Bangladeshi heavy metal
Bangladeshi heavy metal | |
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Other names | Bangla heavy metal |
Stylistic origins | |
Cultural origins | Mid- to late 1980s, Dhaka, Bangladesh |
Typical instruments |
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Regional scenes | |
Dhaka, Bangladesh | |
Other topics | |
Bangladeshi heavy metal or Bangla heavy metal was originated from the evolution of
also played some alternative metal songs over the years. Warfaze, Artcell and Aurthohin together are the most popular rock/metal trio of Bangladesh.History
1960s and 1970s (Pre-history)
Antecedents: 1960s (Blues rock)
Although there were no Bangladeshi metal bands formed in the 1960s and 1970s, some blues-based rock bands helped to emerge heavy rock in Bangladesh. Such a band was Windy Side of Care,
Heavy rock influence: Mid to late '70s
Later in the 1970s, many pop rock and psychedelic rock bands were formed in Bangladesh. Although most of them did not play or contribute much to heavy metal but some bands like Miles, Feedback and Feelings played some hard rock songs in their concerts drawn from psychedelic and blues rock. Miles, despite being a pop rock and blues rock band, used to play few hard rock songs in their live concerts, around the early 1980s. James from Feelings (now known as Nogor Baul) was a pioneering psychedelic rock artist of Bangladesh. He too performed heavy rock riffs and solos. Late Ayub Bachchu was a member of the pop rock band, Souls, who later formed his own band, LRB. Ayub Bachchu, too, came forward with his technical guitar playing by following the bluesy styles, which also helped emerging heavy rock in Bangladesh.[citation needed]
1980s and 1990s (Origins)
Foundation: 1980–1993
The 1980s was the most important decade for the foundation of heavy metal in Bangladesh. Heavy metal and hard rock became very popular among young music fans. The young musicians picked up their instruments and started to cover hard rock and heavy metal songs. They also followed the styles of English and American metal bands styles – growing long hair, forming bands with English names, wearing tight jeans, t-shirts, boots, etc. However, due to cultural impact and strictness, many boys were not allowed to grow long hair until they became famous.[citation needed]
Back in the 1980s, there was no Internet connection or many broadcasting facilities in Bangladesh for foreign heavy metal bands, but there was also a local shop called "Rainbow", in Dhaka, which used to distribute foreign metal bands' albums. The shop played an important role in inspiring Bangladeshi musicians with foreign metal acts. The shop is still active.[citation needed]
Primarily drawing influences from
The first ever Bangladeshi heavy metal band to be formed was "Waves" on 25 December 1981, Frankfurt, Germany.[3] The band was formed by three Bangladeshi teenagers - Iftekhar, Mahmud and Mithu living in Germany. Their early influences include hard rock and metal bands like AC/DC, Black Sabbath, Led Zeppelin, Motorhead, Thin Lizzy and Van Halen. They returned to Bangladesh in 1983. In 1984, Waves recorded three songs for BTV for its upcoming Eid show but BTVs GM called the entire show an Opo-Shankscrity and decided not to air Waves. Following that incident, Waves was banned from performing at venues in Bangladesh including BTV. Many line-up changes happened while some of the members moved abroad. They covered "Heaven and Hell by Black Sabbath in 1985. Video footage can be found on YouTube about their lead singer asking their audiences if it was right banning Waves from performing on BTV and if they (the audience) would want to cut Iftekhar's (their bassist) long hair. Waves disbanded in 1985 and after almost ten years they released their only album, Purono Smriti. They have been inactive since 1996.[citation needed]
In 1984,
In Dhaka, another band formed in the late 80s to early 90s, was also influential to hard rock and heavy metal. They released their debut album Nishshobdo Kolahol in 1992. But they too became inactive after mid 90s. Meanwhile, another hard rock trio named Kirtinasha (Destroyed) who formed in 1988, released their debut album, Kirtinasha in 1993 under Asia Voice records. Kirtinasha was one of the few bands who did not release their albums under Sargam label. They were one of the pioneering hard rock bands of Bangladesh who recorded some of their earliest material in 1988 but did not release anything until their debut album. Kirtinasha's songs were about natural calamities, anti-love, conflicts, narcissism, terrorism and deaths. Kirtinasha never went mainstream like Warfaze or Rockstrata. But their song "Dhoroni" (Earth) was successful among hard rock fans of that time. Kirtinasha had no activity after the mid-1990s. Their members pursued their personal lives and left the music industry after the mid-1990s. Aces was another popular rock band formed in the late 1980s. They were very technically proficient but did not release any albums. Thus they faded from the music scene after the 1990s.[citation needed]
Emergence: 1994–1999
Followed by the groundbreaking success of Warfaze and Rockstrata, several heavy metal and hard rock bands were formed between the mid to late 1990s. Bands such as
2000s and 2010s (Mainstream)
Development of subgenres: 2000–2010
In the 2000s heavy metal started to become mainstream in the Bangladeshi music scene.
Fusion genres and experiments: 2010 and onwards
At the end of the 2010s many alternative rock bands were formed. However, they too played some heavy metal songs. Bands such as
The subject of the song is universal. I won't dedicate this song to anyone in particular. But I hope people will know better after watching the video and will hopefully refrain from committing suicide when they are in severe depression. Moreover, we should always be communicative and be supportive towards our loved ones'
There have been some solo acts by musicians too. Oni Hasan is a prominent Bangladeshi guitarist. He was initially the guitarist of band,
Underground metal bands
Over the years there have been significant underground metal bands who did not go mainstream. Most of these metal bands were either black metal or bands having satanic lyrics. Satanik a black metal band (later performing technical brutal black metal) was formed in the early 2000s,[21] almost never went mainstream due to their Satanic themes. Although in their interview they denied being a devil or Satan-promoting band. Their lead guitarist Nayeem said,
Satanik does not mean encouraging the devilish nature. In fact, it means to take off the masks and shout out loud and clear about the hidden evils prevalent in human beings. Everything comes in pairs, so do good and evil. Through our music, we want to address such evils to our listeners.
Other bands include, Barzak, Bloodlust, orator, Nafarmaan and Poizon Green. Poizon Green had initial success but only among hardcore metal fans.
Apart from controversial bands, there have been many metal bands who did not go mainstream and remained underground bands. Bands such as Scarecrow,[22] Metal Maze,[23] and Exenemy are some notable examples. Musicians like Rafa and Jewel played important roles for development of underground metal bands. Many compilation albums have been released throughout the years for promoting underground metal bands. Popular underground mix albums are – Lokayoto, Agontuk 1 and 2, Underground 1 and 2, and Republic.[24] Although these albums were recorded with the intention of promoting underground metal bands, many popular rock and metal bands like Aurthohin, Black, Arbovirus, Artcell also played on those albums. Underground 1, composed by Kamal, was a big hit.
International popularity of Bangladeshi metal bands
Although most Bangladeshi metal bands are not listened worldwide due to the Bengali language. However, due to some international ranking websites, some bands have come to be recognised internationally. For example, Warfaze was ranked 5th in "Best Hard Rock Bands" on TheTopTens.[25] Sometimes they pushed even further and ranked 4th,[26] surpassing classic hard rock bands like Aerosmith, Queen, Bon Jovi and Van Halen. Their current drummer and leader Tipu said on the matter,
It was unbelievable for us when we heard the news. However, it is true that we are in the top ten list in the music category. The feeling can't be described in words. When we can see popular bands are breaking down, we are still a team and rocking the world.
Five metal bands, Ionic Bond, Karmna, Trainwreck, Infidel and Torture GoreGrinder were selected for participating WOA metal battle.
Current status of Bangladeshi heavy metal
Even though heavy metal in Bangladesh was very popular from the late 1990s to the early 2000s, recent events and analysis show that the popularity of heavy metal is decreasing.[30] Many soft rock and alternative rock bands are taking the place of heavy metal. Bands like Shunno, Old School, Lalon and Recall came forward in the media and airwaves. As a result, newly formed metal bands are not getting enough recognition or becoming mainstream. Foreign music scenes, especially music from India – Bollywood music and hip-hop music are dominating radio and television. Most radio channels and televisions stations are only interested in broadcasting soft music and pop. Only few hit metal songs are played sometimes. There are few broadcasting facilities for newly formed metal bands.
Important record labels
Although most record labels are now interested in recording metal albums, this was not the case in the 1990s. Sargam was the first record label to record a heavy metal album.[31] Sargam made it possible for metal artists to gain a foothold in the industry. Sargam was interested in recording various genres of albums. Many major metal bands – Warfaze, Rockstrata, In Dhaka and Aces were signed by Sargam. Sargam signed a deal with Rockstrata with 30k tk to record their debut album, Rockstrata. A mixed album called Hooray was huge inspiration for metal bands of today and was a significant movement for Bangladeshi heavy metal.
After Sargam, other record labels like
References
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- ^ themetalrebel.com (30 September 2016). "The Metal Rebel – Bangladesh Scene Report".
- ^ "In conversation with Warfaze". The Daily Star. 13 April 2009. Archived from the original on 16 June 2010.
- ^ "Warfaze to celebrate the 30th anniversary". Dhaka Tribune. 24 October 2014.
- ^ ""It's not worth dying on stage"". The Daily Star. 23 December 2017.
- ^ "Where have the rebel bands of Bangladesh gone?". The Daily Star. 15 December 2017.
- ^ "ABC fans rocked". The Daily Star. 31 July 2011.
- ^ "Rocking in the spirit of independence". The Daily Star. 29 March 2010.
- ^ "Vikings featuring Runout: Not your average film soundtracks". The Daily Star. 9 August 2014.
- ^ "bracNet – Band Review – Artcell New". 4 October 2011. Archived from the original on 4 October 2011.
- ^ "Severe Dementia [Архив] – Форум Lossy.ru". www.lossy.ru.
- ^ Henley, Joe (16 May 2017). "Dhaka's Extreme Metal Scene Worships the Old School". Vice. Retrieved 23 May 2019.
- ^ ""Onibarjo": De-Illumination's inevitable journey". The Daily Star. 18 September 2010.
- ^ "Music Album Review Nemesis Tritio Jatra: A 10/10 production". The Independent. Dhaka. 1 December 2011. Archived from the original on 9 May 2012.
- ^ "BLACK". The Daily Star. 15 February 2014.
- ^ "Bay Of Bengal's Debut Album Released". Daily Sun.
- ^ "Bay of Bengal's music video to raise social awareness against suicide". 25 September 2017.
- ^ "Oni Hasan and Shuddho's feud send bad vibes". Dhaka Tribune. 3 September 2018. Retrieved 10 June 2019.
- ^ "Oni Hasan endorsed by Carvin/Keisel Guitars". The Daily Star. 13 June 2018. Retrieved 10 June 2019.
- ^ "Satanik: From Black Metal to Technical Brutal Black". 28 September 2009.
- ^ "Rockers at BRAC University". Star Campus. Retrieved 11 June 2019.
- ^ "Metal Maze launches self titled album". Dhaka Tribune. 19 March 2014. Retrieved 11 June 2019.
- ^ "The Daily Star Web Edition Vol. 5 Num 169". The Daily Star. Retrieved 11 June 2019.
- ^ "Warfaze fifth in Top 10 Hard Rock Bands around the world". Dhaka Tribune. 19 December 2017.
- ^ "Warfaze 4th in Top 10 Hard Rock Bands around the world". The Asian Age.
- ^ "Bangladeshi bands to battle for world's biggest metal music festival". Dhaka Tribune. 28 November 2018.
- ^ "Greatest Asian Hard Rock/Metal Bands – Top Ten List – TheTopTens®". www.thetoptens.com. Retrieved 29 May 2019.
- ^ "Best Slap Bassists – Top Ten List – TheTopTens®". www.thetoptens.com. Retrieved 10 June 2019.
- ^ Hasan, Mubashar. "Once the sound of rebellion, Bangladesh's rock music scene is fading". Quartz India. Retrieved 13 June 2019.
- ^ "Star Magazine". Archived from the original on 8 July 2015. Retrieved 10 May 2019.