Sanskrit storm band Whirlwind has as its foundation a powerful message conveyed through Sanskrit (Magadhi) words and it is – Manusang Dehang Devakayang Paripuressanthi - “A pure conscience reflects godlike features within and completes your divinity”. Melodies speaks to Misha of Whirlwind, a Sri Metal band whose music is like a storm that brings change, cleansing, purging and restoring balance.
Misha points out that Sri Metal is the official sub-genre exclusive to the band Whirlwind. The genre has a much deeper meaning than just Sri Lankan Metal or Sinhalese Metal Music. It becomes Sri Metal simply because of the content and message it carries to the world from a third world perspective and experience, and it is not just because it contains Sinhala Lyrics, that’s only one aspect. Sri Metal is a multilingual genre that contains Sinhala lyrics and supporting lyrics from various other languages.
“The name of the band came about through the idea of a storm bringing change. A storm brings cleansing, a storm will purge and restore balance. Our genre is Sri Metal, over time we’ve perfected our sound into a unique flavour of metal. Sinhala language originated from Sanskrit, which is the oldest known language to mankind. It has been both a gateway and an inspiration for many other languages to originate and evolve. So when observed carefully with other languages and dialects, you are bound to find many resemblances in both vocabulary and meaning that goes hand in hand. Which is why Sinhalese or Sinhala is the main ingredient of Sri Metal,” said Misha.
When it comes to inspiration, Misha pointed out that the list keeps growing every day since the four band members come from slightly different backgrounds of musical and social inspirations. Some of the bands that inspire them are Black Sabbath, Dio, Deep Purple, Iron Maiden, Metallica, Slayer, Arch Enemy, Death, Iced Earth, Nevermore, Black Label Society, Dream Theather, Opeth, Children of Bodom, Devildriver, Dimmu Borgir and Behemoth.
Misha commented that the feeling the band members get when the crowd loves their music is very gratifying saying that it is an inspiring feeling, both mixed with a sense of accomplishment.
Misha stressed that we create our own demons, conditioning the minds of our children to look at the world through our own perspectives which resulted in them making the same mistakes that we make. The 30 year old civil war is one example where we invited doom. Our disaster was of our own making.
“Whirlwind carries a unifying, uplifting message that ascends from dark emotions. It is a cry out for liberation from the shackles of social conditioning. As a band hailing from a country that had faced and understood the repercussions of senseless war brought upon humanity by their own making through the illusion of Race, Religion, Culture, and Politics, the only message we wish to convey is Manusang Dehang Devakayang Paripuressanthi - “A pure conscience reflects godlike features within and completes your divinity”, explained Misha.
Without a shadow of doubt Whirlwind creates powerful music. The intensity and passion within them is channeled through their music. They have been through a lot in life and collaborate and work well as a team. They are very strong as a unit able to adapt to change.
“It all starts with a concept that drives into emotion and expression. When you’ve been through as much as we have you only become stronger and better. Team effort goes a long way, being able to collaborate and accept change as you expand has always been our strength,” added Misha.
When it comes to writing their lyrics, Misha say they feel very strongly about social conditioning, attributing much of the evil in the world to social conditioning. We prune the thoughts of our children and turn them into copies of ourselves. In his words – ‘the majority of the present society remains blind to the very nature of their imprisonment’. Misha says that Whirlwind is about exposing the frailties of society.
“The first inspiration arises as you realize that the majority of the present society remains blind to the very nature of their imprisonment, ignorantly embracing social conditioning and everything else that comes with it. We are all about exposing the verity of this matrix either it may be religious, political or social,” pointed out Misha.
Up to now the band have released 2 full-length albums each containing 11 tracks. They have released up to 4 singles and 3 music videos.
Misha says their passion for music comes from the belief that it is not a coincidence that they have been brought together. This would make one think they maybe Misha is hinting that they have been brought together by fate or a higher power. Music to them is the one true international language that everyone on earth can appreciate.
“We are all beings of vibration, and if it wasn’t for vibration we would not exist. Music is the only common language that translates through every living being on this earth. We are all grateful for each other as a band and we strongly believe that it is not a coincidence that the four of us are doing this together, and that’s the source of our passion for music,” said Misha.
The Music Industry in Sri Lanka is not easy to thrive in and one needs to be assertive and forceful. As Misha says, Sri Lanka is still growing, and we still don’t have a proper music industry, to begin with, but none the less you require a consciously creative yet determined personality to survive in this jungle of a so-called music industry.
“If you take the industry for our type of music, it is really tough for any band that pursues pure originality in our category of music. Especially for us, as we speak of very uncommercial and dark topics, the mainstream media often tries to neglect content filled works of art whether it may be audio or visual,” explained Misha.
Misha’s last word are very powerful – “We project a very aggressive image, and as for the theme, the main core concept lies behind these ancient Sanskrit (Magadhi) words, ‘A pure conscience reflects godlike features within and completes your divinity’.
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