Kerala thrash metal band Chaos returns with new album

“Oh man, we sucked,” recalls Nikhil NR, lead guitarist and co-founder of Thiruvananthapuram-born thrash metal band Chaos, looking back at their debut gig at a college in Kollam two decades ago. “I remember people holding plastic chairs over their heads while we were on stage,” he adds.

Back then, the band was called Akrantham (Malayalam for greed), featuring Nikhil, co-founder and vocalist S Jayakrishnan, along with a bassist, drummer and another guitarist, Louis Moni, who now collaborates with Mannequin Disorder, the Bengaluru-based live electronic duo. “Louis had played with a band called Rubber Band — they were killing it back then. I reached out to him because we needed someone with experience,” says Nikhil, over a Zoom call from Bengaluru.