There’s a space where advanced art and awakened spirituality become one. It’s a place where dissonant metal riffs can coexist with ancient shamanic chants, and where complex time signatures feel less like a math problem and more like a meditative journey. For multi-instrumentalist and composer Vishal J Singh, this space isn’t just a concept; it’s his entire musical universe.
From the groundbreaking avant-garde metal of Amogh Symphony to the feminist-centric “Shamanic Art Metal” of his current project, Serpents of Pakhangba, Vishal has spent his career exploring the outer limits of sound. His work is a testament to an artist who sees music not just as a form of expression, but as a path to self-discovery and a bridge to something ancient and profound. This is the story of a musician who learned the rules of his craft just so he could break them with purpose.
Amogh Symphony: A Journey of Spiritual Transformation
When Amogh Symphony first emerged, it was a force of nature in the progressive and experimental music scene. The sound was intricate, technical, and unapologetically complex. But as the project evolved, so did its creator.
“The sound evolved with more spiritual development and transformation over the period of time,” Vishal explains. For him, the line between creating art and spiritual practice is thin. Each album, from Abolishing the Obsolete System to the final EP Automorphed, marked a different phase of this inner journey. Metal was the medium, but the message was becoming increasingly introspective.
A major turning point came in 2012. Vishal faced a challenge: to shift his songwriting perspective from that of a technically proficient guitarist to that of a messenger. “I am glad I crossed that line,” he reflects. This shift is why later Amogh Symphony releases felt more “conceptually experimental” than just “musically technical.”
The peak of this fusion was the album Vectorscan. “I think ‘Vectorscan’ felt like the most significant one because I collaborated with my mother on this record with my grandmother’s lyrics,” he shares. It was this deeply personal and spiritual work that laid the groundwork for what was to come next.
Serpents of Pakhangba: The Shamanic Reawakening
The seed for Serpents of Pakhangba was planted within an Amogh Symphony song. The track “Third Eye Awakening” from the album IV opened with a shamanic prayer sung by Vishal’s mother before erupting into heavy, dissonant metal. “This song inspired me to re-imagine,” he says. That re-imagination became Serpents of Pakhangba.
Pakhangba is the name of a primordial dragon deity from Manipur, India, a part of Vishal’s mixed Meitei-Punjabi-Assamese heritage. The project is a retelling of Asian mysticism and shamanic art, focusing on the balance between divine masculinity and femininity. It’s a sound that has been dubbed “Shamanic Art Metal”—a powerful, meditative, and intensely heavy experience.
This isn’t just a musical theme for Vishal and his bandmates. “We also live the lifestyle and principles of its roots,” he states. The music is an extension of a lived spirituality, representing shamanic cultures from various tribes. If Amogh Symphony was the vehicle for Vishal’s personal spiritual transformation, Serpents of Pakhangba is the full manifestation of it—a collective channeling of ancient energy through the modern lens of avant-garde metal.
The Philosophy of a Rule-Breaker
How does one compose music that is both chaotic and intentional, technical and spiritual? For Vishal, the approach is fluid and observational. Inspiration can come from a book, an old classical music recording, or simply by silently observing the world without judgment. His experience writing scores for films and ads taught him how to connect audio with visual storytelling, widening the spectrum of his own music.
His philosophy for creating such unconventional art is built on two core principles:
- Learn the rules properly and thoroughly so that you can break them accurately.
- Merge advanced art and awakened spirituality to understand your own consciousness.
This mindset allows him to create music that can be interpreted in multiple ways. It can be a deeply personal exploration for the artist or a message that takes years for a listener to fully absorb. The meaning isn’t fixed; it’s a living thing.
Through it all, the most rewarding aspect of his journey has been “self-discovery and understanding the purpose.” Amogh Symphony is not on hiatus—it’s an ongoing project moving at its own pace. But for now, Vishal’s focus is on Serpents of Pakhangba, the next chapter in his quest to explore uncharted territories.
His advice to other musicians who want to walk a similar path is simple and profound: “Be very open-minded, observe, learn and unlearn and most importantly, find yourself and accept yourself in your music.” In a world chasing trends, Vishal J Singh reminds us that the most authentic art comes from looking inward and channeling the universe you find there.
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Lubdhak Biswas is a tattoo artist, entrepreneur and a musician based out of Kolkata (India).
He documents underground culture at the crossroads of tattooing and music.
His work focuses on craft, tools, ethics and the real working realities of creative industries.
