Age of Calamity is a concept album that deals with the plight of women in Indian society, and all proceeds from its sales will go directly to benefit a girls’ orphanage in Mumbai. Its haunting cover artwork was created by Indian artist Saloni Sinha, and depicts a weeping woman cradling her head in her hands, surrounded on all sides by crumbling walls and grasping shadows. It’s a powerful image, and in keeping with the theme, the band chose to work with a female artist.

&amp;amp;amp;lt;a data-cke-saved-href=&amp;amp;quot;http://sceptreindia.bandcamp.com/album/age-of-calamity-2&amp;amp;quot; href=&amp;amp;quot;http://sceptreindia.bandcamp.com/album/age-of-calamity-2&amp;amp;quot;&amp;amp;amp;gt;Age Of Calamity by Sceptre&amp;amp;amp;lt;/a&amp;amp;amp;gt;

“We have always been involved in writing about social issues, but this is the first time we decided to deal with gender issues, as the gravity of the situation is too grim to be dismissed so easily,” Sceptre drummer Aniket Waghmode says. “Our country has been plagued by this new evil of rape, which has only grown in leaps and bounds over the years.”

Waghmode’s referring to India’s growing reputation for sexual violence. In late 2012, a New Delhi gang rape claimed the life of a young woman, and the aftermath of that horrific event and others like it has served as a wake up call for many inside the country and out. In an article on this website last year, Isobel Coleman summarized the situation:

Rape happens everywhere, but India is a particularly tough place to be female. Over 40 percent of the child marriages in the world take place in India. Sex selective abortions occur there at staggering rates. In 2011, the gender ratio was at its most imbalanced since India's 1947 independence: among children six years old or under, there were only 914 girls per every 1,000 boys. Increases in wealth and literacy have only exacerbated the problem of female feticide. Sexual harassment of women—known in India by its euphemism, "eve-teasing"—is widespread and includes behaviors ranging from lewd remarks to physical assault. In a recent Hindustan Times survey of 356 New Delhi women who take public transport, 78 percent of them reported having been sexually harassed in the past year.

Citizens horrified by these developments have rallied, taking to the streets of New Delhi and across South Asia in thousand-strong protests to condemn those who commit rape and the government officials some believe look the other way. While most came with signs, Sceptre chose a different medium to voice their frustration: the distorted guitars and furious roars of thrash metal.

All four members of Sceptre are family men, and Waghmode credits the birth of his daughter for his deepened understanding of the dangers women face. “After my daughter's birth, I could actually foresee how difficult it will be for a girl to move around freely, given the situation we are in as a nation,” he says. “Everyone in the band has been extremely fortunate to get immense support from our respective spouses and parents. We even have other women thanking us for taking this stand.”