Walking around the backstage area of Oslo’s Inferno Festival in 2010, Sahil ‘Demonstealer’ Makhija wanted to pinch himself. After a decade of hard slog, his extreme metal band Demonic Resurrection had finally bagged a slot at their first international festival. Suddenly, Sahil was rubbing shoulders with his heroes.
“You grew up watching these metal festivals and then you’re seeing members of Emperor and you’re like, ‘Is this real?’” says the guitarist and vocalist, who has also spent the last 15 years releasing epic extremity under his solo moniker, Demonstealer. That weekend, he met Emperor frontman Ihsahn and Norwegian metallers Keep Of Kalessin, and embraced his inner fanboy. “It was just nice to be standing among them and trying to pretend to not be starstruck.”
It’s the memory that comes to mind when Sahil is asked to pinpoint the highlight of his illustrious career. After 23 years on the frontlines of the Indian metal scene, he stands as one of its central figures. His CV includes solo artist, label owner, festival founder, YouTube chef and all-round DIY innovator, having almost single-handedly laid the building blocks for the scene. An appearance in Sam Dunn’s 2007 documentary and winning an award at Golden Gods ceremony in 2010 turned him into an international ambassador. It was a far cry from the state of
