Nemesis

by Rikaza Hassan

Their sound is that of five "totally different personalities," reaching consensus to be expressed musically. "Our sound is heavy metal - distortion guitar, loud vocals, loud drums." Nemesis is five "tight knit individuals" who grew up on Black Sabbath and are "progressing towards new heights" in musical expression.

Over the past one year of joining rock company, playing for Rock Saturday and line up changes (they have a relatively new vocalist and bassist), they profess to have "musically evolved" in their "individual elements" and in "putting it all into a cohesive thing." "At first it was a bit of a struggle, but now the communication is there. We've got the chemistry." They add though that they are still in the process of "finding their own unique sound." "For instance, we don't stick to the typical verse/chorus/verse structure."

Their lyrics formerly handled by Trevor are now written by Ruwan. "Our lyrics are very personal. We all relate to it, probably because we're from similar backgrounds and have probably gone through the same or similar episodes." They currently have five complete originals, four of which they have performed for their crowd.

"We really enjoyed ourselves," they say of their first gig with smiles and grins all around. "We were jittery for a while and at first it was hard, but this is what drives us. We hope we come across as a crowd-centred band," they remark. They add further, "We always look forward to our next gig, but it's still a cat and mouse game."

As for their stage act, they say it is all about who they are. "It's about our personalities. We move around all over the place. Ruwan once fell during a jump. Recently Trevor got all tangled in cable." Speaking of the purpose of Nemesis at a time when metal bands seem to be mushrooming all over the place, they see it as the "only way we could express ourselves without any inhibitions.

To reveal, to talk of how we feel and think." They are influenced by people and life in general and of course not forgetting the members of the infamous Black Sabbath.

At present, their immediate goal is to play as many gigs as possible and entering Onstage. "We hope to make it to Woodstock one day," they laugh hopefully.

The members of Nemesis claim to be in it for the long run. "We've come too far now to go back and change." Only time will tell the toll of the frustrations of a denied music industry.

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Ruwan Jayakody (21)

A student of the Ceylon Hotel School - because he developed an interest in people - Ruwan considers himself the biggest rockstar on the planet. He frankly admits that in the past, he never knew in which direction he was heading.

He took to singing because "the sounds that come out of the throat interest me" and is influenced by a wide range of music from pop and blues to metal and classical music. He is stubborn, extremely adamant and does not believe in excuses. "He does a good job, but is tough."

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Matheesha Herath 21)

guitar

Matheesha does a great job of anything when he puts his mind to it. A little shy around other humans, he comes up with great riffs out of the blue. He is as yet to come to terms with his value to the band and likes drawing. A student in graphic designing, his future goal is to "get into 3D animation."

He began playing guitar three years ago when he asked his music-lover mother to buy him the instrument, and who now deeply regrets it.

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Trevor Kanakaratne (20)

drums

Considered the baby of the band, Trevor is very eager and sensitive. He is known to come up with the weirdest beats and then seamlessly incorporate them into the already composed music. The busy business student has been playing drums for nearly three years though he only took to playing seriously over a year back.

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Sathyajith Ambuwatte (21)

bass guitar

An exceptional pianist, a medal student and presently studying to be a paediatrician is Sathyajith. He has been playing as a solo musician (piano) since 1989 and only took to playing bass guitar a few months ago.

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Tharindu Mathew (20)

lead guitar

Thisngineering student considers himself the hottest guy in the band and is reportedly very keen on the ladies. He comes up with "some pretty good stuff" and possesses the "right attitude." Tharindu always wanted to play guitar and has been playing since the age of fourteen.