line-up. Nolan Lewis took up lead vocal and guitarist duties. Rohit Chaturvedi and Jayawant Tewari were hired to fill the further incumbent guitarist and bassist positions. Kryptos entered the studios later that year to record the follow up to their debut album and emerged in mid-2008 with their second album:''

,'' which received excellent reviews from different parts of the world and also enjoyed a fair amount of airplay on U.S. and European metal radio stations.

Supporting Iron Maiden (2009)

Kryptos landed the supporting slot for

at Rock 'N India 2009 in their home town Bangalore—playing to almost 17,000 fans at the Palace Grounds.

''The Coils of Apollyon'' (2012)

'' was released on 18 February 2012 in India and 21 September 2012 internationally.

Tours

Early tours (Invasion Europa 2010 and Into the Spectral Void 2013)

In July 2010 Kryptos became the first Indian metal band to complete a cross-country tour of Europe, playing at the Rockmarathon festival in Hungary, in the Flammeng Open Air festival in Germany, as well as many more club gigs throughout Germany and Switzerland. The band kick-started the year 2012 by supporting folk/melodic death metal band

Suidakra Suidakra (stylized SuidAkrA) is a German melodic death metal band from Düsseldorf, Germany. During their twenty-year career, they have performed over 200 live shows for several European and Russian tours, as well as a North American tour. The ...

and German thrash metal pioneers

at the inaugural edition of the Bangalore Open Air in June 2012. November of the same year saw them support Swedish

power metal Power metal is a subgenre of heavy metal combining characteristics of traditional heavy metal with speed metal, often within symphonic context. Generally, power metal is characterized by a faster, lighter, and more uplifting sound, in contra ...

band

Wolf The wolf (''Canis lupus''; : wolves), also known as the gray wolf or grey wolf, is a large canine native to Eurasia and North America. More than thirty subspecies of ''Canis lupus'' have been recognized, and gray wolves, as popularly u ...

at the third edition of the Harley Rock Riders festival. The band opened for

Testament A testament is a document that the author has sworn to be true. In law it usually means last will and testament. Testament or The Testament can also refer to: Books * ''Testament'' (comic book), a 2005 comic book * ''Testament'', a thriller nov ...

, whom they happen to consider an important musical influence, at the NH7 Festival in Bangalore. In 2013 Kryptos again toured Europe playing at festivals like In Flammeng Open Air, Ragnarock Open Air, and most notably Wacken Open Air, becoming the first Indian band ever to play at Wacken Open Air.

Signing with Seaside Touring and present events (2014–present)

In 2014 the band started the year with an appearance at Inferno Metal Festival in Norway and later announced a partnership with Seaside Touring. They again played the

Bangalore Open Air Bangalore Open Air (BOA) is India's only dedicated Heavy metal open air music festival which takes place yearly in Bangalore, India. The 8th edition of the festival in collaboration with Wacken Open Air took place in February 2019. In the pas ...

opening for Destruction and Rotting Christ. In September 2014 they announced their Europe tour: 'Apollyon Rising'. The tour started with the show at Hamburg Metal Dayz followed by 17 tour dates in countries such as Germany, Belgium, Italy, Austria, Hungary, Czech Republic, Slovakia and Switzerland. The 17 days tour was part of the Wacken Road Show. In 2016 the band supported American thrash metal band Death Angel in Germany and played a one-off show with Nervosa, Hirax and The Black Dahlia Murder in the Austrian town of

Dornbirn Dornbirn () is a city in the westernmost Austrian state of Vorarlberg. It is the administrative centre for the district of Dornbirn, which also includes the town of Hohenems, and the market town Lustenau. Dornbirn is the largest city in Vorarlb ...

. In 2017 the band opened for Swedish heavy metal band Katatonia at Saarang,

Indian Institute of Technology Madras Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IIT Madras) is a public technical university located in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India. As one of the Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs), it is recognized as an Institute of National Importance and has ...

and followed it up with a European summer tour supporting American thrash metal band Sacred Reich on the 30 Years of Ignorance tour, which included dates in Germany, Austria and The Netherlands, as well as appearances at Rockharz Open Air and Wacken Open Air. This tour would prove to be the most defining in the band's history and laid the foundation for their first headlining tour in 2019, which included a first concert in

Malta Malta ( , , ), officially the Republic of Malta ( mt, Repubblika ta' Malta ), is an island country in the Mediterranean Sea. It consists of an archipelago, between Italy and Libya, and is often considered a part of Southern Europe. It lies ...

. In 2018 long time drummer Anthony Hoover announced his departure from the band. Since then, Vijit Singh took over drum duties and joined the band on a permanent basis.

Band members

Present

* Nolan Lewis -

(2005–present),

rhythm guitar In music performances, rhythm guitar is a technique and role that performs a combination of two functions: to provide all or part of the rhythmic pulse in conjunction with other instruments from the rhythm section (e.g., drum kit, bass guita ...

(1998–present) * Rohit Chaturvedi -

lead guitar Lead guitar (also known as solo guitar) is a musical part for a guitar in which the guitarist plays melody lines, instrumental fill passages, guitar solos, and occasionally, some riffs and chords within a song structure. The lead is the feature ...

(2006–present) * Ganesh Krishnaswamy -

(1998-2005),

bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in the bass range: ** Bass (instrument), including: ** Acoustic bass gui ...

(1998-2005, 2013–present) * Vijit Singh -

drums A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair of matching drumsticks ...

(2019–present)

Former

* Akshay 'Axe' Patel -

s (2001-2006) * Jayawant Tewari -

bass guitar The bass guitar, electric bass or simply bass (), is the lowest-pitched member of the string family. It is a plucked string instrument similar in appearance and construction to an electric or an acoustic guitar, but with a longer neck and s ...

(2005-2013) * Ching Len -

(1998-2000) * Ryan Colaco -

(2000-2013) * Anthony Hoover -

(2013–2018)

Timeline

ImageSize = width:1000 height:auto barincrement:20 PlotArea = left:110 bottom:100 top:0 right:10 Alignbars = justify DateFormat = mm/dd/yyyy Period = from:01/01/1998 till:12/31/2021 TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal format:yyyy Legend = orientation:vertical position:bottom columns:2 ScaleMajor = increment:2 start:1998 ScaleMinor = increment:2 start:1998 Colors = id:Vocals value:red legend:Vocals id:Guitars value:green legend:Guitar id:Bass value:blue legend:Bass id:Drums value:orange legend:Drums id:Lines1 value:black legend:Studio_albums LineData = at:06/25/2004 color:black layer:back at:05/15/2008 color:black layer:back at:02/18/2012 color:black layer:back at:09/23/2016 color:black layer:back at:06/21/2019 color:black layer:back at:10/01/2021 color:black layer:back BarData = bar:Lewis text:"Nolan Lewis" bar:Axe text:"Akshay ‘Axe’ Patel" bar:Rohit text:"Rohit Chaturvedi" bar:Ganesh text:"Ganesh Krishnaswamy" bar:Jayawant text:"Jayawant Tewari" bar:Len text:"Ching Len" bar:Ryan text:"Ryan Colaco" bar:Hoover text:"Anthony Hoover" bar:Vijit text:"Vijit Singh" PlotData= width:11 textcolor:black align:left anchor:from shift:(10,-4) bar:Lewis from:01/01/1998 till:end color:Guitars bar:Axe from:01/07/2001 till:10/01/2006 color:Guitars bar:Rohit from:10/02/2006 till:end color:Guitars bar:Ganesh from:01/01/1998 till:10/01/2006 color:Bass bar:Ganesh from:07/02/2013 till:end color:Bass bar:Jayawant from:10/02/2006 till:07/01/2013 color:Bass bar:Len from:07/01/1998 till:07/01/2000 color:Drums bar:Ryan from:07/02/2000 till:07/01/2013 color:Drums bar:Hoover from:07/02/2013 till:01/01/2019 color:Drums bar:Vijit from:01/06/2019 till:end color:Drums width:3 textcolor:black align:left anchor:from shift:(10,-4) bar:Lewis from:10/02/2006 till:end color:Vocals bar:Ganesh from:01/01/1998 till:10/01/2006 color:Vocals

Discography

Studio releases

* ''

'' (2004) * ''

'' (2008) * ''

'' (2012) * ''Burn Up The Night'' (2016) * ''Afterburner'' (2019) * ''Force of Danger'' (2021)

References

External links

Official Website

Kryptos
at MySpace
Kryptos
at Last.fm
Kryptos
at Reverbnation {{DEFAULTSORT:Kryptos (Band) Indian heavy metal musical groups Musical groups established in 1998 Thrash metal musical groups Musical quartets