Girish And The Chronicles Drop New Song ‘Kaal’ Amid Europe Tour

Girish and The Chronicles live in Mumbai in 2023. Photo: Mahindra Independence Rock

Bengaluru-based, Sikkim-origin rock/metal band Girish and The Chronicles are at their heaviest yet on their latest song “Kaal,” which arrives in the middle of their Re-Ignition Tour through Europe.

The tour kicked off on Oct. 25 in Trollhattan in Sweden and has so far made its way through to Helsinki in Finland, Dortmund, Frankfurt in Germany and Weert in the Netherlands. This week, the band led by powerhouse vocalist and guitarist Girish Pradhan perform at UrRock Music Festival in Sarnen, Switzerland on Nov. 8, followed by a show in Paderno, Italy on Nov. 10.

Girish and the Chronicles might be the country’s first metal band to take a break in the middle of an international to come back to perform in India – Mahindra Independence Rock in Mumbai on Nov. 16 – and then resume with a handful of shows in Spain starting Nov. 20, finishing off in London (Nov. 28) and Troon, Scotland (Nov. 30). Pradhan says they were originally slated to perform in Europe but when I-Rock came calling, they saw the bright side to a Europe show falling through in that week in November.

Pradhan adds about putting together an international tour, “It’s been a challenging but rewarding journey, made possible by an incredible team and agency working tirelessly behind the scenes. At times, things felt chaotic from every direction, but everything eventually aligned perfectly.”

A total of 11 cities are seeing Girish and The Chronicles performances for the first time. “We’re especially thrilled about UrRock Fest in Switzerland, where we’ll be sharing the stage with legends like [Canadian rock veteran] Lee Aaron. Plus, we’re making our debut at the Winterstorm Festival in Scotland—a moment we can’t wait for,” Pradhan says.

The band has been playing their best-known songs on this tour, including “Ride To Hell,” “Hail to the Heroes,” “Rock The Highway” and “Rock ‘n’ Roll Is Here To Stay.” Pradhan says he’s also bringing in songs from some of his side projects, like The End Machine, who released their recent album The Quantum Phase in 2024 and Joel Hoekstra’s 13.  

It’s been more than a decade that Girish and The Chronicles have been churning out because before finally getting global acclaim and finding a wider audience in key markets like Europe. In 2023, they toured Spain and most prominently, gained a support slot for Guns N’ Roses’ Abu Dhabi show. When asked if it feels like a long time coming for the band, Pradhan says it’s “just like any other journey we’ve been a part of.” He adds, “We start and we keep growing, test our limits and a that. We had been looking towards that direction ever since we started, perhaps which is why we’re finally getting the results. We thought the kind of music we were doing was anyway not easy to market in India, initially.” Working with the Italian label Frontiers Records has helped boost recognition, the frontman says. “It does feel like a ‘long time coming,’ since we were at it for quite a long time. We still have much to do, but we’re glad the journey is going in a good direction,” he adds.

They’re also setting their sights on to other territories like North America as well, where fans are waiting. Pradhan says they’re seeking out that one festival slot (“or a similar platform”) that will help them “break into the U.S. scene.” Girish and The Chronicles have received a few offers for “smaller tours” but the logistics, understandably, have been challenging to execute. “But we’re confident it’s only a matter of time, and we envision it happening within the next year,” he says.

While their I-Rock set promises fresh material like “Kaal” and “a few surprise guests” on stage with them, Girish and The Chronicles are also making plans to head back to Europe in 2025, with a festival in Portugal already confirmed and “several more invitations” for shows on the cards.

They’ll be balancing that with shows in India, including Nagaland and the Melotea Fest in Darjeeling in December. “Plus, we’ve got special homecoming gigs lined up in both Gangtok and Bangalore,” Pradhan adds.