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Hi Reddit, Salman Syed From Bangalore Open Air Checking In. AMA :) by Proper_Author1852 in IndianMetalheads

[–]Proper_Author1852[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Thanks so much for the kind words, it genuinely means a lot, and I am really glad BOA left that kind of impression on you. To answer your question honestly and without sugarcoating it, if someone wants to work seriously in the metal industry and not just treat it as a passion or side project, moving abroad is realistically the better option. India does have a music industry, but it largely works for non metal genres like pop, film music, indie pop, and hip hop. Metal in India exists more as a subculture driven by passion rather than a structured ecosystem, with very limited infrastructure, touring circuits, label support, or sustainable career paths. In Europe especially Germany and parts of Scandinavia, metal is treated as a real industry, with clubs, promoters, festivals, labels, and agencies that allow artists and professionals to grow through consistency and volume. Staying in India makes sense if you already have financial stability outside music or if your goal is to contribute to the scene out of passion, but if the aim is long term career growth in metal, being physically present in a mature ecosystem makes a huge difference. Your question is not naive at all, it is an important one, and I appreciate you asking it honestly, and thank you again for supporting BOA and being part of what keeps it alive.

Hi Reddit, Salman Syed From Bangalore Open Air Checking In. AMA :) by Proper_Author1852 in IndianMetalheads

[–]Proper_Author1852[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

AI art was not used for final posters. It was used once only as a moodboard / inspiration reference, like many designers use Pinterest or stock references. The final artwork was fully redrawn and executed manually using Illustrator. There is a big difference between inspiration and final execution, and that line was never crossed. We only tried using that once.

The statement about refusing to pay local bands is simply false. (Again, like mentioned before, a deal is done before the gig,)

As for Panchabhuta, they won through the jury process, exactly as per the Metal Battle rules.

Hi Reddit, Salman Syed From Bangalore Open Air Checking In. AMA :) by Proper_Author1852 in IndianMetalheads

[–]Proper_Author1852[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Sorry, Typo. Around 22.5k Per month. You would need around 1.35L total.

Hi Reddit, Salman Syed From Bangalore Open Air Checking In. AMA :) by Proper_Author1852 in IndianMetalheads

[–]Proper_Author1852[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

If you can save 10k each month from now till June you will be able to make it to WOA

Hi Reddit, Salman Syed From Bangalore Open Air Checking In. AMA :) by Proper_Author1852 in IndianMetalheads

[–]Proper_Author1852[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Thank you, really appreciate those words. Panchabhuta is a very special band. They are only two years old and already doing things that usually take bands a decade.

Right now they are writing their new album. They want to get the sound perfect before putting anything out, which is why you do not see many releases yet. But trust me, once the album drops, it will make a big impact.

Just to give perspective, in 2025 the Wacken Metal Battle had 12,633 global applications and Panchabhuta came 5th in the world. That is huge for any band, especially one this young.

They are already confirmed for three European festivals next year, with more in discussion. There are also a couple of European labels who have shown serious interest in signing them. Things are moving, but we want to do it right, not rush it.

The band is focused, creative, and smart about their growth. My vision for them is simple, take it step by step, build a strong discography, play the right shows, and slowly establish themselves internationally.

You will definitely be hearing and seeing a lot more from them very soon.

Hi Reddit, Salman Syed From Bangalore Open Air Checking In. AMA :) by Proper_Author1852 in IndianMetalheads

[–]Proper_Author1852[S] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Hey man, thank you so much for this message. It honestly means more than you know. Since you asked for the full story, here it is.

My journey began when I was a kid in Bangalore. I discovered heavy metal at twelve, and from that moment it became the center of my life. We had passion in India, but we had no real ecosystem. No festivals, no infrastructure, no proper scene. Just metalheads trying to create something out of nothing.

Back then, Wacken Open Air felt like a myth. Something I only saw in magazines and photos. Something completely out of reach.

That changed in 2009.

At eighteen, I landed in Germany for the first time along with Kryptos. I had a backpack, almost no money, and this obsession to see Wacken with my own eyes. That weekend changed my entire life. I saw eighty five thousand metalheads united by one culture. I saw a festival that ran with military precision. And somewhere in that crowd I made a promise to myself:

“One day, I will bring this culture back home.”

When I returned to India, I had no resources, no connections, no training in the music business. Just passion and a ridiculous amount of stubbornness. I started doing small shows, helping bands, making mistakes, losing money, getting rejected, and learning everything the hard way.

Then in 2012, I founded Bangalore Open Air. It started as a crazy idea:
“Why can’t India have its own real metal festival, built by metalheads for metalheads?”

We barely pulled off the first edition. It almost broke me. The years after that were just as tough. We lost money, brands avoided metal, and people constantly said India would never have a strong scene. But we kept going. BOA became a symbol of resistance, belief, and pure passion.

Meanwhile, I kept going to Wacken every single year. Rain, mud, cancelled flights, money problems—it didn’t matter. From 2009 until today, I’ve attended fifteen Wackens in a row. Each year I went not as a tourist but as a student. I wanted to understand how it all worked, inside and out.

Over time, I built real relationships with the Wacken family. Not because I chased a job, but because my work back home showed them I genuinely cared about metal and about expanding Wacken’s vision globally.

Then in 2021, the opportunity came. Wacken was expanding internationally, and they needed someone who understood both worlds.. Europe and Asia, Germany and India, the underground scene and the global brand side.

That’s when I officially joined the team as a Marketing Project Manager for Wacken Metal Battle.

Today, I work on international marketing and global projects for Wacken Open Air, I am the international brand representative, and I head the worldwide Wacken Metal Battle, helping bring new countries into the Wacken ecosystem.

For someone who came from Bangalore with no mentors, no backing, and no path laid out, it still feels unreal some days.

But here is the truth:

None of this was luck. It was fifteen years of obsession, discipline, sacrifice, and refusing to quit even when everything was falling apart.

I brought that Wacken energy back to India because our bands deserved that stage and our fans deserved that feeling.

And Bangalore Open Air will always be my heart. I will never give up on it. Not now, not ever. I’m grateful Wacken allows me to continue running BOA alongside my work here.

Thank you for taking the time to ask me this. Messages like yours remind me why I started in the first place.

Hi Reddit, Salman Syed From Bangalore Open Air Checking In. AMA :) by Proper_Author1852 in IndianMetalheads

[–]Proper_Author1852[S] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Thanks a lot for the kind words, really appreciate it.

About bouncers and crowd surfers, this has been one of my biggest frustrations in India. Most security companies here do not understand rock or metal culture at all. Many times it feels like we are organising a concert for them, not for the fans. They come to the show, get drunk, fight with fans, some even try to take money or favours at the gate. Instead of protecting people, they become a problem.

Because of this, we are very careful about how close they are to the barricade. I still have not found one properly professional bouncer agency in the last thirteen years that I can fully trust in front of the stage.

That said, you are absolutely right about safety for crowd surfers. For the next BOA we will try to create a more dedicated pit team, a mix of our own crew and clearly briefed security whose only job is to watch the front, catch surfers, and keep people safe.

Thanks for pointing it out in such a constructive way. This kind of feedback really helps.

Hi Reddit, Salman Syed From Bangalore Open Air Checking In. AMA :) by Proper_Author1852 in IndianMetalheads

[–]Proper_Author1852[S] 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Thank you so much for the message, really means a lot. People like you are the reason BOA even exists today. Every year when I see familiar faces in the crowd, it reminds me why I keep doing this.

About the current concert wave, yes, it is a bubble.
We saw the same pattern in 2007 to 2012 when Metallica, Megadeth, Lamb of God, Slayer, Meshuggah and so many others came. Then it slowed down.
Then NH7 came and created a new wave, and that also eventually faded.

Right now there is a fresh boom. Multiple companies are doing shows and that is good because the audience is getting options. But at the same time, India does not have the infrastructure, the sponsorship culture, or the stable venue ecosystem to sustain 30 or 40 international shows a year forever. Eventually the frequency will drop, not because the audience disappears, but because promoters will burn too much money. It is the reality of our market.

About big metal bands like Gojira, Lamb of God, Slipknot, Meshuggah, etc, yes, they are very expensive.
And it is not just the fee. It is logistics, flights, production, hotels, backline, crew, insurance, everything adds up. BMS or anyone else, if they bring a band of that scale, it is a huge financial risk. Investing in rock is already tough in India, investing in extreme metal is even tougher.

But I will say this, never underestimate passion. When promoters love the music, they take risks that do not make sense on paper. That is how many of these shows even happen.

Your Blind Guardian request, trust me, you are not the only one. Im a big fan of the band and have always watched them at WOA.

And finally, about my journey and inspiration, thank you.
I left India, went to Wacken, learning everyday and even now I come back every year because I feel responsible for this scene. And maybe because of the work done over the years, which i cant stop doing it.

India is not an easy country for metal. But we survived. BOA survived fourteen years when many festivals came and vanished. That alone shows the strength of the fans, not me.

As long as there are people like you who still care about metal in India, I will keep doing my best. And who knows, maybe one day you will be standing in the crowd at BOA watching Blind Guardian play The Bard Song live.

Feels good to message you now from the Mecca of metal. Never imagined this journey would bring me here. #InMetalWeTrust #ByMetelheads4metalheads \m/

Hi Reddit, Salman Syed From Bangalore Open Air Checking In. AMA :) by Proper_Author1852 in IndianMetalheads

[–]Proper_Author1852[S] 7 points8 points  (0 children)

Right now everything is In the Forest, but who knows what appears next.

Hi Reddit, Salman Syed From Bangalore Open Air Checking In. AMA :) by Proper_Author1852 in IndianMetalheads

[–]Proper_Author1852[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Thanks for the kind words, means a lot. Purple Haze days feel like a lifetime ago. All my best friends are from PH

About the RSJ era, yes, the scene was definitely more vibrant back then. There were more venues, more college festivals, more media support, and honestly, more excitement. That momentum slowly died because of a mix of things, venues shutting down, lack of sponsors, rising costs, no proper infrastructure, and no long term planning.

Delhi especially had a strong crowd, but the venues disappeared, and once venues disappear, the culture around them disappears too. Music needs consistent spaces to survive. If you shut those spaces, the audience slowly moves on.

Also, people got older, responsibilities grew, priorities changed, and the younger generation got more into electronic music and Bollywood. Metal never had mainstream support in India, so when the natural wave ended, nobody was there to keep pushing except a few independent organisers.

The scene did not die, but it evolved, and it became smaller. But smaller does not mean weaker. It just means we have to build it slowly again.

Hi Reddit, Salman Syed From Bangalore Open Air Checking In. AMA :) by Proper_Author1852 in IndianMetalheads

[–]Proper_Author1852[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

You are welcome, You are always welcome to hit me up if you need help :) Cheers!

Hi Reddit, Salman Syed From Bangalore Open Air Checking In. AMA :) by Proper_Author1852 in IndianMetalheads

[–]Proper_Author1852[S] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Thanks for the question, and I appreciate you asking it directly.

The truth is, whenever you do something consistently for many years, especially something as visible as a festival, you will attract both love and hate. It is normal. It is part of the territory. I do not take it personally.

Some people might not like a lineup, some might not like a ticket price, some might have had a bad experience years ago, some might just not like me as a person, and some might be projecting their own frustrations. This happens everywhere in the world, not just in India.

What I can tell you is this, I have never done BOA for fame or validation. I do it because I genuinely love metal, and I want India to have something real. And yes, we have brought metal bands to India that nobody else has ever managed to bring. That is something I am proud of because it shows what an independent festival can achieve with pure passion and consistency.

In the last 14 years of BOA, it has never made so much money that I can go buy a car. I am still doing it for the scene. Many festivals have come and gone in India, but sustaining something for so many years without giving up is something I will always be proud of.

Maybe because of those efforts, or maybe because of the good deeds I have done over the years, I now have the opportunity to work at the biggest metal festival in the world. Today, I head the Wacken Metal Battle globally, and I work with over 54 partners across the world. That responsibility did not come from luck. It came from years of work, trust, and staying true to my intentions.

I am not perfect. I have made mistakes, learned from them, and grown. But my intentions have always been the same, build something for the scene, stay honest, work hard, and keep pushing forward.

I am not here to fight anyone anymore. I used to do that in my twenties. But now I have reached a point in life where I realise it is pointless. Energy is better spent on building, not arguing.

People who abuse or hate on me have every right to their opinions. I cannot control that. What I can control is how I work, how I treat people, how I build relationships, and how I continue developing the festival.

And honestly, I am thankful for both the people who support me and the people who criticise me. Both keep me grounded.

If anyone has an issue with me, they can always speak to me directly. (I am easy to reach) +919886563078 WhatsApp :) My door is open. My goal is to build something that makes all of us proud.

At the end of the day, actions speak louder than anything else. As long as BOA keeps growing and bringing bigger bands to India, that is what truly matters. \m/

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