Whirlwind came into the industry just like their name – they undoubtedly took the music industry by storm. Formed in 1995 as a six-member teenage metal band in a dark era of Sri Lanka’s recent history, they have been in the industry for longer than most bands.
After many lineup changes over the years, on which the band’s Founder commented that it has given him the opportunity to work with many amazing musicians, they are currently a four-member band. The lineup now consists of frontman Misha, guitarist Chunky (Chanaka Abeyratne), bassist Chandu (Chandimal Fernando), and drummer Crescent Kumaratunge who continue to revolutionise the music industry.
In conversation with Misha Wickramanayake, the Founder of the band, he explained to us his reasoning behind starting up Whirlwind. “Back then, the island was torn apart by a racism-fuelled civil war that was already waging for over a decade, and the creative arts industry was struggling to survive. Rock and metal music in particular were still widely unpopular and often associated with ‘demon worship’ and cultish personalities. Metal acts like Whirlwind were immediately viewed with suspicion by an already fear-driven society and disregarded by the local music industry as juvenile.”
Drawing inspiration from their personal struggles and having to grow up in a war generation divided by colour, class, and ethnicity, Whirlwind persevered. Fighting mass opinion, misinformation, and a desperate lack of resources, the band established a fledgling, unorthodox metal industry of their own.
Misha added that after tireless hours of pouring their energy into projecting a message of unification and breaking boundaries, the band produced and launched the first multi-lingual metal project in the island, under the unique genre “Sri Metal”. Since then, the genre has established roots in Sri Lankan and metal music, creating its own subculture and dozens of Sri Metal acts. Whirlwind itself has grown with the genre to be one of the most influential and iconic metal acts in the island, headlining almost every gig since their official comeback in 2016.
Since their initiation in 1995, they have overcome many challenges and achieved many milestones. Whirlwind was the first band to release the first “Sinhalese rock/metal album” in the Sri Lankan western music industry. Pain was the first-ever original Sinhalese rock/metal album in Sri Lanka. They also released the first-ever metal video in the country, Mindbender. Speaking on this achievement, Misha added: “Mindbender has been a hit song on the ‘SL Hot Ten’ chart aired by the TNL Radio Network and also on the ‘Saturday Club’ chart aired by the SLBC English Service.”
Aside from that, Whirlwind was also awarded under the special category for being the pioneers of rock/metal music at the first-ever original music awards in the country – the SLO (Sri Lankan Original) Awards 2005 hosted by SLBC. Another prestigious achievement for the band was when they did the opening honours for the Grammy-nominated US heavy metal giants As I Lay Dying in December 2009 at Colombo Rockfest, as well as shared the same stage with Nervecell, the Dubai metal giants.
Explaining to us about what Sri Metal is, Misha added that Sri Metal carries a unifying, uplifting message that ascends from dark emotions – a cry out for liberation from the shackles of social conditioning, as a band hailing from a country that had faced and understood the repercussions of senseless war brought upon humanity by their own making through the illusion of race, religion, culture, and politics.
Sri Metal is also the official sub-genre exclusive to the band Whirlwind. Misha elaborated that the genre has a much deeper meaning than just Sri Lankan metal or Sinhalese metal music. “It becomes Sri Metal simply because of the content and message it carries to the world from a third-world perspective and experience, not just because it contains Sinhala lyrics; it’s only one aspect. Sri Metal is a multilingual genre that contains Sinhala lyrics and supporting lyrics from various other languages.”
When asked about the band’s plans for the year, Misha commented that like their name, no one knows when a whirlwind happens. “We don't like to make too many plans. We dont tell our fans that this or that is coming up – that’s not the kind of band we are.”
They have also not played a gig since 2019, because making plans means that they could easily be demolished due to the current situation in the country. Although, he did reveal that their third album is in the works; they haven't decided on a release date, but once it’s ready their fans are in for a treat. “We are not the kind of band that wants to release albums every year. For us, the vibration matters; how our members feel at the end of the day matters. We also don’t want to take advantage of the pandemic to showcase our talent.”
Concluding, he shared that due to their controversial topics, they can’t really obtain a sponsorship, so their music will be released at their own pace.
After many lineup changes over the years, on which the band’s Founder commented that it has given him the opportunity to work with many amazing musicians, they are currently a four-member band. The lineup now consists of frontman Misha, guitarist Chunky (Chanaka Abeyratne), bassist Chandu (Chandimal Fernando), and drummer Crescent Kumaratunge who continue to revolutionise the music industry.
In conversation with Misha Wickramanayake, the Founder of the band, he explained to us his reasoning behind starting up Whirlwind. “Back then, the island was torn apart by a racism-fuelled civil war that was already waging for over a decade, and the creative arts industry was struggling to survive. Rock and metal music in particular were still widely unpopular and often associated with ‘demon worship’ and cultish personalities. Metal acts like Whirlwind were immediately viewed with suspicion by an already fear-driven society and disregarded by the local music industry as juvenile.”
Drawing inspiration from their personal struggles and having to grow up in a war generation divided by colour, class, and ethnicity, Whirlwind persevered. Fighting mass opinion, misinformation, and a desperate lack of resources, the band established a fledgling, unorthodox metal industry of their own.
Misha added that after tireless hours of pouring their energy into projecting a message of unification and breaking boundaries, the band produced and launched the first multi-lingual metal project in the island, under the unique genre “Sri Metal”. Since then, the genre has established roots in Sri Lankan and metal music, creating its own subculture and dozens of Sri Metal acts. Whirlwind itself has grown with the genre to be one of the most influential and iconic metal acts in the island, headlining almost every gig since their official comeback in 2016.
Since their initiation in 1995, they have overcome many challenges and achieved many milestones. Whirlwind was the first band to release the first “Sinhalese rock/metal album” in the Sri Lankan western music industry. Pain was the first-ever original Sinhalese rock/metal album in Sri Lanka. They also released the first-ever metal video in the country, Mindbender. Speaking on this achievement, Misha added: “Mindbender has been a hit song on the ‘SL Hot Ten’ chart aired by the TNL Radio Network and also on the ‘Saturday Club’ chart aired by the SLBC English Service.”
Aside from that, Whirlwind was also awarded under the special category for being the pioneers of rock/metal music at the first-ever original music awards in the country – the SLO (Sri Lankan Original) Awards 2005 hosted by SLBC. Another prestigious achievement for the band was when they did the opening honours for the Grammy-nominated US heavy metal giants As I Lay Dying in December 2009 at Colombo Rockfest, as well as shared the same stage with Nervecell, the Dubai metal giants.
Explaining to us about what Sri Metal is, Misha added that Sri Metal carries a unifying, uplifting message that ascends from dark emotions – a cry out for liberation from the shackles of social conditioning, as a band hailing from a country that had faced and understood the repercussions of senseless war brought upon humanity by their own making through the illusion of race, religion, culture, and politics.
Sri Metal is also the official sub-genre exclusive to the band Whirlwind. Misha elaborated that the genre has a much deeper meaning than just Sri Lankan metal or Sinhalese metal music. “It becomes Sri Metal simply because of the content and message it carries to the world from a third-world perspective and experience, not just because it contains Sinhala lyrics; it’s only one aspect. Sri Metal is a multilingual genre that contains Sinhala lyrics and supporting lyrics from various other languages.”
When asked about the band’s plans for the year, Misha commented that like their name, no one knows when a whirlwind happens. “We don't like to make too many plans. We dont tell our fans that this or that is coming up – that’s not the kind of band we are.”
They have also not played a gig since 2019, because making plans means that they could easily be demolished due to the current situation in the country. Although, he did reveal that their third album is in the works; they haven't decided on a release date, but once it’s ready their fans are in for a treat. “We are not the kind of band that wants to release albums every year. For us, the vibration matters; how our members feel at the end of the day matters. We also don’t want to take advantage of the pandemic to showcase our talent.”
Concluding, he shared that due to their controversial topics, they can’t really obtain a sponsorship, so their music will be released at their own pace.