MusicTibet.com

Meet the first Tibetan death metal musician

Shenpenn Khymsar with friends in Darjeeling in October 2008. Photo: Shenpenn's Face Book page

By Heidi Minx

ON THE WEB, 20 August 2009 (Amp Magazine) — I came to meet Shenpenn through one of my girlfriends in Dharamshala. When I returned to the States, we finally got to talk. You'll find I get really excited when I meet someone else who is entrenched in both rock n roll, and spirituality. After seeing his movie trailer, I knew I wanted to share it with readers.

HM: Life is full of dualities, some happen to be more pronounced than others. Introduce yourself, and define the duality in your life.

SK: My name is Shenpenn Khymsar and I am a Tibetan Canadian. I live in Vancouver, BC. I was born in Darjeeling, India, and I am the first son in my family to be born in exile after the Chinese invasion of my country, Tibet.

I am a Tibetan Buddhist, Tibetan activist and the first Tibetan Death Metal musician in the world.

This is a very complex and a distracting time we are living in today and it is not an easy task to follow the principles of the Buddhist teachings at all times. I found my outlet in heavy metal and it is very very unusual for a Tibetan to adapt to this extreme culture.

I try to lead a meaningful and a mindful life, but just like all human beings I have my vices and weaknesses—but Death metal has helped me become a better person because it helps me balance my dark side. It keeps all my demons in check and I let it out on stage and through my guitar. I am a Buddhist metal head.

It is perceived that death metal is satanic and sinister—but that is absolutely not true at all, in fact it is the only genre that has the most dedicated fans in the world. I am all about peace and compassion, my struggle for a Free Tibet will continue and my love for metal is inseparable.

HM: You're working on a movie – in the trailer, it shows how you got into music – which seem VERY far removed from the music you play today. Can you talk about that a little bit?

SK: Well like most things in life, my taste in music has evolved a lot. When I was growing up in Darjeeling I used to listen to anything western, genres did not really matter.

I was very influenced by the local rock musicians too, who played all kinds of classic rock music; at the same time I was very drawn to Indian, Nepali and Tibetan music.

I think all my influences, life experiences and inspirations have effected my music and my song writing. I used to listen to Indian classical music, Bollywood music, Wham, Aha, Pet Shop Boys, Duran Duran, The Doors, Pink Floyd, Def Leppard, Van Halen and almost all the 80's metal bands. Then I started listening to Iron Maiden, Metallica and Megadeth—after that kicked it up a notch with Slayer and Pantera. Now I listen to Lamb of God, Gojira, Messhugah, Arch Enemy and many more.

I love Death metal as a musician, but I do play all kinds of music. I am also working on my first ballad Hindi album so my range in music definitely varies. My favourite is always metal because it has saved me—and is the best outlet I could find to channel all my demons.

My documentary Journey of a Dream is a juxtaposition between Tibetan Buddhism and death metal.

Published in: Amp Magazine