By GMA Bangladesh Correspondent Nabil Abaddon

In the last 4 years, Bangladesh has been going through a major upheaval in the underground Metal scene. Although the country saw its international exposure originate with bands like Weapon, Severe Dementia, Barzak, Orator etc during the mid & late 2000’s, it was after 2010 / 2011 that the local scene had developed a level of consistency in producing some quality Extreme Metal acts at it's own pace, earning accolades from places around the world.

Recently this year, two dedicated Extreme Metal labels called Mortuary Productions and Metal Monger Records emerged out of the blue in the local scene and announced two well assembled international compilation albums. One of them is "Luxury Of Pain", which is a double disk album and is going to be released via Mortuary Productions. Looking at the bill, it seems that Ruzlan Ahmed, the owner of Mortuary Productions wanted to make sure that the local acts receive maximum exposure. That is the majority of bands are Bangladeshi, are immensely talented and have great reputation.

Apart from that, the compilation not only comprises of some of the best Extreme Metal acts from the South-East Asian region like Orator, Homicide, Plague Throat, Dying Out Flame, Abominable Carnivore etc but also some amazing Thrash, Death, Black Metal and Grindcore bands from countries like Italy, The Philippines, USA, France, Spain, Thailand, Sweden and Pakistan.

On the other hand, Metal Monger Records is coming up with a heavy weight compilation album called "Total Chaos: Volume 1". Hridoy Rayhan has done a brilliant job by bringing together some supreme and malevolent acts in the form of Sabbat, Ungod, Gehennah, Orator, Nafarmaan, Lobotomy, Savage Deity and lastly, Twisted Fate. Following them, there are some promising young bands on the bill: Enmachined, Mortar, Graveyard Ghoul, Revealing Hecate, Ego Kill, Exalter etc. The compilation is a “must have” for the old school lovers.

With this in mind, it felt right for GMA to catch up with both of label owners and get to know more about their endeavors.

Greetings Ruzlan and Hridoy. How is it going with you guys?

Ruzlan: Thanks brother! I’m doing great.
Hridoy: Hey Nabil! I'm doing great! Thanks for asking!


Lets start from the beginning. How did Mortuary Production and Metal Monger Records happen in the first place? What were the directions and the motivational factors?

Ruzlan: Well, Mortuary Production started when my band Necrolepsy needed a label to release and distribute it’s EP in Bangladesh. After the release we thought of taking the label seriously and continue farther. And also, it is really hard for the Extreme Metal bands to find a label in the country, so we thought of giving them a platform too.

Hridoy: Well, I always had intentions to support the Metal scene of this country. I knew most labels would not sign up or release an Extreme Metal album. I felt the need to start a label based on Metal and Metal only. That was my inspiration. That is what drove me to start Metal Monger Records.


Both of the labels are coming up with two different compilation albums. Why did you choose to start off your journeys with compilations? Are they coming out physically?

Ruzlan: As I mentioned earlier, our first release was an EP. So no we didn’t start off with this compilation. Compilations are a great platform for bands to spread their music throughout a great number of listeners. In case of an international compilation, when a listener buys a copy of it he checks out all the other bands along with the band from his country. So I really think it’s a great way to spread the music. Yes, our compilation which is called "Luxury of Pain" is a double disk compilation. To be honest, I never really liked online releases. So yeah that pretty much sums it up.

Hridoy: Yes the compilation is coming out only in physical copies and are numbered to 100. Well, I started off with a compilation because I wanted to reach a certain audience overseas with my label and the following bands in the album. I think a compilation is a great way of introducing newer bands to people. This compilation will set the ground for future releases from Metal Monger. I also plan to release further volumes of "Total Chaos" in later years.


Recently, there have been a lot of compilations coming out from home and abroad, both online and physical. It seems to be the ongoing trend now. Do you two think these compilations, including yours, help the bands and the scenes overall?

Ruzlan: Yes why not? I get to see many compilations releasing from my country and abroad. This is a good thing only if these compilations are going to the right listeners which is the sole purpose of these compilations. These releases help a band to increase their fan-base in places where they never even thought of and of course a good compilation works as a benchmark for a scene.

Hridoy: Well, in my opinion compilations are a ground where bands who have proven their sound to their audiences, can introduce newer bands to them. In other words, a compilation can give younger bands a head start and the scene evolves around the bands.

By GMA's Bangladesh Correspondent Nabil Abaddon

In recent years Bangladesh has produced some really promising bands from the likes of Orator, Severe Dementia, Abominable Carnivore, Homicide, Nafarmaan etc in the international arena. Creature Of Judgement is another promising Death Metal outfit who are up next to make their mark in the Asian Metal scene. Creature Of Judgement is a four piece Death Metal band from Bangladesh. Founded in 2006, the band released their full length self titled album ‘Creature Of Judgement’ last year. The band is just about to make their international debut at the inaugural Nepal Death Fest on 11th January, 2014. I caught up with Oni Ruddha, one of the guitarists from the band, here is how the conversation went….

Apocalyptic hails brother! Congratulation on making it to the Nepal Death Fest 2014. For those who don’t know your band, can you briefly tell us as to how Creature Of Judgement came to existence?

Greetings. Creature Of Judgement is a Death Metal band hailing from Dhaka, the Metal heart of Bangladesh. Creature Of Judgement was formed back in 2006 as we had the desire to produce some dark extreme music.


How did you decide on the moniker “Creature Of Judgement”? What do you try to preach through the name and your lyrics?

In this land as a creature we are human beings. We believe that every mortal has to undergo his karma Which creates a grotesque entity inside him, we call that new born entity as the Creature Of Judgement. For instance, at first Satan was an angel but as a Creature of Judgement he became Satan.

As Creature of Judgement, the band we think ourselves as messengers to this world. As messengers we offer our music which adheres to the dark, discrepant shore of this world and we interpret the above through our music and lyrical content.


Creature of Judgement came up with the debut self-titled album in 2013. How has the response been so far? How was the experience of recording the album?

January 19th 2013 was the day we released our album at the Dhaka Art Center. The response was good at the launching. Albums were being sold rapidly. Honestly we didn't expect this much overwhelming response from the fans and followers of Creature Of Judgement.

The experience of recording the album was just unforgettable. We faced minor problems in the process but we did have some pretty good times. It took a long time to record the album and we had to wait a lot for the pre & post production of the album.


How often does the band perform in local shows?

We are very selective about the local shows. We did some successful gigs. But the biggest gig we did last year was Eastern Darkfest which was held at the National Library Auditorium in Dhaka. There was Abandoned World (Sweden), Chronic Xorn (India) and few other local bands in the lineup. We were the headlining act of the gig.

For those who don’t know Creature of Judgement, which song would you like to suggest to them and why?

You can never judge a band with just one track. But if we really have to pick one then it would be "WAR". This track highly represents the sound of Creature of Judgement. This particular track contains devastating drum blasts, ruthless vocal growls, extreme technical yet groovy guitar work.
You can listen to the song here: http://www.reverbnation.com/creatureofjudgement777/song/15946847-war


What do you make of the studio facilities in Bangladesh in terms of recording a Death Metal album?

In a third world country like Bangladesh we tried to utilise the most out of the studios that we have. Death metal has been in Bangladesh for a long time. So it wasn't that tough to record the album.


Nepal Deathfest is going to be Creature of Judgement’s international Debut. All of you must be really excited and preparing yourselves accordingly. Tell us how did this come about? How did you hook up with the folks from Nepal Deathfest?

Yes, it will be our first international debut gig and yeah, all of us are very excited. It's almost like a dream come true for us. Our regular jams are going pretty good. Nepal will get a few surprises from us. Some of us have already visited Nepal. We made few good friends over there and hooked up with some local metalheads. They are really good and friendly people. So I guess it wasn't that tough.


Do you have any ideas about the Metal scene in Nepal?

Nothing to say about Nepalese Metal scene. They do have some class bands. Metal fans there are totally crazy. They really know how to slam and bang their heads.


You will be touring Nepal along with your countrymen Homicide. What do you think of that band?

Yes, Homicide are a very promising Death Metal band from our country. They are like our brothers. We have already shared the same stage once. I guess they are as excited as we are about  Deathfest. I know we will destroy and conquer the stage.

Well gratitude's for your time comrade. Best wishes to the band. Do you have any thank you’s or greetings to your supporters?

We would like to thank the fans and followers of Creature Of Judgement from the cores of our hearts. You guys give us the strength to keep on going. Keep supporting us. Keep supporting metal.


Creature Of Judgement

Hasnat Choudhury Ripon : Vocal and Guitars.
Oni Ruddha : Guitars
Tanvir Ahmed : Bass
Ahmed Bappy : Drums.

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Creature-Of-Judgement-Official/231535046879597

By GMA's Bangladesh correspondent Nabil Abaddon

If you follow our interviews regularly or keep track of what goes on around the South-East Asian Extreme Metal scene, then you should know about the uprising Bangladeshi Black / Death Metal force called Nafarmaan! Nafarmaan, which means 'the detested', 'the disobedient', 'the blasphemer' in Arabic / Urdu, was founded back in 2008 by the drumming virtuoso Nohttzver, who is also known as the co-founder of the legendary band Weapon.

Of course, one has to know that Weapon was initially founded in Bangladesh, released an EP called “Violated Hejab” and then shifted to Canada. Nafarmaan unleashed their diabolic rage against all the false paradigms on stage for the first time on 16th of November at the Banish The Posers Fest, which was put up by the local cult organization Primitive Invocation and featured bands from Thailand, Malaysia, India and Bangladesh. A full gig review will be coming your way soon.

I spoke with Nohttzver just a few days before the show and talked about Nafarmaan’s upcoming debut EP, future plans and also tried to throw a glance at his story of getting into the devil’s music and much much more.

Welcome to GMA once again brother Nohttzver. Well firstly let me tell you that Nafarmaan looks awesome in the rehearsal video (Bloodsoaked Revelations); which has been uploaded on Youtube a few days back! So when is the EP “Quayamat Lullaby” coming out?

Great talking to you guys as always. Yeah the rehearsal video was captured by a close brother of ours Sajid [Roadkill Tilt], the response of which has been outstanding so far. The EP is due for release in two formats; Tape (200 Copies) via Graceless Recordings (USA) and CDR (Limited to 66 Copies) via Asian label MTD Productions. If everything goes accordingly, both formats will be available within Dec 2013 / Jan 2014. There are also plans for a re-release and also a special release only for the sub-continent with a bonus track. Fans can view the rehearsal video here


As you know, three bands from Bangladesh: Nafarmaan, Enmachined and Abominable Carnivore were supposed to headline at two different Metal fests in Kolkata and Mumbai in September, but could not go to India due to Visa complications. How do you see this issue? If I am not mistaken, the organizers from Kolkata, Putrid Ascendancy has postponed their event Ritual Ascension Fest to December. Any updates on that?

Yeah it is just ridiculously f***ed up. The Embassy people involved with these Visa formalities are lame and uneducated Motherfu*kers. I’m sure that the guys from the other bands who were involved with the fests in India will surely agree with me on this as well. You’re right about Ritual Ascension Fest getting postponed to December. However, it seems that it might get postponed further until we all resolve our visa glitches. If we fail, then the show must go on and in that case we’ve already officially told Putrid Ascendancy to do the fest without Nafarmaan headlining. Our brothers from Putrid Ascendancy especially Carnage Desecrator have been more than supportive and their cooperation on the matter deserves sheer respect.

So BTPF is going to be Nafarmaan’s debut gig. What awaits the Metalheads? What should they expect from the band at the event?

Yes it will be. What awaits...don’t want to say much on that since one needs to witness Nafarmaan live when they are their most lethal.


Tell us a bit about yourself Nohttzver, how did it all start for you? As in discovering Metal music, playing drums and everything. Who are your inspirations in drumming?

(laughs) that will take quite a while to sum up. It started at the very early age of ten; 1989 to be exact. I’ve said this in another interview and probably will say this always. None of this would’ve ever happened If I hadn’t watched Legendary Bangladeshi Metal / Rock band ‘Rock- Strata’ Live in 1988. Watching them live with Legendary Bangladeshi drummer Mahbubur Rashid on drums did it for me. I also owe much to my elder brother who was a bassist himself and was responsible for introducing me to Metal. In 1992 I formed ‘Phantom Lord’ along with Ex-Rock Brigade members, a lineup that specialized in Heavy Metal and Thrash, and later ‘Metal Warriors’ was formed with the same lineup but with the exception of the former vocalist. I’ve also worked in a popular mainstream act of the country called ‘Ark’ from 1993 to 1996, which actually f**ed me up rather than help me with music. Then around 2004, Weapon came along which I co-founded along with longtime friend Vetis Monarch. I guess you know the rest.There are quite a few drumming inspiration ranges from John Bonham, Igor Cavelera, Dave Lombardo, Neil Peart to Ustad Allah Rakkha Khan.

The “Violated Hejab” line up: from left to right Kapalyq (now known as Skullbearer), Vetis Monarch and Nohttzver.

Would you like to take us through your war-gears?

Well at the present I don’t have much of it, except my Eight and half inch Pearl Snare (Steel), a pair of Good Sabian High-Hats, a worn out Zildjian China and a pair of Axis Longboards XL2 pedals.I guess I’ve only kept the stuffs that best represent my signature. I’ve also got a quiet big and rare collection of drumsticks which is also one of my hobbies.I miss my old kit and I hope I get to build one once again.


You are also known for designing the legendary logo of Weapon as well as the logo of Nafarmaan afterwards. Recently, I have noticed some pictures of you making the design of Enmachined’s merch on Facebook. How did that come about? Have you ever thought of doing this professionally?

Weapon’s logo is something I will always be proud of! Firstly, I don’t draw professionally. It is more like a hobby and a passion kinda thing for me. Well, the Enmachined kids were stuck with what to come up with or who to approach for their debut shirt. It was actually Abir (the vocalist of Enmachined) who shared the problem with me and our talks progressed and I asked him as a brother if they needed my help with their artwork. I asked for a day to come up with a draft but ended up doing the final one instead. I think I called him after half an hour later and handed it over to him.

You were the co-founder of Weapon and now you have founded Nafarmaan. Whats that particular thing in Black / Death Metal that made you choose this path and has kept you in it for this many years? How do you define this sub-genre of Metal?

Black / Death Metal is not everyone’s cup of tea. I mean one just does not like this form of extreme metal. Personally, it always had a huge impact and significance in my life and I felt the most comforting in expressing myself through this extreme art form. I have always led life in a rebelliously turbulent and hostile way and always sought the most pleasure exploiting and indulging in the extreme; may it be perception, religion, war whatever. Black / Death Metal is a vile form of art and it’s the last thing for soothing ears and timid cupid hearts.The relation and the connection has to come from within. This is what best defines me.


I would like to ask you a question that I have asked in my earlier interview with brother Skullbearer. What do you make of the decision that Vetis Monarch has taken to let go of the Metal musician’s life for good?

Well it is his life, so it is his Decision. But I am proud of the fact that he took Weapon where it is today.

During the Weapon era in Bangladesh; Vetis Monarch and Nohttzver during their practice sessions!

What are the future plans for Nafarmaan?

As you already know we have also recorded two extra tracks apart from the four tracks in the EP, so the obvious judgment for those unreleased tracks would be either be a Compilation or a Split. I can vouch for the band and say that Nafarmaan is productive and active than ever. The songwriting is going simply great. Five songs have already been written for the Full-length, three amongst them are good for recording. Apart from that and as you already know, Nafarmaan is live ready and we are keen on impaling our flag of Nafarmaany on foreign territories as well as participate in worthy domestic onslaughts from now onwards.


Gratitudes for your time Brother! Eagerly waiting for the EP and looking forward to the debut performance. Ave! Would you like to say anything to your fans?

Gratitude to you and GMA, your support have been much appreciated. The wait for the EP will soon be over and I can also assure you that Nafarmaan will have some great news for you in 2014. As for the fans ...Stay true, if not to metal at least to yourself !! Check out the EP teaser here.

By GMA's Bangladesh Correspondent Nabil Abaddon

Morbidity is one of the vilest Death Metal bands existing in Bangladesh who are keeping the ancient torch of OSDM still alive and held high in this region. As they like to call themselves ‘Skull Crushing Death Metal’, Morbidity surely got that flair in their sound and attitude to match up-to their promise of bringing forward pure Old School Death Metal massacre!

Formed in 2011, Morbidity earned accolades at home and abroad in 2012 with their demo ‘Pits of Eternal Torment’ and are going to release their debut full length album next year via Me Saco Un Ojo Records! If that’s not all for OSDM fans, then they should know that Morbidity are going to perform at the Banish The Posers Fest on 16th November after their short hiatus, which is going to be the country’s first international Extreme Metal show featuring bands from Bangladesh, India, Thailand and Malaysia. I managed to catch up with Azerate, the guitarist of Morbidity and had a chat about the band and their music.


Apocalyptic hails to you Azerate! How is the band preparing for the upcoming event Banish The Posers Fest? How excited is the band for the gig? Also tell our readers what you exactly mean by the moniker ‘Morbidity’.

Greetings, brother Abaddon. We are content for the gig and the rehearsals are going well. I think you know the actual meaning of Morbidity, that it is the state of being Morbid and that’s what we follow.


I have noticed that Morbidity always maintains a very low profile and only performs in gigs put up by Primitive Invocation. What are the reasons behind these?

Yes, we do maintain a very low profile; we like to keep things this way. Primitive Invocation is the only organizer who puts the kind of show that we like to perform. If there was some other organizer who would put some good lineup, we would definitely give it a try.

Interview by GMA's Bangladesh correspondent Nabil Abaddon


Orator perhaps needs no introduction to those who keep track of what's brewing up around the South-East Asian Extreme Metal scene. Orator, the Deathrashing horde of Tantric occultism rising strong from the lands of East Bengal, bears the fire of true primitive Metal in their hearts. Inspired by the unorthodox left hand Tantric doctrines, extremism and similar aspects from the Qlipoth tree of death worship, Orator preaches about cosmic destruction and burning paths of self-becoming through their barbaric primitive style of music. Born from the demiurgic womb of Barzak in 2008, Orator came out burning like a phoenix, stronger than ever before, decimating at home and abroad alike. Having played strength to strenght alongside Manzer (France), Infernal Execrator (Malaysia), Dying Embrace (India), Abigail (Japan), Infernal Curse (Argentina) at different Metal fests.

Orator has released an EP “Dominion of Avaktyam” (2010), a live tape “Live Cremetoration” (2011) and their first full length album “Kapalgnosis” earlier this year via Armee De La Mort Records (France). Followed by that, Orator inked a deal with the Singaporean label Pulverised Records this year, which elevates them to the next level.

The interview undertaken was done with the frontman, guitarist and lyricist of Orator, Amit Skullbearer. We spoke about the upcoming “Banish The Posers Fest”, his approach to music and much more.


Apocalyptic hails Skullbearer! Firstly, congratulations on the amazing worldwide response to Orator’s latest album “Kapalgnosis” and also on the sign up with Pulverised Records (Singapore)! So how do you define the genre “Deathrash” yourself?

Thanks for the support brother. Death / Thrash to me is the unification of two very archaic forms of Metal music into one that would represent elements from both the genres, distinctively but supporting each others.

Check out their song ‘Satanachesh Grimore’ here from their album “Kapalgnosis” :


How is the band doing now? Orator has not hit the stage for quite some time now. Are you guys upto writing some new songs?

Yup we are presently writing new materials. And we are also gearing up for Banish the Posers Fest in November.


Orator has played in many countries around Asia and with a lot of the big names around this region. What kind of response do you get from the audience and fellow bands every time you play a gig in the overseas? Which is your favourite country to play gigs in apart from Bangladesh?

Undoubtedly it is Thailand, to answer your second question. We have played there twice. Killer gigs with great bands, great brothers, good times and what not. We always have good response from the audiences wherever we play, surrounded by comrades who headbang to our originals and cover songs alike.

Orator started in 2008 from the ashes of “Barzak”, which was a Black / Death Metal band. Although being the brain-children of the same person which is you, these bands are totally different in terms of genres and ideologies. Why did this transition take place?

Well to be honest, I kind of had enough with this “Black / Death” notion, Barzak turned out to be like that on the full length “Qabiluhu”. But I have always preferred the “Opocheshta” demo tape sound which was purely of Death Metal. And, in 2008 it was only me and Vritra who were left with a broken band, so we decided to change the band name and genre along with it.


Recently you have posted a practice video of a Barzak song called ‘Shiraj’ on Facebook. Would you like to tell us more about it?

One of my earliest compositions, revived just for the coming gig in November. I jammed it for the first time after 8 years. Mephistopheles has added a totally different aura to the drumming compared to the original, so we’re really excited to go live with this track for the first time. I am sure a lot of Barzak enthusiasts are looking forward to this too. Orator’s rehearsal footage of “Shiraj” can be viewed here.


Orator is known for the distinctive primitive, barbaric yet Eastern essence and also for using ethnic instruments and chants in some of the songs. How important are these aspects to Orator’s music?

Keeping both the thrashy and Death metal elements is very important for us while composing. But the ethnic instruments, they have no importance whatsoever. We used some ethnic instruments only on few of the songs that demanded it, there are no obligations tied to the use of them. And, instead of ripping off Eastern classical scales what we do is blend in one / two notes within our own riffs to make the difference.

Do you care much about the sites which have reviewed Orator’s releases so far? Do you give them a read?

No not really, unless someone gives me the link to it or tells me about it. I have ignored many people who sent me emails asking for CD's in exchange for an album review.


Do you agree that Asian Bands are overlooked by much of the Metal world?

I agree, and then I also claim that Asia has given birth to so many great bands in the past and present which are very hard to be overlooked. They have proven that “your music speaks for your band”. Let’s see what the future brings.


2013 has been quite an interesting year for Bangladeshi Metal scene, specially for Orator. First, the release of “Kapalgnosis”, then the big news from Pulverised Records. How did this deal come about?

It was simple yet extreme. I wrote to brother Calvin, sent him few of our songs as sample. Both him and brother Roy Yeo were impressed and we got the record deal. Frankly this is the biggest thing that has happened to Orator so far.


What do you think of the overall Bangladeshi Metal scene right now? What are the goods and bads? Any new band(s) you would like to suggest to watch out for?

The scene is much better than it used to be. Bands with guts are showing up in the scene. They not only have good influences, but Warhound, Morbidity, Nafarmaan are some of the bands to look out for. And some promising Thrash Metal bands like Nuclear Winter, Enmachined, Thrash etc are building up a Thrash Metal scene which was previously totally absent.

Orator deals with Tantric occultism as far as the lyrical themes are concerned. Why and how did this mystical topic catch your interest to work on? What does Orator orate through the left hand Tantric ideologies?

Throughout the history Vama margh has proven to be one of the most unorthodox and extreme paths of self becoming, becoming into nothing. And this notion has drawn my interest very much. I personally use this tradition as a form to uphold the ultimate reality of nothingness, the unending vast void of ‘avyakta prakriti’ that every being or thing is destined to embrace. Orator is just the agent of the undifferentiated primordial chaos that is forever there and consuming.


You were a part of the legendary band “Weapon” before Vetis Monarch (founder of Weapon) moved to Canada. Earlier this year Vetis Monarch officially disbanded the band just when things were getting even bigger for them. He also stated in his “last” interview that he has untied himself from the isolation's of being a Black / Death metal musician’s life for good. What do you have to say about it?

It’s his life and I am sure his actions speak for himself.


What do you make of the studio facilities in Bangladesh in terms of recording Extreme Metal music?

We have many studios here to record the instruments and vocals. It gets frustrating when it comes to mixing and mastering. Most of the sound “engineers” here are into commercial mainstream pop rock shits to whom you cannot explain the type of output you want. Luckily we had Maamar Huq, of Sonic Occult Studio who himself is into metal music, so we did not have much trouble to deal with.


What holds for Orator in the future? When can the fans expect a new album under Pulverised Records?

Hopefully by mid 2015. There might be some demo tape releases in between this time, maybe in 2014.


Lastly, whats going to be Orator’s killing strategy for Banish The Posers Fest 2013?

Get up on stage, perform, and get off the stage.


Gratitudes for your time brother Skullbearer! Really appreciate it! The last words are going to be yours…

Deathrashing madness prevails! Keep up your apocalyptic support. Hail.


Orator is :

Skullbearer - Vocals, Guitar and lyrical concepts
Vritra Ahi - Bass
Mephistopeles Warmonger - Drums


https://www.facebook.com/pages/Orator/320273501690?ref=ts&fref=ts

By GMA's Bangladeshi Correspondent Nabil Abaddon.

Abominable Carnivore, formed in 2011, is an uprising Black / Death Metal force from the holy soil of Bangladesh. A country, largely populated by Muslims and has more to offer than you think. Abominable Carnivore sings the darkest lullabies and preaches about what is unholy and morbid. They had their debut EP ‘Light Devours Our Lust’ released via Dust and Guilt Records in 2012 and since then they never looked back. Abominable Carnivore had a destructive Nepal tour and now they are looking forward to desecrate India at the Entombed Metal Fest: Volume 4!

I Nabil, spoke to Dip Demodulated, the vocalist of Abominable Carnivore in the the dark streets of the capital city Dhaka and talked about their upcoming India Tour, their full length album and much, much more!

Ave brother! How is the band doing currently?

Ave! The band is alive again after a short hibernation. We have not performed at any gig for a while. We are back to our businesses and getting ready to slay!


Abominable Carnivore is going to headline the Entombed Metal Fest: Volume 4, Mumbai show which follows your Nepal tour in February, 2013. This is just great! How excited are you guys for the big event in India? How is the band preparing for it?

Obviously we are pretty much excited for the show! We are also very aware of the line up from top to bottom and it is going to be quite a competitive show for all of the bands. We toured Nepal and showed no mercy there. Mumbai will be no different! We are also looking forward to play with some class metal acts like Plague Throat, Gutslit, Insane Prophecy, Fragarak, Grossty and Dormant inferno. It is an honor for us that we’ll be sharing the stage with them. It is going to be a blood-shed battle and we are honing ourselves accordingly.

What are you guys expecting from the Mumbai metalheads? What do you have to say about Frameshift Initiative for organizing this unholy congregation of metal savagery?

Our thoughts and ideologies are pretty much similar with them, although Black / Death Metal is new in our country, Mumbai metalheads have been worshiping and preaching this music for a long time so they should brace themselves for total war! Also its going to be a big honor for us to be a part of this with them, performing at their festival. As for the organizers, killer initiative and gratitude to them for inviting us to be a part of the most chaotic, ruthless and intense gig of the year. I hope it will be a great one as well as it will help to make the bond of both countries and the bands stronger.

Alright, it has come to my attention that Abominable Carnivore have started to work on new songs for the full length album. Is that true? How are things working out? When are you hitting the studio?

Yes that is true. All the structures are ready for our new album which will come out very soon, the label will be announced later. Things are working out quite nicely and we are working hard both on the lyrical theme and instrumentation so that our views flourish well throughout them. We will be coming up with a new song which we will release for everyone before the Indian tour. Hopefully after coming back from India, we will then hit the studio for the rest of the materials to be recorded.


Talking about the lyrical theme, Abominable Carnivore deals with occultism. Is it going to be same for the full length album or is it going to be a conceptual album?

Pretty much. But we have also worked with issues like killing and the darkness of nature. ’Nazara’ is a good example of that. Our next album is going to be little different from our EP “Light Devours Our Lust" and yes it will be a conceptual album. There will be a lot of dark imagination incorporated into the lyrics. We wanted to push ourselves to cross the barriers and the new album will be a good example of that.


Coming back to the tours, Abominable Carnivore toured Nepal in February 2013 and played two gigs in Pokhara: ‘Valentine Massacre’ and ‘Butcher The Values’. How were the shows? Tell us about the Nepalese metalheads and organizers from ‘Brutal Pokhara’? Would you like to go to Nepal again to play more gigs?

When we went to Nepal, we neither had any expectations nor any clue about what was going to happen there. But we were overwhelmed by their hospitality and it did not take us much time to get friendly with them despite the language differences. Our first show ‘Valentine Massacre’ was pretty massive and we played in front of a crowd of some 1500 people open air! So that was a big thing for us as we do not get that sort of turn out in extreme metal shows back home in Bangladesh. We really enjoyed playing there and the crowd was moshing, headbanging and killing each other. It was intense!

As for the other gig, ‘Butcher The Values’ was organized by ‘Brutal Pokhara’ and we played with Narsamhaar and some other extreme metal bands from Pokhara. It was a pretty good experience. The show was in a bar and there was a crowd of 200-300 people. At first, the stage was set up outside the bar in an open space. But later on they had to change the set up and move inside due to the sudden downpour. It was really a good experience!

Two other bands from Bangladesh are also touring India in the same month! One of them is Nafarmaan, a Black / Death Metal band which was founded by Nohttzver (ex-Weapon). Then there is Jahiliyyah of the same genre, who are immensely talented and skillful. Apart from that, there was Eternal Armageddon which is disbanded now. What do you think about the Black / Death Metal scene and the whole metal scene overall in Bangladesh? Is the sub-genre growing in popularity in this part of the world where people are known to be more religious?


Coming from a country which is massively supported by Muslims, its pretty tough to do any kind of Metal music at the first place, let alone Black / Death Metal. But I would like to say that things are really changing around here which we could not think of five years back. A lot of bands are pumping in in the Metal scene but yes, the popularity of Black / Death Metal is relatively low in this part of the world. The foundation of Black / Death Metal on this holy land lays deep with the birth of the mighty Weapon. Eternal Armageddon also played a significant role. Though we only have a few Black / Death Metal bands but all of them are doing great music and the flavors really vary from band to band. As for Abominable Carnivore, we do what we believe and preach. Jahiliyyah and Nafarmaan have their own distinctive philosophies and flavors. We do have a strong community here amongst the bands. We (Abominable Carnivore) want to stay like that and keep producing quality music. As a matter of fact, we are doing pretty good as per our plans!

About the whole Metal scene, massive changes and improvements have been observed in the last few years. A lot of talented bands are coming up and they are focusing more on the originals. There are organizations like Primitive Invocation and Metal Morgue who are putting up quality shows. We had Manzer (France), Infernal Curse (Argentina) and Abigail (Japan) in Bangladesh. A lot of our bands are touring abroad and representing our country which is even greater! Altogether, our scene is getting better day by day, year by year.


Just out of curiosity, what influenced the name ‘Abominable Carnivore’?

Very interesting question you have asked. During the early days of this band, I was looking for such a name which would have that violent, extreme and ruthless vibe in it, keeping the sound we wanted to produce in my head. “Abominable Carnivore”, the name has those elements in it and it really represents those things, thus was the name fixed!


Well, share us which bands have been on your playlists lately!

Recently I have been listening to some interesting bands / albums constantly. Firstly, I would like to mention the latest album of Deeds of Flesh. I think its pretty cool and insane stuff! I am also listening to this really old band called Hideous Divinity and Evile’s new album ‘Skull’. That’s pretty much it at the moment.

Would you care to reveal a little as to what holds for the band in the future?

We are planning on touring with some Asian bands which I won’t reveal much about right now. You already know that we are working on our full length album. Theres a possibility of coming up with a split as well. As for the local shows, I can’t say much right now as there may be some chain shows this year and we are talking with some Asian bands to tour Bangladesh. It is going to be killerI Hopefully!


Thanks for the time Demodulated! I appreciate it. Finally, if you have any words for the fans, the space is all yours!

For the fans, I would like to pay my gratitudes to them for their immense support! Fans from Bangladesh, Nepal, India, Sweden and Malaysia you guys are awesome! I would like to thank our brothers from Jahiliyyah, Nafarmaan, Dissector, Enmachined, Narsamhaar, Dying Out Flame, Insane Prophecy and Plague Throat, thanks for the immense support!


https://www.facebook.com/abominablecarnivore

By GMA's India Correspondent Farzand Bawa

Enmachined is an old school Thrash Metal band from Bangladesh which has come to vile existence in the early days of 2011. The loggerheads are spreading the chaos of bone crushing metal madness through killer live onslaughts and through the destruction of everything that stands in their path. The lyrics of these thrashers are about protesting against oppression and real life events. They have vowed to kill with their ruthless sonic insurgence. Their first international gig will be Ritual Ascension Fest organized by Putrid Ascendency which is being held in Kolkata, India.

On the ground breaking appearance at Putrid Ascendancy's Ritual Ascension Fest II (in association with GMA), we go one step further and ask Anil, the Guitarist and Nasa, the Bassist from the Enmachined camp about their plans and news about their Demo which is to be released soon!


Hails, how is the band doing right now and how is the preparations going for the next attack at War.Cult.Supremacy?

Nasa - Thrash greetings from Bangladesh brother! Enmachined is doing great right now. The loggerheads are ready with their artilleries to strike at the hearts of everyone at the upcoming congregation of bestial death! Let the Visas be done. We are psyched to kill!

Anil - Greetings! The band is running on full pace now. The upcoming onslaught has encouraged us to kill with power and we are getting ready with hammers, axes whatever we can find to ensure that, there would be definite injuries at the venue and we are planning to inject our splinters and steels and we hope the parasites will control thereafter. Just hoping to get the license to kill, which would be Indian Visas on our passports.

How did Enmachined come to be in existence? And what is the ideaology behind the band name?

Nasa - Enmachined is the brainchild of five violent minds. We have all played with different bands earlier, but our respect for thrash metal has bonded us together to create this sonic barrage in early 2011. As for the name, Enmachined is a cosmological system where cyborgs will rule the earth and will crush the feeble mortals. We hope it happens soon!

Anil - In the beginning Noor, Abir and I the three thrashers joined forces to create some sonic artillery's in the early days of 2011. We were in a maze of troubles but we never stopped our aural carnage. Our will to terrorize the oppression's has let us advance this far, and about the name, it’s just a f**king great name and even we gave a meaning to it. It’s a man turning into a machine and he comes in one purpose - to destroy what destroys you! Enough said!


Often we hear the so called 'Religious-head's' coming into the path of "Metalheads" saying the music is harsh, Satanic and what not! Has the band experienced this?

Nasa - No bro. Religion and music are totally different entities. We have not yet faced such misconceptions.


And what is the major influences as far as the song writing is concerned for the band? Both lyrically and musically?

Nasa - The song writing is a cohesive effort. During our practice sessions we jam, and if we find riffs that sounds killer we work on those, and that’s how songs of Enmachined have been made. This is how we transcribe our sonic assaults.

Anil - There is no such major influences for song writing, but we do like raise our bullet belts against oppression which is usually expressed in our lyrics, and also real life events. Musically, we try to establish a killing field in correlation with cruel environment it will create.


The essence of the Old School Thrash Metal seems to be gone nowadays with the math-school shit acting as a disease, what are the band's thought's on that?

Nasa - That math-school garbage can rot in the toxic wastes of hospitals! Such kinds of false musical acts have polluted the music scenes worldwide. Enmachined has only one solution for them - just f**king butcher those fags mercilessly.

Coming back to the band, the much awaited "Thrash Assault" demo is killing more people soon. Any insight into it?

Nasa - Yeah it was a kickass journey for Enmachined. We learned a lot about how to infect the global metal with our thrash assaults, and we also got kudos from a lot of listeners from abroad. Their support is a massive win for us!

Anil - This demo would be a killer one and hope people won’t get enough of it. The song ‘Thrash Assault’ is one kickstart to our band’s success so far. Noor is the man behind it!


How is the scene back there in Dhaka?

Nasa - Yes the scene in Dhaka has been in a coma for a few years but slowly it has been improving.  A lot of international artists have played in some underground concerts arranged by the local metal hordes. The fans appreciation towards their music has also changed, like collecting demo tapes and official merchandise. Yeah, good days are here for Dhaka metal scenario.


Which albums would you guys see as the primary influences to the sound of Enmachined?

Personally we have some many influences that it will be illogical to mention all of them now. So let’s keep the list short at these –

Slayer - Show No Mercy
Sodom - Code Red
Nuclear Assault - Game Over
D.R.I. - Definition
Coroner - Mental Vortex
Overkill - Taking Over
Kreator - Extreme Aggression
Judas Priest - Painkiller

What is your take on the guys at Putrid Ascendancy?

Nasa - Massive respect! This group is doing a killer job promoting the vilest form of metal to the listeners. Their efforts of arranging killer gigs and supporting deserving acts are much appreciated by Enmachined. This is one of the true metal brotherhoods from India which will go a long way for their deadly efforts. Total support for them from the Enmachined horde.


How is the Indian scene looked upon by the guys back in Bangladesh, especially Kolkata?

Nasa - Yes the Indian scene is bloody awesome! We have an immense respect for the rising acts such as Necrodeity, Purgation, Armament, Kapalin and the other hordes exhibiting utter destruction! And who can forget the mighty Kryptos and Dying Embrace, the elder ones who have infused chaos into the Asian scene from a long time back! Massive respect to all of you vile hordes!

Anil - The Indian metal scene is growing day by day and making a strong bonding within the South Asian countries like Bangladesh, Nepal, Malaysia and Thailand. The bands are gradually motivating the bands of other countries and showing them that yeah we can do it too. The mighty Kryptos would be an example of how global metal can be.

It's sad that being in Metal money often becomes THE biggest factor and as a result some "compromises" have to be done, both with the quality as well as the sound. Has anything as such happened to Enmachined?

Nasa - Enmachined has been suffering from recognition since its savage birth. Still we have never given up our integrity because the urge to exhibit our sonic bestiality is beating in our hearts. Enmachined was, is and will always be true to the chaos it manifests!


Any chances of the band bringing in some Merchandise, or the awaited demo to Kolkata?

Nasa - Hell fucking yeah brother. If you don’t have cash, rob your nearest bank right now, cause we have some killer merchandises to sell!

Anil – Yeah, you sure don’t want to miss out any of the merchandises. The merchandise would be available at the venue only if we could pass through Indian customs with them. I guess we might have to bribe them with some merchandises as well haha!


Any words for all the fan's here in Kolkata waiting for the next killings?

Nasa - Brace yourselves. Some bones will surely be crushed!

Anil - Annihilation awaits, WE ARE COMING!

Best wishes go to Enmachined for their next occult venture. Burn the place down. Let there be "Murder in the front row". Hails!

Nasa - And there will be! Thanks for taking an interest on the loggerheads! Bone-crushing awaits Kolkata!

Anil - Yes, we are ready to slay holding axes. Beasts will be unleashed soon. Thanks and Kolkata, get ready!


Read the announcement of Enmachined's signing with Salute Records here


Enmachined:-

Abir - Vocals
Anil - Guitars
Noor - Guitars
Nasa - Bass
Sabbir - Drums.


https://www.facebook.com/enmachined
http://www.youtube.com/user/Enmachined


Facebook Event link for Ritual Ascension Fest II:-
https://www.facebook.com/events/154565728083266/

Interview by GMA's Bangladeshi Correspondent Nabil Abaddon
Banxai ChaosMaster a.k.a. Mim, is a supremely talented drummer who plays for the Technical Death Metal band Homicide. Homicide hails from Bangladesh, not really the place one would think of when it comes to that particular sub-genre of metal. However, with a very short history in the local scene, Homicide has proven to be one of the vilest bands out of the country. Homicice has just come out with their debut EP “Annihilation Pit”, which has been released by Infinite Regress Records, Australia. I spoke with Banxai to find out more about his band and himself.

Greetings Banxai! First of all, congratulations on the release of Homicide’s EP! Please give our readers a brief history of the band? How did the band’s formation come about?

Thanks! The journey of Homicide began in December, 2008 with three passionate members, Leon on Guitars, Istiaque on Vocals and Romen on Drums. They started jamming together to breed their inner violence through their ferocious and technical sound. As they were missing a bassist, the look up for a bass player was going on. A few days later, the line up completed as Anas joined the band as a bassist. As the pestilence was growing up, Romen decided to leave the band for study and other personal reasons few months later. The band was not able to find a suitable one until Reaz (of MechaniX) suggested Wahid as a substitute drummer. But it was a unfortunate for the band as Wahid also left the band due to musical differences. Finally I joined the violent squad of Homicide. The position of the other lead guitarist was maintained by Digonto (of Abominable Carnivore) for a few months, and then Shoumik joined as lead guitarist to continue Homicide's journey. Imtiaz Salim Tawkir is currently the manager and booking agent & Moin Ally is the official Photographer.


Technical Death Metal is relatively a new sub-genre in Bangladesh. What drew you guys into playing this style? Which bands inspire Homicide in that regard?

Yes, Technical Death metal is indeed a new Sub-genre in Bangladesh, but before we started this style of music, A band named Chromatic Massacre first started playing Technical Death metal in Bangladesh. Why are we doing this? Because this genre has influenced us from the beginning of our music career and we all wanted to do it. Moreover specially in Bangladesh, we don’t have many quality Death Metal bands except for the likes of Severe Dementia and Chromatic Massacre and both of the bands are paused for the time being. As we are inspired a lot by them, we wanted to continue the legacy what they have came up with, to show the whole world that Bangladesh is capable of doing this kind of music as well. The bands which inspire Homicide the most are Nile, Origin, Behemoth, Vital Remains, Hate Eternal, Cannibal Corpse, Psycroptic, Dying Fetus, Quo Vadis, Bloodbath, Decapitated, Severe Torture, The Faceless and lots more...

Tell us about the EP. The look of the album art reminds us a lot of the Ancient Greek action movies. What does the lyrical theme deal with?

Well, we wanted to make the whole EP like a story. All the songs are interrelated. And yes we talked about Ancient Greek stories in the EP. All the lyrics have been written by our vocalist Istiaque. Each of the songs contains Greek history. That is why the album cover is based on a Greek soldier and a battle field including four wolves as we are four member of the band. We also have used a shot recording in the intro from the Movie called 300.

Considering the complexed music you guys make, how does the song making process work in Homicide?

Well, usually we compose songs when we are together, like when we jam. Sometimes our guitarist comes up with his riffs. Then we make changes together to make the compositions colourful. It’s a challenge for us every single time as we make a composition, specially when we are representing Bangladesh. Most importantly to maintain the genre.

Lets talk about you brother. You have been playing drums for a long time now. How and when did it all start for you?

I never thought that I’ll be a drummer. I always wanted to be a guitarist. I used to play drums for my school parade band. Later on I used to teach my school mates as well. After that I figured out that I should continue my drumming with acoustic drums. Then I bought my first drum kit and my mentor was Reaz (Mechanix). I am ever grateful to him. Later on I found interest on Technical Death Metal as I was a huge fan of Nile. I took lessons from youtube as to how I can develop my blast beat and other techniques. Music was always my hobby. I never thought that my band and I will achieve this much. I think we all were really dedicated to what we are doing now. I must say we struggled a lot. Especially myself as we have less number of death metal bands here. We obviously don’t have many Death Metal drummers to teach those techniques. I really worked hard to come this far and yet have a long way to go.

Who are your personal influences or inspirations in drumming? And your favourite bands?

Pretty hard to answer. So many drummers in the list. Definitely my first favourite is Rafa from Severe Dementia and Reaz from Mechanix. I mainly follow George Kollias (NILE), and John Longstreth (Origin). And my favorite bands are NILE, ORIGIN, THE FACELESS, DYING FETUS, FLESHGOD APOCALYPSE, DEATH, MORBID ANGEL. Joey Jordison is also one of my favorite drummers. He inspired me a lot in drumming. Can’t argue with that.

Tell us about your gears Banxai! What do you like to use in the studio and live?

I prefer zildjian and I use them as well.

Cymbals:

Pitch black crash 17”
Pitch black crash 18”
Pitch black Heavy Ride 22”
Pitch black splash 10”
Pitch black Hi-hat 14”
Pitch black china cymbal 17”
I also have Paiste cymbal - Paiste crash 17”

Drums sticks:

Pro-mark and Vic Firth.
Drums stick Size: 7a

Pedal:

Iron Cobra twin pedal. These are not good enough for Death metal Drumming. I Prefer Axis. Soon I will switch to those.

Back in the early 2000’s, bands like Dripping Gore, Bloodlust, Ostitto were the first few bands to start this brutal music in Bangladesh. Severe Dementia took it to the next level. A lot of Death Metal bands have come and gone since then and now it seems that there are only three / four Death Metal bands active to bear that torch. What do you make of the Death Metal scene in Bangladesh? How things have changed in the scene now?

Well that's really a hard question. Dripping Gore, Bloodlust, Ostitto they were the pioneers of Death Metal scene In Bangladesh (none of them are active now). We have learned so many things from them. Back in the 2000’s, it was quite difficult doing Extreme Metal. I must admit we are here because of them. Talking about Severe Dementia, they are the main Inspiration of Death Metal in Bangladesh. You can ask just anyone! Each and everyone knows Severe Dementia’s music. Severe Dementia taught Bangladeshi metalheads what is Death Metal. Because of them, we are here and extreme metal still exists here. Back in 2000’s, it was quite impossible to make people understand what is extreme metal music. To most of the metalheads back then, the idea of metal music revolved around Metallica ,Megadeth, Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, Pantera etc. But Dripping Gore, Ostitto, Bloodlust, Severe Dementia changed that perception for good. Well, the main problem we face in Bangladesh is the lack of Extreme Metal listeners and musicians. Doing Death Metal is not an easy task. People here who are into this music don’t last long because of less recognition and lack of devoted followers. And another reason is that we have good number of Death Metal guitarists but really a few drummers. I don’t know about other Death Metal bands here, but I don’t have any plans to shut down Homicide. Recently the scene here has been changing rapidly though. Now we have quite a good number of Death Metal fans In and outside Dhaka. We have two International acts like Severe Dementia and Orator .Few weeks ago I had a tour with Homicide in Chittagong (2nd Major city of Bangladesh). It was one hell of an experience. Metal scene outside the capital is getting damn good day by day. It was quite unexpected. We are trying our level best to take it further, especially the Extreme Metal scene In Bangladesh. There are many organizations here who are working to keep up the spirit of Extreme Metal. One of them is Metal Morgue. They are doing quite well. I am really grateful to Saimum Hasan Nahian (Powersurege & Severe Dementia) and Rahman Kazi for organizing such level of gigs here through Metal Morgue. I am lucky that I have their full support.

Share your experience with the Australian record label Infinite Regress Records. How did the both parties get together? How are they promoting Homicide internationally?


Well, IRR is absolutely amazing. Basically, I mailed our mastered songs to the owners: Lindon and Steve. They are great people indeed. And they liked our tracks and agreed to sign Homicide immedietly. And so far it’s been a great experience for me to work with them. Homicide has plans for gigs in Australia and we will definitely hit Australia sometime soon. We also have plans for our full length album this year if things go well. This time around Steve is going to master all our tracks. We are looking forward to that. About the promotion, IRR is doing a great job! It is beyond our expectations and we thank them for the immense support. Not only IRR, each and every band from IRR is helping us. I would also like to thank Goliath for the amazing album art.

Thanks a lot for your time comrade! Any last words?

It was an honour giving an interview to GMA. The day is not far away when Bangladesh will have some insane metal crowds and we will arrange shows like Wacken and Bloodstock. I want to see my limits.

You can follow Homicide on our facebook page:

https://www.facebook.com/homicide.bd?directed_target_id=0

You can also buy our EP from :

http://infiniteregressrecords.com/store/ep/irr-new-release-homicide-annihilation-pit-ep/

You can also search on iTunes by typing 'HOMICIDE Technical Death metal'.