From the smouldering afterglow of Of Lotus, The Lotus & The Thunderbolt, Mumbai-based psych/sludge metal force Midhaven return not with a whimper, but with a seismic rupture. Their latest single, The Velier may well be the heaviest track the band has written to date, and also their most daring.
The track is not merely an escalation in heaviness, it is a decisive artistic statement, marking the most crushing, conceptually dense and sonically adventurous chapter in the band’s evolution so far. A striking departure from their earlier work, The Velier sees Midhaven plunge headlong into far darker, denser territory, weaving the tense, brooding emotional palette of Raag Todi, an Indian classical framework steeped in tension and emotional gravity, into crushing guitar riffs and psychedelic sludge textures. The result is a visceral exploration of duality: ancient Indian classical emotion colliding with modern metal ferocity. Written on Raag Todi, the single confronts arrogance and hubris, personified as the Asura, a metaphysical obstacle on the soul’s path to realisation.
This philosophical undercurrent is no accident. Lead guitarist and vocalist Aditya Mohanan, an archaeologist and historian by training, channels his deep engagement with Indian mythology, ancient philosophy and metaphysics into the band’s sonic universe, lending The Velier a rare sense of intellectual weight alongside its primal depth
Rather than functioning as a simple continuation of their acclaimed 2023 album, The Velier occupies a liminal space, simultaneously looking back at the spiritual arc of Of The Lotus & The Thunderbolt while carving out a new, heavier language for what lies ahead. It is a track that confronts inner darkness head-on, using distortion, dissonance and raga-driven melody as tools of introspection as much as aggression.
t2 spoke to lead guitarist–vocalist Aditya Mohanan and vocalist–guitarist Karan Kaul about the song’s conception, its emotional and philosophical underpinnings, and the production choices that shaped Midhaven’s most uncompromising release to date.
“The Velier” is described as your heaviest track yet. What sparked the creative shift toward a darker, more intense sound?
Karan: It really came out of rehearsals. We were just making music together. The last record had more of a rock ’n’ roll feel, but this time we naturally gravitated towards something heavier. Our ex-drummer, Aviraj Kumar, was also in the mood to write something crushing, so Aditya and I sat down and went deep. We consciously dug into a darker space.
You’ve written this track on Raag Todi, which is unusual for a metal composition. How did you approach blending a classical raga with sludge/psych metal elements?
Aditya:I’ve been drawn to the idea of fusing Indian classical ragas with Western musical forms for a long time now—a lineage that stretches back decades in India, to trailblazers like Charanjit Singh. To me, it’s like mixing oil and water: they resist complete fusion, yet in that friction emerge unexpected textures, tensions and sonic conversations. Raag Todi has this inherent tension, which sits beautifully with metal. That tension became our entry point. We mapped out the swaras of Raag Todi and constructed the guitar movements entirely around them, and before we realised it, the framework of the song had revealed itself in full.
How do you both typically collaborate during songwriting? Do riffs come first, or do themes and concepts lead the process?
Aditya: It really goes both ways. Sometimes the lyrical or conceptual idea comes first, and we ask ourselves what kind of guitar part would suit that emotion. Other times, a riff leads the way. There’s a lot of back and forth. For The Velier, the riff definitely came first.
What emotions or imagery were you trying to convey with ‘The Velier’?
Karan: This track is very special to us. Our previous album explored the soul’s journey through different stages, and when we started working on this single, we realised the one thing preventing enlightenment was ego—human arrogance. Once that idea was in place, it became easy for Aditya to build the lyrical and thematic framework around it, especially with Raag Todi layered into heavy metal. It feels like both a continuation of the last album and a step forward at the same time.
Your earlier album Of the Lotus & the Thunderbolt received rave reviews. In what ways does The Velier mark a departure from that sound?
Aditya: The previous album leaned more towards rock and hard rock with psychedelic elements. With The Velier, we wanted to find a middle ground, bridging what we’d done before with newer ideas that sounded very different from anything we’d explored so far. It’s a departure, but it still carries the spirit of the earlier record.
Despite the evolution, listeners say your ‘signature musicianship’ remains intact. What would you say defines the “Midhaven signature”?
Aditya: More than anything, it’s about marrying the East with the West, playing Western instruments while expressing Indian musical sensibilities, which is especially evident on this track.
Karan: Beyond the music, it’s the themes we write about. As Indians raised in a post-colonial mindset, Western influences are part of us, but so are Eastern philosophies. That tension, East meeting West, exists within us, and we channel it through our themes. The sound will keep evolving, but that thematic continuity defines Midhaven.
Was there any specific artist, genre, or personal experience that influenced the heavier tone of this track?
Aditya: Not really. There wasn’t a conscious influence. It came very innately. It was more about innovation than inspiration.
Karan: Same here.
From a guitarist’s perspective, what techniques or tunings were integral to shaping the heaviness of The Velier?
Karan: Tonally, we experimented a lot with analogue gear, pedalboards and amplifiers, to achieve a warm guitar sound. For this track, we finally had the budget to record in a high-end studio (the song was recorded at Island City Studios, Mumbai), and our producer Apurv Agarwal helped us sculpt the tones beautifully.
Aditya: For me, the psychedelic aspect was crucial. Even Indian classical instruments like the sitar have a psychedelic quality. We used effects and techniques inspired by that sound, including slides that emulate sitar phrasing. I drew heavily from Carnatic legend U. Srinivas, especially his left-hand techniques, to achieve a hybrid of Raag Todi phrasing and Western rock guitar.
Vocally, the track has a very gripping, layered presence. How did you both approach the vocal arrangement?
Karan: That was actually a lot of fun. On the previous record, Aditya and I often sang or growled together. This time, the song felt more oratory, almost like a dialogue between two voices. In some sections, I’m screaming while he sings back. The chorus alone has five or six vocal layers, ranging from whispers to growls and screams. It gave the song a dramatic ebb and flow.
Can you walk us through the production process? Any new recording techniques or gear that helped you achieve this sound?
Aditya: We experimented with a lot of gear, including KHDK pedals, started by Metallica’s Kirk Hammett, which both of us switched to. One of the most exciting techniques we used was dual-tracking guitars. Karan and I recorded our guitar parts together, sitting next to each other, even though each part was captured individually. The room itself became part of the sound, creating a spatial depth you can really feel. Huge credit goes to our producer, Apurv Agarwal. This was entirely his idea, and he brought our vision to life brilliantly.
Metal inspired by Indian classical frameworks is still rare. What draws you to integrating ragas into heavy music?
Aditya: We’ve both been part of the Indian underground metal scene for years. When you look at European or South American metal, their music carries strong regional identities. I always wondered why South Asian artists weren’t doing the same—integrating pre-colonial culture into this modern form. While studying Hindustani and Carnatic music, I started experimenting with raga-based riffs, and they sounded incredibly powerful in a metal context. From there, there was no looking back. We wanted our identity to be part of this global genre.
Raag Todi has a distinctive mood. How did its emotional tone guide the structure or intensity of the track?
Aditya: Raag Todi carries an innate sense of tension and shadow, a restless unease that mirrors the nature of ego itself—our instinctive refusal to acknowledge fault or confront our own shortcomings. It was this psychological darkness that Raag Todi allowed us to magnify, giving the song its brooding emotional core.
As a three-piece, how do you ensure that your arrangements stay full, layered, and dynamic?
Karan: We’re actually a four-piece now. We have a new drummer, Aryaman Chatterji, and bassist Akash Vyas, who fit our musical vocabulary perfectly. The Velier was written with our ex-drummer Aviraj Kumar, and the process is usually guitar-driven at first. Once the guitars are in place, the drummer adds another dimension, and that’s when the song truly comes alive.
Does The Velier signal the direction of your upcoming work, or is it more of a standalone sonic experiment?
Karan: It’s very much a standalone track. It doesn’t sound like our last record or what we’re currently working on.
What can fans expect next from Midhaven in terms of sound, themes, or collaborations?
Karan: We can’t say much just yet, we’re still writing. But there will be a lot of new music next year, especially from August onwards.
Fresh off a Japan tour from December 2-9, where they supported Origin & Defleshed and played a standalone show alongside Abiuro, Redsheer, Wombscape and Black Market, Midhaven are now setting their sights on the UK. The band has been announced for Desertfest London, where they will perform on May 17, 2026, marking another significant milestone in their steadily expanding global journey.
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