Frozen memories
An metal underground in scene swaddled black makes a comeback Chennai’s newest steakhouse, Meating Room, has an array of imported meats as well as a delectable vegetarian menu
wanted to change attitudes towards metal, and mix bands to give people new to Chennai a chance,” smiled Manu Krishnan, one of the organisers.
This year has been more than a revival for metal in Chennai. It has also been a reinvention: in embracing Tamil culture as a brand, who gets to play on stage,
◣ accessibility, and in the very heart of what it means to love the heaviest sounds of
Chennai. Armaan, Manu and Srikanth Natarajan founded Metal Chennai in 2018 to change the idea of “metal being an expensive hobby,” in Manu’s words.
Metalheads in Chennai have for generations been ghting tooth and nail to keep the volatile pulse of the scene alive: nding scream-friendly venues and trying to build a community that is safe and enticing for everyone, while still tough and edgy enough for the brand.
The Palomar hotel began operations just last month, and talks are ongoing for future events. The craze for metal in fact dates back to at least the Sixties, according to Eddie Prithviraj, who joined in the early Nineties. He has been organising live music gigs across genres like jazz and pop in Chennai for 30 years, but back then, he had just founded a metal band called Bone Saw, and another called Blood Covenant in 2004. Issues with venues date back to even his time, when he had to close one himself.“It’s never been in the mainstream. But it was there. Guys recorded extreme death metal on cassettes in 1996. It was something to be cherished. It isn’t anymore.” Between 2015 and 2018, Chennai’s metal scene had once again “died,” as recalled by Armaan, Mickey and Isaiah Anderson, vocalist of progressive metalcore band Godia.
Mickey has convinced some of his bands to change their names and album art styles to make them ercer because “branding matters in a commercial music cheery playlist of all the songs popular on Instagram reels plays at Meating Room on TTK Road as the rst few diners trickle in. The space is warm and cosy, complete with brick walls and cheeky messages scrawled across — steak and meat puns obviously.
This intimate setting is completely by design, says Arunima Karmakar, a partner at Chennai’s newest steakhouse. “We are open only in the evenings, from 6.30pm and can seat around 24 diners at a time. We want them to walk in, and have an intimate, comfortable dining experience where the focus is on the food,” she says.
Our conversation is punctuated by sounds from the pre-service urry of kitchen activity, most of which is visible thanks to glass separating the seating area from the kitchen. There is a traditional menu, but
Aspace”. In Chennai and India at large, he argues, bands usually start in universities and they do not think about branding then.
On varied issues
Chennai has seen a rise in more explicitly dened subjects in metal lyrics, with subjects spanning from genocide, the “rot” in society and rights for the queer community for Moral Putrefaction to mental health and depression for Godia. This, Shivamoorthy of Moral Putrefaction says, also goes against the tide of “aggression”, sometimes tinged with right-wing politics, in metal.
As a culmination of all the trends in this genre in Chennai, the attendance at Metal Munnetra Kazhagam is what Beeto Jerrin from Moral Putrefaction describes as a “decent” crowd by the standards of 2023.
Armaan, points out that so far in India, there have been barriers of privilege in language, caste, gender and capital that restrict possibilities for both bands and audiences. One way this plays out in Chennai is women being sidelined in the metal scene. This is something that Armaan, as an organiser, admits to still navigating.
The gig also comes at the heels of a brand new college student-run platform MoshLit Events, the youngest group to organise metal and hard rock events, securing venues like 10 Downing Street and Steams n Whistles bar in GRT Grand. The technicality of sound is an issue here, according to Sivaramakrishnan, bassist for Frankendriver, but his bandmate Teeto Jerrin feels the energy at their gigs is sky high.
Through it all, metalheads keep grooving. Inside the toughness, Manu says, “we’re all teddy bears.” As Aditya puts it, “supporting each other will carry us forward.” we would much rather take our pick from the chalkboard hung on the wall, detailing the cuts and the quantity available.
Their highlights are the imported meats, listed under premium cuts. “The steaks are sold per gram, and the availability of both the premium and grade A domestic cuts change based on availability every day,” says Arunima,
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(Clockwise from left) Steaks on the menu; a view of the steakhouse; and bone marrow toast. picking the Wagyu tenderloin, as a favourite. The meat is slow-cooked sous vide, and then pan seared before being served, she adds.
We begin by diving into their well-conceived appetisers and salad menu. The long homemade fries are crisp and warm, but the aky goat cheese and onion jam phyllo makes for a more interesting start to the meal.
Chef Babu Perumal, who helms the kitchen at
Meating Room, waxes eloquent on their eorts to ensure that the vegetarian diners are not neglected, and the proof is in their salads. The grilled pears, whipped goat cheese and almond salad is ideal for the summer — sweet, savoury and full of avour in every bite. The standout dish here however, is the char grilled napa cabbage in a coconut curry sauce and chilli oil. The long cabbage leaves have just the right amount of smokiness, and the avoursome sauce also makes for a great accompaniment to your meat main course.
For the crown jewel of the meal, we try a grade A cut llet mignon, cooked medium rare and drenched in a creamy mushroom sauce. The meat is soft, tender, and cooked to perfection — denitely the best pick if you are a diner who wants a smaller yet satisfying meal. The green peppercorn jus and the surf and turf sauce (creamy and dotted with pieces of shrimp) that we also sample on the side, are better picks from their sauce options.
For diners in larger groups, the restaurant recommends trying the bigger cuts — a T bone steak or the sirloin. Apart from the beef, there are chicken, pork and lamb options to choose from, as well as grilled sea bass, jumbo prawns, and Norwegian salmon.
Given the number of imported meats on oer, quality is a priority for the restaurant and their prices are reective of the same, the team says. True to its name, the restaurant has its priorities right with the meat it puts on the table, but it is refreshing to see the vegetarian side of things put up a strong ght, eortlessly making its presence felt in a steakhouse.
Meating Room is at YASS Tower TTK Road, Alwarpet, and is open from 6.30pm to 10.30pm. A meal for two costs ₹2,200. For details, contact 8220159933.