After navigating the scene at home and reaching Germany, Midhaven, the Indian representative at Wacken Open Air – sat down for a quick word about the metal community, working with Forrester Savell, and FINALLY getting a visa!
The global metal landscape is shifting, and the Indian metal band Midhaven is positioned right at the frontier. Fresh off an intense performance at the 2026 Wacken Metal Battle, the band shared their surreal experiences, the hard realities of the road, and their vision for the future of Indian metal.
Adapting to the Road and Overcoming Visa Hurdles
For the Mumbai-based sludge/psychedelic metal act, the Wacken Metal Battle was a whirlwind. Known for long, atmospheric compositions, the band had to radically adapt to fit a tight schedule. Three of their songs would usually take up 20 minutes, revealing that they had to trim their tracks into tight “radio edits” for a high-octane performance slot.
The festival was part of a larger European tour that provided a stark, bipolar experience. The band navigated the vast differences between tiny, packed club shows and massive festival grounds. A definitive high point was playing at Desert Fest London, a festival the band had actively sought to play since Karan Kaul (Vocals/Guitars) and Aditya Mohanan (Guitars) first encountered it as a student in 2019. Through sheer determination, they “brute force manifested” their spot on the lineup.
However, the tour was not without logistical heartbreak. The regular bassist, Arian, and drummer, Akash, repeatedly faced visa denials from the German government. This forced Midhaven to utilize stand-in musicians Siddharth Mohan and Sidisha, hitting the road after just a single rehearsal in Berlin. Ironically, the permanent members only secured their visas after the band won the Wacken Metal Battle.
The Structural Differences in Global Metal Scenes
These international experiences highlighted the distinct differences between metal communities. In India, metal is a highly concentrated Western cultural export primarily accessible to the urban upper-middle class. In contrast, Western metal is highly democratic and grassroots, with loyal subgenre fans packing out venues in small, remote towns.
Midhaven credits Bloodywood for opening global doors for the entire Indian scene, noting that seeing Bloodywood shirts across European festivals represents a massive win for their home country.
Looking ahead, the band feels creatively liberated to write music without boundaries. Although the pandemic delayed their global aspirations by three years, their goal remains unchanged, which is to play for the world.
With their original lineup restored, they are working alongside producer Forrester Savell to release a brand-new album next year, backed by an extensive supporting tour. Aditya notes that Savell is “a very intricate person, the way he approaches his craft is very intricate,” while Karan adds that, “he instantly got our sound!”
When asked for advice for rising Indian bands, Midhaven emphasized individuality, collaboration, and resilience. They urge upcoming musicians to tune out the noise, focus entirely on what they honestly like, and “never hesitate to ask for help” with the complex realities of stagecraft and logistics.
Midhaven’s sound is a mix of progressive metal, sludge metal, and heavy psychedelic metal. The Mumbai band fuses heavy Western guitar riffs and complex rhythms with classical music, ragas, and carries a storytelling narrative based on Indian spiritual mythology.
We asked the audience at the live broadcast of Wacken Open Air about Midhaven
How did you like Midhaven‘s performance? – Our prompt on the comment section of Wacken’s official YouTube live stream read. To which, these were few replies:
Festivals > Wacken Open Air 2026 Marks 35 Years of Metal History as 85,000 Fans Return to the Holy Ground
