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.
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“In metal there are a handful of successors. Most of them fail to reach out to the listeners. This isn’t because they are fated to do so, but because they took the wrong turn!” 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. So Morbidity’s full length album is coming out soon. The teaser on YouTube sounds quite promising. Please tell us more about the album. Is it going to be a conceptual one? What do the lyrical themes deal with? Yes, it’s coming out via Me Saco Un Ojo Records (UK) in LP format. Though it was fixed to be released this year but due to some unavoidable circumstances it will be releasing the year after. The album has that Scandinavian, especially Swedish and Finnish Death Metal sound that is rare to hear in these parts of the globe along with distinctive morbid flavors of our own, in one word it will be “CRUSHING”. The lyrical theme deals with Death, Darkness and Occultism. Readers can view the morbidity album teaser here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KTmaTvsuBDc&feature=youtu.be Being an Old School Death Metal band in 2013, with all the modern technology available now, do you think releasing demo tapes with muddy production is still necessary? Or is it just to make the ‘Old School’ statement? Haha! The term “old school” obliterates the moment the production and sound quality is polished and glossy. The mission statement of OSDM is to create the sound as our forefathers shaped which is raw, dark and evil. For me a demo should be created as raw and filthy that it can be. Well tell us a bit about yourself Azerate! What gears do you use for live and recording? Also tell us about your influences in music. My prized possessions are Dean Razorback 255 and Pod XT Live which I procured back in 2010. I have used them ever since both in live and for studio sessions. If you ask me as a guitarist then Yngwie J. Malmsteen, Jason Becker, Buckethead, Gary Holt and the list goes on and on. As for bands, one name - Iron Maiden. What are your five most favorite albums that you’ll never stop listening to? Azerate: Tough answer indeed. Iron Maiden – Seventh Son of a Seventh Son Sodom – Persecution Mania Asphyx – Last One on Earth Crypt Of Kerberos – World of Myths Gammacide – Victims of Science You joined Morbidity in 2011. What are the changes that you have noticed in the local scene since then? How difficult is it to find Metal musicians of the same taste in Bangladesh? Well, to begin with I was about to join Morbidity back in 2010 but due to working with two other bands I couldn’t do so. Though, the concept and the music always allured me. After joining them what I realized was how little knowledge I possessed about death metal especially OSDM and how far, out-reached its realm was, which made me astounded. Yes, the scene changed drastically during 2012. Every other band was doing old school metal and people’s taste was reaching to newer limits. They finally realized which was true and which was not. And I’m glad to be a part of it. And about finding musicians with similar tastes, It isn’t difficult to find them if u look in the right places haha. Yes, I do believe 2-3 years back it was hard to locate them but now every other guy I know does good music and I always support music which is good. You also have an Old School Thrash Metal Band called Nuclear Winter right? Would you like to tell us a bit about that band? What’s that particular thing in Old School era that attracts you so much and made you be parts of two different outlets of Old School Metal? Nuclear Winter is a straight out Thrash Metal project which aims to deliver fast paced nuclear thrash attack, distinctive in nature. The band is busy with the rehearsal tape which would be out soon from Hellhouse666 Productions. Old school music has that raspy, gruesome, evil sound about it that allures me the most. The fact is that, in metal there are a handful of successors. Most of them fail to reach out to the listeners. This isn’t because they are fated to do so, but because they took the wrong turn. Reasons are obvious, I think you know that too. As a rule, they have no actual artistic drive and they try to imitate other superior acts. Sadly, they won’t be getting any of it and would wind up somewhere else. Old school music defines my ideas and creates an atmosphere, a platform for me to pass it to the listeners. Both of the bands know what they preach and will triumph evidently. What are your future plans for Morbidity apart from the full length album? Any chances of performing overseas? All will be unveiled pretty soon. We ask our supporters to hold onto their sits. As for the shows, we are already taking arrangements for performing overseas. Thanks for your time brother! Much appreciated. The last words are yours…. Thanks to you too for the immense support and the interview. Only death is real. https://www.facebook.com/pages/Morbidity/133630130030339 http://morbidity.bandcamp.com/ https://soundcloud.com/me-saco-un-ojo/morbidity-skull-chaos By GMA's Bangladeshi correspondent Nabil Abaddon Purgation is a five piece metal band that hails from the vibrant city of rich cultural background, Kolkata (Calcutta)! Within a very short history of existence, they have created quite a buzz around their hometown and all around India alike with their appearance at Bangalore-based yearly fest ‘Undergrind’ (shared the stage with Singaporean Grind legends Wormrot) and their Death Metal cover of ‘Terminal Show’ at a Motorhead tribute album from India. Purgation is all set to unleash their debut EP “Exterminated Malfeasance” via Slaughterhouse Records and is preparing themselves for their second invasion in Bangladesh for the upcoming Banish The Posers Fest. I caught up with Subhajit, the vocalist of the band over the net to talk about the band, their debut EP and what not! Here is how the conversation was like! If you live in Bangladesh, you should surely check these young guns out at Banish The Posers Fest 2013. Ave brother! How is the band doing currently? Hey man, we are doing great. Our drummer is slowly recovering from a fatal accident. Although Debanjan is in Germany now, we are all set to kick some candy ass in Bangladesh. So This is going to be Purgation’s second tour to the East Bengal. You guys played here in Death Skull Ritual II just 7 months back. How excited are you guys to come back for more at Banish The Posers Fest 2013? What is going to be the slaying strategy this time? First of all we are very thankful to all our brothers from Bangladesh. They have been supporting us all throughout. Death Skull Ritual II was absolutely kickass. We were looking forward to more gigs in Bangladesh. Banish The Posers Fest is honestly one gig every band would have loved to play in. The lineup is insane and we had a killer crowd support back in DSR 2. We are really looking forward to this gig and of course we do have few surprises as well. Did you try any local delicacy or street food in Dhaka last time? Of course we did. We had a special dish from Dhaka (Don’t remember the name) but it was top notch. Alright! Now let’s talk a bit about the band. Please elaborate on how the band initially started. What were the directions and motivational factors to start Purgation? We were basically known to people as Flesh Protocol. Debanjan and I had formed the band and the sound we planned was already different from the ones we had out here. After a few months we went for a couple of changes in our line up with a second guitarist in our band.The line up at the beginning of new year, 2011 was Debanjan bro on guitars, Denzil on guitars, Ayushman on bass, Abhinava on drums and I on Vocals. Arijit replaced Abhinava on drums who left the band around mid August'12 due to some unavoidable circumstances. Actually the name of the band is Purgation and not Purgation Inc. We added the "Inc." word to our Facebook page just to identify it separately from our group. Now that Abhinava is back again we are all set to kick some serious ass. How did the band name come about and what do you want to convey through it? It was a random name just like we used to call it Flesh Protocol. Since the lineup was brand new, we decided to give a one word name to it. Purgation means "cleansing" to be very precise. Purgation has been signed by Slaughterhouse Records for the upcoming EP ”Exterminated Malfeasance”. Purgation have also hooked up with Jeff Fischer from USA for the mixing and mastering duties. How did that come about? We were more than delighted to know that JR Torina bro from Slaughterhouse Records was interested to get us signed to his record label. Ayushman was busy sending our demo tracks to few renowned record labels in the world. We had a few responses but JR bro was in with full support. The idea of an EP cropped up almost a year ago but we lacked enough resources to make it happen. Jeff Bro has been there for us all throughout. We mixed and mastered our Motorhead Tribute track from him. Somehow we got hold of Tushar Da (of Pentatonic Studio) who helped us a lot in recording, mixing and mastering our tracks. Purgation was also featured in a Motorhead tribute album from India and you guys covered the track ‘Terminal Show’ which is one of the heavier Motorhead tracks. Purgation covered it quite decently with turned down guitars and growled vocals. Please tell us about the experience. What were the responses that you have received from the fans? It was one hell of an experience. We are thankful to the whole crew that gave us this opportunity to be on board with some of the best bands from our country. I approached Srikanth Bro from Bevar Sea and he was really interested in giving us this opportunity. It was basically a home recording with drums programmed because our drummer was out of town. We really regret on that part, however Jeff bro tried his best to make it sound professional. We had mixed responses to be honest but the major part of the crowd appreciated the fact that we did not budge away from our area of comfort, Death Metal. For those who don’t know Purgation, which song would you like to suggest to them and why? "Communal Carnage"! This song reflects our sound perfectly. The lyrical aspect gets portrayed beautifully. Check Communal Carnage on YouTube. How is the metal scene like in Kolkata in terms of musicians, bands, venues and gigs? I have heard that Kolkata used to be full of Metalcore bands and pretentious pseudo metalheads once upon a time. Then dedicated organizations like Putrid Ascendancy, KOSMA emerged strongly out of the fog and a new era started in Kolkata since then. How much has the scene changed or evolved you think? would you like to suggest us some bands from there? The metal scene in Kolkata was more like bollywood. Fortunately the trend followers have all died with the inception of Putrid Ascendancy. It all started with Metalcore, Deathcore and finally it had come to a halt with the likes of Djent and other ass foolery genres we have nowadays. KOSMA is new and they are oozing with confidence and talent. We really have promising bands like Armament, Gypsy and of course Necrodeity who have already set an example for young lads trying to follow the right path. Coming to a personal question, how did you get into Death Metal and who do you take your inspirations from?
From being naïve listeners to getting better day by day, we decided to choose the best and create the sound that helps us to deliver the message to the people more elegantly. Death metal had always been our first priority. We have our influences from the likes of early Suffocation, early Deeds Of Flesh, Immolation, early Morbid Angel, early Cannibal Corpse, early Cryptopsy, the list never ends. Our primary inspiration is drawn from mighty acts like Autopsy, Grave, Benediction, Obituary, and Unleashed and of course Acts like Dying Embrace, Kryptos, Bevar Sea from our country and Orator, Morbidity, Nafarmaan from Bangladesh. Most of the Metal bands these days portray atheistic or nihilist ideologies through their music. Whats your take on this? Also tell us what are Purgation’s lyrical themes based on? There is no problem in portraying nihilist or atheistic ideologies in the form of music. The main concern is about the way you put it. It is very important to amalgamate the ideologies with the band’s sound. Our lyrical theme is totally based on anti-socialism, against the system, corruption and I use a bit of occultism as well. What do you think of the Extreme Metal scene in Bangladesh? Do you listen to any bands from ‘Opar Bangla’? The extreme metal scene in Bangladesh is f**king A. With bands like Morbidity, Orator and Nafarmaan one becomes anything but skeptical about the extreme metal scene out there. Then we have bands like Warhound, Enmachined, Nuclear Winter as well. Bunch of talented people who are really true to their music. The crowd is insane. What do you have to say about the folks from Primitive Invocation? The brothers from Primitive Invocation are doing a great job. Organizing such huge gigs requires lot of responsibilities. They are setting examples and helping people in other countries take similar initiatives as well. What holds for the band in the future? Any sneak peak? Well, we do have our EP on its way from USA. We are planning to release our EP on the gig day itself making it a grand occasion. Alright mates. Thanks a ton for giving us your time! Really looking forward to see you guys perform in BTPF 2013. Hails! Anything you want to say to your fans? The space is all yours. This is for our brothers in Bangladesh who are fighting against the political turmoil in their country. F**K THE SYSTEM!! http://facebook.com/PURGATION “I want to represent what I am, what Savage Deity is! We want to show the true Death Metal from Bangkok / Thailand to the world!” It is quite a hard task to keep track of what is happening in the most exotic parts of the planet when it comes to Extreme Metal. Thailand, a country mostly known for its tourism, body massage shops, crazy night-life, Mua Thai boxing and tourist destinations, perhaps has become one of the fastest growing Metal hubs in Asia; especially when it comes to the “underground cult”. Savage Deity is an old school Death Metal band hailing right from the streets of Bangkok. Formed in 2010, Savage Deity has a 7” vinyl split EP with Goatchrist666 and has performed at the Siamese True Metal Festival with the Black / Death Metal legends Impiety. Heavily influenced by the old predecessors of Death Metal, Savage Deity exhorts rebel against all the conventional false religions & deities and summons upon the ancient occult entity through their music. On the 16th of November, Savage Deity is going to have their international debut at Banish The Posers Fest 2013 in Bangladesh. GMA's Bangladesh Correspondent Nabil Abaddon caught up with Ray Mullaxul over the internet, lead guitarist and the founder member of Savage Deity and talked to him about their trip to Bangladesh for Banish The Posers Fest 2013, their upcoming full length album and much much more. Infernal Hails to you brother Ray! You are the lead guitarist of a young Death Metal band from the depths of Thailand. Would you like to tell us how did the band come about? What is the meaning behind the band moniker? Please tell us the ideological references for such band name. We began at the end of 2010, the band initially started with Twish on bass and vocals and me on guitars, Tanasan from Nuclear Warfare then joined to play drums with us. We recorded and self-released a demo “Rehearsal Tape 2011” and also worked on a 7” vinyl split EP “Icons of the Wicked” with Goatchrist666 in 2012. We have gone through some line up changes this year. We have Thinnarat on drums now (replacing Tanasan) and our second guitarist Saran aboard. So we are a four piece band at the moment. Now, we are about to release our debut album ‘Amulet of Sin’ from Slaughterhouse Records (USA) and looking forward to playing some gigs. By the name ‘Savage Deity’, we refer to the ideologies of ‘The Ancient Ones’, ‘Occult God’, sometimes the ‘Evil God’ or ‘Satan’ from the ancient dark side. Banish The Posers Fest 2013 is going to be Savage Deity’s first international gig. How excited are you guys? What are you expecting from the Bangladeshi metalheads? I’m f**king excited to be there! It seems like ‘I am gonna play this gig and I’m gonna have some adventure too!’ This is really our first overseas gig and first time in Bangladesh too. I’ve heard that Bengal metalheads are fucking awesome! The hellish crowd and the consistent concert goers are there. I wanna see them all in front of stage when Savage Deity goes there! Do you have much idea about the Bangladeshi Metal scene? Do you follow any bands from the Bengal? I think the Bengal metal scene is awesome. I’ve seen in the photos that everyone goes to the shows and makes a big crowd. I don’t know much about the bands though. But I’m certainly a big fan of Orator! They’re the most bestial Metal act ever in Bengal scene. If I am not mistaken, you guys have played at the ‘Siamese True Metal Festival’ for two years in a row, right? How has been the experience? Please tell us more about the festival. Actually, We’ve played at the STM festival only in the first year, on 2011. The gig included 15 bands and started from mid-day till the midnight. We performed with great bands like Impiety, GxSxD, Surrender Of Divinity, Zygoatsis at that gig. It was a great experience. Savage Deity is going to come up with their debut full-length album “Amulet of Sin” this year from Slaughterhouse Records, USA. Any insights about the album? Is it going to be out in tape format or CDR? The album will be released in CD format worldwide and the production is going to be limited to 500 copies only. We will also release the album in tape format via Demonized Productions, Thailand. Get a glimpse on what awaits for you in the album ‘Amulet of Sin’ here What is the Metal scene like in Thailand in terms of what festivals are there, venues, labels, media and most importantly the bands? Which bands would you recommend us from there? Also tell us about the fans and how they support Metal? We have no big festivals here yet. We have a newly opened Metal shop called ‘Sick Chainsaws Metal shop’ by the label Sick Chainsaws Productions. I’d like to recommend Thai bands like Goatchrist666 (Black / Death Metal), Intricated (Brutal Death Metal), Heretic Angels (Legendary Death Metal), Zygoatsis (Black / Death Metal), Surrender Of Divinity (Black Metal) etc. Thai fans are really supportive to the bands. They also support by going to the gigs in the middle levels. Lets talk a bit about you Ray, how did you get into Metal music, playing Death Metal and who do you take your inspirations from? I’ve been into this music ever since I was a kid and my father inspired me to pick up the guitar. He’d play the videos of Queen, Gun n Roses, Metallica and Def Leppard and teach me the songs on the guitar. When I was about 15 years old, I got the compilation CD ‘Best of Roadrunner’ from which I discovered bands like Sepultura, Obituary, Deicide, Malevolent Creation, Suffocation, Pestilence and Death. I was totally blown away by their music. I told myself that I must get all the f**king stuffs of these bands! I became a crazy fan of Death Metal right away and began practicing my guitar skills. I take my inspirations from my favorite Death Metal guitarist Trey Azagthoth from Morbid Angel! Can you give me five albums that you would want to take to your grave? The five albums would be
Whats your take on religion and spirituality? I just have interest on occultism and anti-christianity. I don't need Jesus Christ because I have my own way of seeking truth and the Christians way back then would have said that I am evil because they had this authoritarian type of view and they wanted to control everything. I don’t believe in any of the Gods at all. What are the future plans of Savage Deity? Any more tours outside your country or any festivals coming up? Yes, we are looking forward to more gigs and overseas tours in 2014 to promote our debut album ‘Amulet Of Sin’ ! Savage Deity has a split with Goatchrist666 called “Icons Of The Wicked” which came out via Legion Of Death Records. Please tell us more about that alliance. Absolutely! Goatchrist666 are our blood brothers. We wanted to show our brotherhood to the world. We had to contact with so many labels to release a split EP in 7” vinyl format but they ignored us. Until we contacted with ‘Shaxul’ from Legion Of Death Records and we finally released it in 2012. The production was limited to 300 copies and included 2 exclusive tracks from each band. It has come to my attention that Savage Deity will be on a compilation featuring the most gruesome cult bands like Mantak, Belligerent Intent, Twisted Fate, Orator etc. When is it coming out? What do you make of the underground cult movement in this part of the world? Mark Aitken from Twisted Fate is the person who is managing everything. He can tell you better. It’s the compilation of the bands from South East Asia, also from the Australian region. Well, I just want to do my own thing. Attitude, goal and the stand point is very important. I want to represent what I am, what Savage Deity is! We want to show the true Death Metal from Bangkok, Thailand to the world! Gratitudes for your time Ray. Looking forward to Savage Deity’s performance in BTPF 2013. Ave! Any last words for the readers and fans? Thank you so much GMA, for the great interview session. To all the Bengal Metalheads, See you in Dhaka! Get ready for our gruesome sacrifice and the upcoming debut album ‘Amulet Of Sin’! http://www.facebook.com/pages/Savage-Deity http://www.youtube.com/savagedeity "The music just tends to, we try to write it as if it's a soundtrack for war you know?"
By Rhys Stevenson
On Sunday 11th 2013, GMA managed to get a few words with Irish Death Metal bruisers Warpath, well we say a few, probably more than that but enough to get the answers we wanted LOL. This was on a hot day and the beer was flowing freely and well the interview just sums up the mood in the camp, bloody happy as larry. Listen to the audio version for the in between bits, banter and more as well as some questions we left out of the text form. We have chosen 5 of the questions for text form, the rest are on audio. Duration: 16 minutes Rhys Stevenson for Global Metal Apocalypse with 3 band-members from the Irish Metal band Warpath, who are you, what do you play and how did you become part of the band? Joe: My name's Joe, I play guitar and I gave them all blowjob's to get it. Darren: My name's Darren, I play vocals and I... (laughs) 'play vocals', I DO vocals and all I do is give a two-ey blowjob. Eoin: I'm Eoin, I play bass now and I used to play guitar but then Joe gave me a lot of blowjob's so I moved to bass. Darren: Already off gone are the homosexuals... (banter continues) 'we are drunk man' So Warpath, what does it mean and who came up with the band name? Darren: It's funny actually it's a funny story man, I was out drinking when I was about 17, 18 and eh this guy was walking down the road and I reckon he was out of it on some sort of drugs, but he was f**king running down the road, bursting on doors, kicking in f**king gates, everyone was just going crazy and we just started up a band and were called Manslaughter at the time you know it's a f**king retarded name, but like we were we have to change that, so we were trying to think of a name and one of our mates was like look at this f**king madman he's on a warpath and we're like man warpath that can be our band name, so that's basically how it started. Now the music just tends to, we try to write it as if it's a soundtrack for war you know? That's basically it man, just a drunken story (all laughs). We're Irish, that's what it is, they're always the best stories. So you would say a lot has changed since because you used to have the Irish Punt, didn't you? Now you have got the Euro, so has everything gotten dearer? Eoin: Yeah well I think so, the drink has definitely got dearer I tell you that man, it's ridiculous. Joe: Euro only came in 11 years ago, I've only gotten used to it nowadays. Darren: Don't forget the Punt issues, it's f**king really handy! A lot of places tend to cause the state of the f**king econonmy, people try to have drink promotions and put on special offers like 2-for-1 and stuff, so that kinda helps a bit. But it's weird coming over to England and you use Pound Sterling and we're trying to figure out what we're actually paying because you have to try and convert it and stuff, (Joe adds: and then it will actually be cheaper when we do!), aye it is a bit cheaper. And of course you're signed to Underground Movement, how did that happen? Darren: Ian Lawless runs the whole Underground Movement scene and he does a brilliant job, he's a one-man show, it's a DIY label you know? It's kinda like what you put into it, you get out of it. Ian is like the host that would promote your music, you know he doesn't take anything and he doesn't make a lot of money out of it. He just loves to promote the local scene and does a great job. As a label I wouldn't say we're really signed to him, the new album I say we will try and get something different... (Joe or Eoin interjects): He independently released the last two albums so, we're hoping and looking for a better label support. (Darren rejoins): We call it Debt Metal sometimes, D-E-B-T Metal like Death Metal, it's not cheap to be in a band nowadays man. It's a hobby at the end of the day, it's not a lifestyle or a career, well it is a lifestyle but it's not a career like you don't do it for money, you do it for the metal. In my eyes every hobby costs you money anyway, if you're going to join the gym you need a membership card, if you're going to play golf you need to buy clubs, all that kind of shit you know? Finally have you got any hello's, greetings, thank you's, you wish to issue to your fans, your friends, your family, etc? Joe: Thanks to all the Bloodstock owners and everyone that voted for us in the competition and everyone that has saw us live or bought any of our merch and helped keep us doing what we do. Cheers for that, we appreciate that, that's why we do it, if we broke down we wouldn't be here. Also I'd like to say thank you to anyone who came down extra early yesterday for our set, because our set times got switched and if they hadn't have come earlier then we probably wouldn't have had a crowd, because towards the end of our set we had a bigger crowd. Darren: Yeah man, same as Joe really I suppose all the promoters that put the shows on for us cause without them there wouldn't be a show, H from Dublin Metal events, Ian Lawless from Underground Movement, everyone who voted for us and comes to the shows, our girlfriends, our families they're all very supportive, they're always by our sides and so yeah like all you guys, thank you (laughs). We love you! Simon Hall from Bloodstock, because he's the main man here, if it wasn't for him we wouldn't have had the chance to play this festival, and I'd like to say thanks to you Rhys for the interview, it's guys like you who get the word out! Every bit of promotion helps. It's an underground band at the moment so every little bit of promotion really helps. Eoin: Thanks to everyone who comes out, yeah all the bands we've played with over the years and gave us influences, everyone who comes to the shows, everyone who voted for us in this competition, it was a great f**king day to play yesterday, we're all so happy to be playing. Cheers guys and stay Metal \m/ https://www.facebook.com/pages/Warpath-Ireland/111826338908048 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! “Coming from a country which is massively supported by Muslims, it's pretty tough to do any kind of Metal music” 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 Farzand Bawa Nafarmaan is a Black / Death Metal band who formed in 2008 and hails from the lands of the mighty Bengal. The detested ones, the Nafarmaans each united by common hatred for the sacred entity, are bound to obliterate all who dare to stand against their ideologies; which as the name suggests is anti-religious. Vowing not to spare believers of any religion, for all is the same and hence are guilty of the same crime. Lyrically the band never intends on exhorting anything but that which is deemed as the exact representation of their hatred for the very foundations of all so-called established religions which are a direct translation of the name of the band Nafarmaan, the blasphemer, the disobedient. On the acknowledgement of their very first live performance which will be at the upcoming Ritual Ascension Fest II, as one of the two headlining acts from Opar Bangla, Global Metal Apocalypse goes ahead and interviews their drummer, Nohttzver (ex-Weapon) and their vocalist, Imam Iblis (Bloodlust) on their debut gig, debut EP, "Quayamat Lullaby" and how the band have been going since their beginning in 2008! The interview was conducted by "D" on behalf of GMA! Read on for further blasphemy... Hails, hows the band doing right now and whats the killing strategy for this upcoming nuclear war invasion: War.Cult.Supremacy? Nohttzver: Ave! Nafarmaan is doing great and are sharpening it’s blades for the upcoming nuclear war invasion at the moment. Apart from a few Visa related glitches presently the band is ready to kill. Imam Iblis: Thanks a lot for having an interest on Nafarmaan. Much appreciated. We have been rehearsing and raging to hit the stage. Debut show seems to be just like we wanted it to be. This is your debut performance. How excited or determined are you to desecrate and banish everything in your path at War.Cult.Supremacy? Nohttzver: As Imam mentioned earlier, Nafarmaan was itching to go live and what better than inaugurate the first live ever in India and in a majestic city like Kolkata. Currently the Bangalore and the Kolkata hordes are considered to be the truest die-hard metalheads from India in my books. The maniacs over at Kolkata are going to witness the wrath called Nafarmaan first hand and for the first time since this is going to be our first ever live appearance, so expect nothing short of what your expectations are from us. Guess it’s pretty special for all of us. Imam Iblis: It’s not a measure of the level of excitement or determination. It doesn’t go up or down. May it be a rehearsal or a live act, it’s always up there. Nafarmaan means just that. Uncompromisable filth and disrespect for all organized morality. We are absolutely honored to be a part of this occasion. Going back to the very basic questions, How did Nafarmaan come to its existence? Could you tell us about its initial line up and member changes? Have all these effected the sound of the band anyhow? Nohttzver: Nafarmaan was a thought I conjured up. I never intended to create a line up after my former band Weapon which I co-founded as well. I was totally out of reach and didn’t have a single thing to do with music rather than even metal back around 2005 / 2006. Let’s just say I was confronting my inner demons and getting in and out of rehab ha ha. My thought progressed and started taking form in 2008 when I was approached by longtime friend and guitarist Agnee Azaab. We started writing songs and I came up with the name of the band. There has been three lineup changes so far. Vocalist, bassist and a guitarist. The former members were quite a burden for the force and none played their respective roles when called for. So parting ways was inevitable. Nafarmaan took form mainly after we got hold of Imam Iblis. The founder of the first ever Death Metal band from Bangladesh ‘Bloodlust’. He has always been a kickass vocalist with a reputation to go with that. The Nafarmaan sound was complete when in early 2012 two new additions were made to the lineup. Nafrat and Marhoum. It is just not the sound that makes us an entity but rather our ideologies, beliefs and perceptions of how we see things. What is the meaning of Nafarmaan? Could you tell me about the ideological reference for such name? Nohttzver: The name Nafarmaan is mainly an Islamic / Urdu name. It means insubordination / rebellious / disobedience to any forms of beliefs mostly religious beliefs and ideologies. We dont and will not support any false religions and we stand as who we are, for we are Nafarmaans. Imam Iblis: Simply put, Nafarmaan is the worst kind of sinner. We embrace it! Hailing from Bangladesh and playing such abrasive and harsh music with blasphemous lyrics, have you ever faced any kind of oppression or threats? Nohttzver: Yes we have actually, and quiet a number of times. The most memorable one for us was during our recording sessions for the EP. Someone from the recording studio deliberately erased three vocal files from the vocal takes when he understood what our lyrics were about. We being who we are, went in and got things done our way. Apart from that these nuisances keeps on happening, so we don’t really give a f**k. Imam Iblis: We would’ve been the ones who mock faith and morality even if we weren’t making music. That is the reason behind choosing such a form of music to vomit out how we feel. These threats from people with zero sense of humor and rotten cum in their head have been coming in for years. These things don’t matter. Could you shed some light on the bands musical references? What kind of bands or musicians have influenced the style you guys play? Nohttzver: Our influences ranges from Polligiti (subcontinental folk songs), eastern classical, to the vilest extreme forms of noises there are. Imam Iblis: I personally listen to most forms of music. There’s just way too many to name. But I think my influences come more from literature and art than music itself. A 70% - 30% split would be approximately correct. Could you tell us about how Nafarmaan writes their material as in song writing process, is there any particular process you follow? Nohttzver: Basically till now me and Agnee writes the skeleton of the tracks and the rest of the band works on it. Lyrical concept is thought of before making the riff lines. So, you can understand, the riffs are made to follow the profanity the words describe. Whats your opinion on the Asian underground cult movement? Since Nafarmaan will be on a compilation featuring some of the most influential bands like Mantak, Belligerent Intent, Orator, Twisted Fate, Savage Deity etc.. Nohttzver: As you know, we are already a part of a compilation involving the bands you mentioned. Great ties and brotherhood between us. The Asian underground scene has been flourishing quite rapidly nowadays. We have nothing but respect for those who keep producing true sound of death. We as Nafarmaan, are proud to be a part of this movement which represents an authentic sound, spearheading our native sound to the global ears. And mighty proud of it too! Imam Iblis: Ah! Excellent sound on each of the bands you mentioned. Originality is present for each band’s noise. That’s what matters. I like the way how they’ve worked to give their band’s name a definitive sound. Respect! What do you think of Indian scene in general? Are there any bands Nafarmaan would want to collaborate with in future? Imam Iblis: Promising acts are coming out these days from India, especially Bangalore and Kolkata. Necrodeity, Purgation, Armament, Kapalin, Bevar Sea, Witchgoat just to name a few, and there are, Kryptos, Dying Embrace from the legendary ones. About collaboration, as I mentioned, these bands all have great sound, so when/if it happens you guys will be the first to know! Tell us about the scene in Dhaka, In past and present. In term of purity of Metal, accessibility of skilled and knowledgeable musicians and work ethics? Also tell us about the fans and how they support metal? Do they support the bands by attending gigs, buying the official merch and materials? Hows the gig scene in Dhaka? Imam Iblis: I’d say it has been quite unfortunate for the Bangladesh underground scene for many years. No point detailing out the reasons, but it has been quite poor in most of the faculties you mentioned. However, for the past few years, things have started to look promising. There have been some excellent underground concerts, involving international artists as well. Fans seem to have taken a great interest in researching about the kind of music they actually like, getting their hands on official merchandise. This could be a good start. Going back the EP, that is coming out soon, "Quayamat Lullaby", when did the band started writing the EP? Nohttzver: F**k! That will be from 2008, the concepts and the song writing process started from then apart from a track or two. I must also mention that the songs wouldn’t have been what they are if it wasn’t for one of our brother Godslayer’s contribution. We are indeed grateful to him. The EP seems to have four songs, is there anymore song the band had written? Imam Iblis: Six tracks were recorded that night. The 4 tracks of the EP and two other. One of them, ‘Azaab Al Muminun’ is getting released on the ‘Southern Death Compilation CD’. Nohttzver was the former drummer of legendary black metal band Weapon, so how Nafarmaan is different from Weapon? Is it a continuation of old primitive black metal sound of Weapon or separate entity that has its own musical DNAs? Nohttzver: Weapon was Weapon. My era with Weapon mostly emphasized on songwriting that dealt with basic Death / Black or rather Black song structures but with utmost rawness. Nafarmaan is completely different from what you’ve heard from Weapon, the only two things you might find similar are one being Nafarmaan as like Weapon will give you something entirely different sound wise, and two you can relate to my playing a bit. Name 5 most favourite albums that are important to Nafarmaan. I:Blasphemy – Fallen Angel of Doom. Sarcofago - I.N.R.I Mayhem - De Myteriis DomSathanas Venom – Black Metal Morbid Angel - Altars of Madness The list is endless. Any words to the fans?
Nohttzver: Submit and Embrace the wrath that is called Nafarmaan. What is your opinion about the guys at Putrid Ascendancy? Nohttzver: Those guys are sick! Total respect to what they are doing to keep the true form of extreme metal alive, may it be gigs to promoting true deserving acts. This undoubtedly one of those banners from India who really knows what they are doing. Their support and brotherhood in its entirety is very much appreciated and cherished by us all. Our best wishes to them. Imam Iblis: Excellent metalheads infest what is called Putrid Ascendancy. Support from Nafarmaan for all the madness they are to bring! Hails! We wish Nafarmaan a very successful invasion in Kolkata. KILL! Also total support for this upcoming EP! Keep the black flame burning and cult alive! Thanks for this interview! Ave Lucifer! Nohttzver: Thanks, Ave! Imam Iblis: Thanks a lot. Till we meet in Kolkata. Line up: Nohttzver - Drums (ex-Weapon) Nafrat - Guitars Imam Iblis - Vocals (Bloodlust) Marhoum - Bass Agnee Azaab - Guitars EP teaser:- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zNFHK5nrY6Y https://www.facebook.com/Nohttzver?fref=ts 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'. In our search for some of the most unknown places for metal we checked out Nepal. Mostly what we know about Nepal is that Gautam Buddha was born there, Mount Everest exists there and that it is mainly mountains with very little economy boost in the past. So, from the not-so Metal things about Nepal, we now showcase another subculture that's flourishing in the hills, mountains and valleys of Nepal - the Metal Culture. We have Sunil Dev Pant, the vocalist cum bassist and founding member of UgraKarma (which is Sanskrit meaning: Harmful / Extreme Action) answering our questions. What will come as the biggest shock to most of the people out there is this band exists from 1999. Yes, and the fact that they have stuck around is testimony to their love for metal, and on the down side the unfortunate situation that happens when talent doesn't come into the open just because its not mainstream. Read on to find what Sunil had to say to GMA.. Farzand: Greetings from India. How is it going in the hills brother? Sunil: Bestial hails!!! The hills are alive with the sound of death and destruction because of the monsoons. Farzand: We keep hearing about the devastated economy of Nepal, in all of this where does Metal come in? Sunil: I have found that Death Metal really has nothing to do with the economy. In fact it flourishes even during war, desperation and turmoil. Death metal is universal, every country has at least one Death Metal band. But there are problems associated with being in a band in a poor country: lack of decent equipment, poor quality sound during gigs and recordings, very little exposure, fewer metalheads attending gigs, etc. But all these things do not matter if you really want to do it. Our practice space (which was mostly my room) had a drum set with no snare (replaced by a tom), no toms, one broken cymbal, and hi-hats without a stand. We had one proper guitar and a f**ked up amp. No microphones so we'd just have to growl louder than the instruments. Gigs weren't much better either: rubbish power amps and constant feedback. Things have changed now. Lots of practice places have popped up all over town, bands now have decent gear and if they can't buy shit they can always rent. Gigs have good sound quality, even the underground ones. Farzand: So, how did UgraKarma (Sanskrit, Meaning: Harmful Action or extreme action, doesn't have to be harmful) happen in all of this? Sunil: UgraKarma started out in 1999 with the idea of playing what we loved to listen to. Back then we were into Death, Black, Thrash and Grindcore and that's what we wanted to play. Did a few shows, won awards (hahahahaha), got our material recorded, got a demo and an album out. Farzand: Kathmandu seems to be metal hub of Nepal, having bands like Jugaa, Binaash, amongst others spreading it around, how have the people responded to this evolution? Sunil: The local scene has gotten f**king huge. Lots of people in high schools and colleges seem to enjoy metal music in general. Massive crowds and big stages at shows. We are also starting to see some popular bands from the West play in Kathmandu: Vader, Napalm Death, Decapitated etc. But Death Metal is not really popular. It is still underground, if I may use this heavily misused term. Difference is that 15 years ago most kids would not know what death metal was, now almost every kid knows what it is even though they may not listen to it. But Death Metal gigs are f**king intense in Kathmandu, insane mosh-pits, crazy headbanging and a very supportive crowd. There are some really good Nepali DM bands actively playing shows and recording their stuff: Binaash, Dying Out Flame, Broken Hymen, Narsamhaar just to name a few. Farzand: 14 years till this day Ugrakarma exists, and many people haven't heard the term, forgot the band, must have been some struggle to stay up with real metal? Sunil: We play Death Metal, and there are lots of struggles if one chooses this path. We understand that this kind of music is not liked by everyone, we will never get rich and famous playing Death Metal. But the love for the art is what keeps us going. We have a small but a strong fan following and that also helps us to keep pushing forward. We don't really care if people remember us or not. UgraKarma is not for the masses, and we are happy with it. Farzand: Which bands do you sight as the one's who turned you all into forming Ugrakarma? Sunil: Macabre, Rigor Mortis, Sarcofago, Slayer, early Sepultura, Von, Cranium, Cannibal Corpse, Sinister, Unleashed, Sodom, Morbid Angel and many more. Teutonic thrash, Brazilian Death / Black, American / Japanese / Dutch Death Metal, English Grind etc. Farzand: What are the topics you guys like dealing with while making songs? Sunil: Death, Destruction, Perversion, Serial Killers, Anti-Religion etc. Newer stuff is similar but we are also including parts of our land and culture that we find interesting: animal sacrifice en mass, death of mountain climbers, chaos and destruction, killings etc. Farzand: 1 demo, 1 album, 2 singles (one featuring on the Ghazalat compilation), where do we hear UgraKarma next?
Sunil: We are currently recording an EP slated to be release by Legion of Death (France) on vinyl. There will be a CD version for Nepal only. Once this is done we are planning to do a full length album. But we will be playing a shit ton of live shows before we head into the studios again. Farzand: A word for all the guys out there supporting metal the way it should be done? Sunil: To all metalheads out there, support local metal and stop running after popular bands from abroad. The ones that really need your support are the bands that are just starting out: go to their shows, buy their merch, spread the word thru social media, shake their hands, take picture with them... just f**king support your local metal band whatever way you can. Bestail hails to all!!!! Ugra Karma are:- Bikram - Drums Prateek - Guitars, Vocals (formerly also bass) Bijay - Vocals (backing), Bass Sunil - Vocals, Bass (formerly also guitars) https://www.facebook.com/Ugrakarmaofficial http://www.metal-archives.com/bands/Ugra_Karma/12481 Hear them:- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5zW-kZoadfo http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cGTtg7hVi1M By Farzand Bawa Band - Lectern
Genre - Death Metal Country - Italy Label - Ragtime Records How long has the band been going, how did it form and what does the band name mean? Enrico: "The band was formed many years before I entered. Fabio is the founder of our band, the one that gave start to this malefic assault and the mastermind behind our concept. Lectern is the priest's higher place where to spread the holy lie". Fabio "He said all so much and well, so, nothing to add more!". What inspired you to play the style of music you play? Enrico: "Death metal is a way of being. I was born with Death metal inside me and hate sculptured it focusing my will. In time I discovered that the hell I had in, could be translated in apocalyptic music which death metal stands for. Early extreme bands? Deicide, Cannibal Corpse and Slayer (even first Metallica four albums)". Fabio: "I was just speaking of that with Enrico one day, I told him "man, Slayer is the top of extremes how they could be so, without high blast beats and grunts?" He told me "simple: it's Slayer!".When I approached to heavy metal, it wasn't a genre so extreme rather for Venom and others. They had a great look, they were rude, but not so skilled at play. We had Iron Maiden that changed the visual concept of how a gig was meant to be finally on a stage, I'm speaking about Powerslave tour and what came after. The Nineties, changed everything prepared by Slayer since the middle and at the end of the Eighties. Reign In Blood changed all, unconsciously this band was unaware of the monstrous styles they were forging like death metal and grind. Then, someone understood that you can play faster, brutal and out of all patterns just going a bit forward! Holy fuck! Florida was the home of prime movers like Morbid Angel and Deicide, sons of a brutalized thrash: death metal was born. If I think about death metal, I wanna an insane show, motherfucking weird riffs, growls and solos and an approach that destroys every kinda melody. These bands are legendary, with other great acts like New York kings Suffocation and early Immolation and Incantation. Europeans were too busy with schemes and elegance in riffs, Americans were the bastard Yankees they're and always will be, ready to blow you away! Lectern belongs to this second side". What is your local town / city scene like? Enrico: "Rome's metal-rama is quite good against all the critics everyone part of the scene, sentences. We got even few international bands, like Hour Of Penance and Buffalo Grillz, and a very florid underground. Some of those bands are ascending in terms of importance and in terms of presence during important festivals in Italy and outside our boundaries. Extreme or classic both are in our scene. Most of us are part of the same crew even, good friends even I mean". Fabio: "Perfidy Biblical and Lectern are my bands, and the best in Rome I knew was last summer, guitarist of our Finnish brothers Ceaseless Torment and hope to play with them in Helsinki as promised. It's quite strange, I don't use to listen to so much metal by now, 'cause I don't like going too much outside, I hate people but myself and I don't recognize me in this society and in the actual music scene full of nerds caught by social networks and shitty mind-lock barriers. Well, if Dark Angel comes for a show here, I'll go, for the rest I don't give any fuck!". Have you played alongside any big bands, if so who? If not who would you like to play alongside? Fabio: "No, we're an underground band, and we didn't play with anyone famous! I'd play with Jesus Christ to nail him by my own, but a stage would be too fucking small for that!" Enrico: "Personally, my aim is to play as much as I can in league with the classics of death metal and thrash also. If I've to choose I don't want to share the show with posing rockstars that are concerned only about cash, forgetting that, as Destruction said, "united we stand, together we're strong". I do appreciate humble and serious musicians that want to respect the passionate fans and impose an honest message, because that's why we are here". Has the band got any plans for 2013? Enrico: "Releasing our new slab of pure hatred. A ten tracks album that will contain new songs originated by the new line up. You'll hear the difference in terms of inspiration, believe us. Playing as much concerts as we could do, even outside Italy". Fabio: "Also this time, Enrico precedes me. Songs are ready, and we will finish what started at Kick Studio very soon, artwork and layout have been set. Death metal it is! In the name of Satan will be!". Finally any thank you's, hello's and any other messages you wish to say? Enrico: "I'd like to thank first of all Fabio for his brother-ship in life and in Lectern. As fan I wish to bring my cheers and my gratitude to those pubs and clubs in our area that still give metal the possibility to breathe and spit flames through all the sacrifice that our musicians spend on the show: in particular I want to say thank to Closer Live Club and all its honorable crew, Traffic Live Club, Blackout and Atlantico. Then I want to say thank you to the Roman organizations like Altamira Events and New Rome Disorder for bringing metal in Rome. A special thank should go to Welt from Yama Tattoo studio for his inks and events organization and professionalism. Visit his studio if you come in Rome! Last but not least I'd like to pay a merited thanks to Old Temple Records". Fabio: "Shambles will come! Upside every cross!". www.lectern.in |
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