Millennium Encapsulated

Frontman Verhnon Ibrahim got together with guitarist Rio from Tehran. Roberto on the drums,

The Eternal Spirit of Iron Maiden Gig

Stanley on the bass and Cecil on the guitar filled up the initial line-up. They first hit the Bangalore crowd with their Iron Maiden covers at the Spirit of Iron Maiden concert in 1986. Verhnon got together with fellow musicians from competing bands to host a concert called “The Eternal Spirit of Iron Maiden.” This revolutionary concept was brilliantly received and the bands together covered the entire Iron Maiden album ‘Live After Death.’ With packed audiences and crazy pyrotechnics, Millennium were growing immense.

They were the first act to start gigging with a proper dynamic in place, and some original tracks, and were the first band to do so in such a tight and professional manner. The EP “Born to Reign” was released which sold out flat in a week. After Nader replaced Roberto on the drums, they released the video for “Peace Just in Heaven”, which won MTV’s prestigious SkullKrusher of the week award on HeadBanger’s Ball.

Self-titled Debut

In 1993, the band played an activist show along with contemporaries like Konark Reddy and Human Bondage, in an effort to save the trees of Bangalore at the Evergreen Concert. The very next year, they released their debut self titled album under the Crescendo Label, which was an instant hit with a great set of songs including Peace Just In Heaven, Final Sign, Forest Dreams and Only Be One.

1995’s Split album

After opening for Classic Rock legends Deep Purple in 1995, Millennium were still not mainstream culture, almost consciously shying away from it and remaining underground. The same year, they released a split album with fellow metalheads The Crisis.

The four track record was a powerful tool for Millennium. The song Metal Army is one that many underground metal fans would connect to and would come to become one of the most intense stage acts of the show.

1997’s 1 Concept 2 Live

In 1997, a few more line-up changes ensued. They also  released their third record, One Concept To Live, a six track album that was also quite well received, but shortly after, the band slowly died out.

After a seven year long hiatus, they re-united in the new information era post-2000 for the momentous Megadeth. Opening for the thrash metal stalwarts would have been a daunting task. When local bands open for international acts these days, there is danger of them being booed off, but not so with Millennium. The crowd was, if possible, more voracious for the home boys.

Now, after another half-a-decade, they re-surged in early 2013 with a brand new line-up and truckloads of fresh energy and ideas for new songs. Raring to go with Bangalore Open Air organiser Salman U Syed managing them the new line-up, they first played Impending Doom III, an outlet of the Bangalore Doom Syndicate comprising other new and old metal acts like Dying Embrace and Bevar Sea.

Impending Doom III in Jan 2013

The new line-up consists of Verhnon Ibrahim (vocals), Rohit Chaturvedi (lead guitar), Sharmon Ibrahim (rhythm guitar), Praful (bass) and Deepak Raghu (drums). They also contributed towards an immense project dedicated towards making national metal bands cover Motorhead. The Motorhead tribute album was released in June 2013, with several bands picking up one song a covering it in studio for this epic national Motorhead compilation.

Motorhead Tribute Album

The band were supposed to be a featuring act for the mammoth gig Bangalore Open Air in June. This gig, a direct spinoff of the famous Wacken Open Air, saw metal contemporaries like Ihsaan and Animals as Leaders play. However Millennium had to cancel their performance at the show, and have since, gone underground again.

Let’s hope these metal giants still have more to give an eager audience.