In all the talk of indie music and its meteoric rise over the last few years, heavy metal often gets left by the wayside despite the metal community playing a pioneering role in the indie scene’s D-I-Y roots. But not this week. On Sunday, Hard Rock Cafe Worli, Mumbai, plays host to the seventh edition of India’s biggest metal awards show - the G-Shock Rolling Stone Metal Awards 2016! The event - which aims to recognise the best in Indian metal - will feature performances by Bengaluru sludge metallers Shepherd, Mumbai based heavy metal act Primitiv, Delhi hardcore band Grammy Winning Effort and Mumbai death metallers Gaijin. The nominee list for the 2016 edition of RSMA are dominated by perennial favourites Zygnema, with the Mumbai based thrash/groove metal act nominated in a whopping seven out of eight categories for their new album 'What Makes Us Human Is Obsolete'. Hot on their heels are two Indian metal veterans with six nominations each - Bengaluru thrash/death metal band Inner Sanctum for their album 'Legions Awake' and Aizawl death metal band Third Sovereign for 'Perversion Swallowing Sanity'. Apart from playing a set at the show, Shepherd is also in line to win up to five awards for their critically acclaimed debut album 'Stereolithic Riffalocalypse'. Primitiv, Kolkata metal band Yonsample, Mumbai heavy metal/horror band Albatross, Guwahati metal bands Rectified Spirit and Lucid Recess are also among the other nominees.

The winners are chosen by a combination of online voting and jury poll. Past winners have included the biggest names in the Indian metal scene including Demonic Resurrection, Bhayanak Maut, Scribe, Zygnema, The Down Troddence, Noiseware, Undying Inc, Eccentric Pendulum and Skyharbor. Ever since its launch in 2010, the G-Shock Rolling Stone Metal Awards have featured some of the biggest names in metal as judges, both Indian and international. This year’s jury include Lamb of God drummer Chris Adler, The Black Dahlia Murder bassist Max Lavelle, Millennium vocalist Vehrnon Ibrahim, Thaikkudam Bridge bassist Vian Fernandes, Slain keyboardist Jonathan Wesley, former Infernal Wrath guitarist Pradeep Pande, Indus Creed drummer Jai Row Kavi and former Rolling Stone India editors Bobin James and Deepti Unni. The award categories are Best Band, Best Song, Best Album, Best Guitarist, Best Bassist, Best Vocalist, Best Drummer and Best Keyboardist.

This year, the G-Shock Rolling Stone Metal Awards helped raise the profile of metal across the country by organising pre-gigs in Delhi, Guwahati and Bengaluru featuring the likes of The Down Troddence, Lunatic Fringe, Escher’s Knot, Plague Throat, Necrophilia and Grammy Winning Effort. As a company that has built strong connections with the Indian metal community over the years - as is evident from our heavy metal festival BIG69 - BAJAAO is excited to be coming on board as the online partner for the G-Shock Rolling Stone Metal Awards 2016!

Venue: Hard Rock Cafe, Worli Date: 28 February, 2016 Time: 7:00 PM onwards Entry: Rs 300, cover

You STILL have time to vote for your favourite bands! Visit the popular choice categories on the links below.

Best Band | Best Song | Best Album