Indian Heavy Metal veterans Demonic Resurrection are celebrating 25 years with the release of their new EP Apocalyptic Dawn out this Friday. Backed by the awesome new single Of Blindness And Divinity, the EP features three songs recorded by the new lineup and follows on from last year’s successful UK/EU tour with Bloodywood, one which Sahil ‘Demonstealer’ Makhija told MetalTalk was “a dream come true.”
While Demonic Resurrection are busy promoting Apocalyptic Dawn, the band have finished recording drums for their next full-length. Sahil ‘Demonstealer’ Makhija may be the original member still in the lineup, but Aditya Swaminathan has been handling lead guitar duties, having joined the band back in 2021 prior to the release of Decades Of Darkness, their last EP.
“In 2024, we were booked to do a reunion show to celebrate 10 years of The Demon King album,” Demonstealer told MetalTalk. “Ashwin Shriyan, who played bass on the album, was unavailable for the gig. Aditya introduced us to Swarnava, whom he knew from the local scene in Pune city. He joined us for that gig, the following Bloodywood tour and then just became the permanent bass player.
“Nikhil [Rajkumar, Drums], on the other hand, actually sent us an audition tape around 2022 or 2023 and at that time, he wasn’t quite there at the level we needed. However, when we booked the Bloodywood tour, we still needed a drummer, and Aditya contacted him again. He sent us another audition, and he had improved by leaps and bounds. Once we saw the new videos, we got him on board, and after the Bloodywood tour, he became part of the band.”
With the Demonic Resurrection 25th Anniversary, Sahil was aware that this had to be celebrated in some way. “A full-length would be amazing,” he said, “but it seemed like a mammoth task to pull off in the time we had. The EP made more sense, and we could then take some time to deliver the best album possible.
“I also felt like it was a great time to re-record Apocalyptic Dawn, especially with the new lineup and the way I sing it now as well. On the original recordings, there was an additional singer for the clean parts.”
There are new contributors on the EP, including Anabelle Iratni on keyboards, who brings a significant development to the Demonic Resurrection sound.
“After Mephisto and DR parted ways in 2017, I didn’t feel like I wanted to add another full-time member to the band,” Sahil said. “In 2022, we worked with Misstiq from Australia for the symphonic elements. I had worked with Anabelle on my 2023 solo album, The Propaganda Machine, so it kind of made sense to have her on board for the EP, as we have worked together before. She really understands how to bring the right elements and sounds into the music that we need.”
Keshar Dhar mixed and mastered the three songs. “We were just having lunch together and talking about stuff,” Sahil says. “I mentioned to him about the EP and how I was working on it, and that I wasn’t sure who was gonna mix it. He said he would love to work on it. It felt like the right fit.
“We’re good friends. He lives in the same city, so I could even visit his studio for the process. I’ve kind of given up on mixing and mastering things myself. I think I became an engineer more because I had no choice, but slowly over the years, I learnt to let other people get involved. Dashavatar was the last album that I mixed back in 2017.”
Demonic Resurrection released the lyric video for Of Blindness And Divinity a few days ago, and it is an awesome track and certainly a fun film to watch. “The lyric video has been created by Abhishek Goswami,” Sahil said. “I’ve been working with him for almost 10 years now. I just send him the song and the artwork and let him work his magic.”
Demonic Resurrection toured with Bloodywood on their EU and UK tour last year, and MetalTalk caught the show at the O2 Forum Kentish Town. For Sahil, this was a dream come true. “We covered 14 countries and played 26 shows, and it was absolutely incredible,” he said. “I’ve been waiting 25 years to get booked for a tour like this. Each night we played to 700-800 people, and we sold tons of merch.
“This was the first time in 25 years we actually made money on tour, and what I learnt is that it might be possible to make a living doing this if you can keep up and consistently get offers like this and play these many shows.
“But it also made me realise I would like to just stop trying and do things at a pace that I enjoy what I’m doing, rather than chasing a goal and breaking my head over it.”
With 25 years of Demonic Resurrection, it is a long time since Sahil first established the band, the members, the writing and the music to where he is now. “Honestly, it was so long ago that I almost have no memory of what I had expected or what I had hoped for. I feel proud that I stuck to what I loved doing and what I believed in, and that in 25 years, I never compromised on the music or my ethics. Sure, I’ve made mistakes, but I’ve learnt from them and grown as well.”
From an early age, music was in his life. “My mom loved music, so it was always on in the house. She mostly enjoyed pop, R&B, and soul music as well as some rock ‘n’ roll. But I didn’t really have much interest in playing music until I was introduced to Heavy Metal by some friends at school.
“They gave me some Iron Maiden and Metallica records, and I got hooked. It was the music that really got me inspired to form my own band. I was about 14 or 15 years old at the time.”
His journey took him to become one of the most technically proficient thrash guitarists, creating and performing at the moment. What else does he play, and is it usually 110 mph? “I’ve never considered myself technically proficient,” Sahil says, “but I barely play guitar these days. I’m mostly busy with my day job, and the guitar has taken a bit of a back seat.
“Over the last few years, I’ve really struggled with the motivation to practice regularly, as life mostly revolves around making sure I can pay my rent and keep growing my food blogging page.
“But when I do pick up the guitar, I mostly just write music because that’s what I enjoy the most. I also play drums, which I’m a little more regular with because I love that so much, and it’s also a great workout.”
But in India, the Heavy Metal world carries on, and not even the pandemic changed much. “We have a steady influx of international Metal artists touring here as well as lots of local shows,” Sahil says. “In terms of anything new, I might not be tuned in as much, but it’s just new sets of bands coming in, old ones touring.”
A very talented cook, The Demonstealer shares his love of cooking online. What is he having for dinner tonight? “My dinner is often based on where I’m reviewing food,” he smiles, “as I’ve been doing a lot of restaurant reviews and making content in that space. Tonight’s dinner, however, is at home, and it’s going to be a rib-eye steak.”
We had to ask what the MetalTalk readers should have for dinner tonight. “I think they should eat whatever they enjoy,” he says, “but perhaps they should make my pandi curry recipe from Headbanger’s Kitchen or just order a nice double patty smash burger.”
Demonic Resurrection release Apocalyptic Dawn, along with phenomenal artwork by Gaurav Basu aka Acid Toad, on 6 February 2026. You can find out more about this and much more via Bandcamp.
