Interview Interrogation: Nekrohowl (Bangladesh)

Formed by three musicians from a number of the most well-known Bangladeshi Metal bands going, Nekrohowl is a Death Metal machine primed and prepared to slaughter anything in their path. Warmonger (Warhound), Sadist (Enmachined, Homicide, Nefarmaan) and Obliterator (Homicide) lead the charge with their grit-laden style of Death Metal, and having only been around for a year yet managing to unleash a demo, single and now their debut EP 'Epitome of Morbid', things could not be any sweeter for the fearsome threesome. GMA caught up with the lads to find out the band's history, the current state of the Bangladesh Metal scene and what the EP entails.

Hi guys, firstly can you give us a brief history of the band and what Nekrohowl means?

     "Greetings to GMA. To write about the history will be a total waste of time. Let’s just say that Sadist (Papai) and I wanted to create a different form of death metal which has a unique style. From the urge of playing good music, we decided to start a journey into the realm of death, doom and darkness in the name of Nekrohowl. Our good friends Demodulated (Abominable Carnivore) and Pounder (Dissector) worked on the first self-titled demo. Later on, due to some unavoidable circumstances, both of them had to discontinue and thus we asked Mr. Warmonger (Warhound, ex-Orator) to take the throne duty and thus the pilgrimage to the unholy land of despair and nothingness began!! Nekrohowl denotes the howling of the sufferer from the rampage of eternal obliteration by death itself."


The Bangladeshi Metal scene has a vast amount of bands, but few have seem to broken out internationally, what bands would you say are the most well-known in Bangladesh?

     "First of all, I would not agree with the statement that "few of them have seem to broken out internationally". There is Orator and they played overseas multiple times including the prestigious "Bangalore Open Air", sharing the stage with Inquisition, Napalm Death, Belphegor etc. There is Severe Dementia, headlined in KTM ROCKS Nepal around 2012. Even Orator got the chance to play at Maryland Deathfest in 2014. I just named two, but there are actually 10 to 12 bands which are capable of desecrating the European churns of extreme metal. But the only disadvantage of doing extreme metal is "money". With proper financing there are vast possibilities to enrich the extreme metal scene of ours.

There are a ton of bands who are well known in Bangladesh to a particular class of people whom I never consider as listener or music enthusiast. And there are very few bands which has the unique style of song writing, showing true musicianship and staying loyal to themselves. To name a few: Orator, Severe Dementia, Mirrorblaze, Chromatic Massacre, Thrash, Exalter, Infuscation."


How did the Bangladeshi Metal scene start, has it been going long? What challenges are there as a band?

     "The Bangladeshi metal scene started back in the early 80's, Waves, a hard rock / heavy metal band initiated the journey and very soon it was flourished by the emergence of bands like Rockstrata, Warfaze, In Dhaka etc. You can easily see that metal is not a new thing in our country albeit not a very popular thing either.

     There are lot of challenges you need to face: finance, record labels (we almost have no proper metal labels), recording / sound engineers with proper skills and knowledge, just to name a few."


Would it be fair to say that more and more Asian Metal bands are being taken note of? Did you know about metal scenes in Bhutan, Laos, Nepal and Myanmar (Burma)?

     "Asian bands are gradually getting their due recognition, steadily for sure, but finally it’s happening. I have played at Nepal Deathfest with my other band Homicide. I have little or in some extent no knowledge about the scenes of the other mentioned countries."

Would you agree that the Asian Extreme Metal scene seems to have it's own unique sound and style?
     "Yes, Asian extreme metal has the most unique sound and style to offer."


What do your parents think of your choice of music?

     "Hmm, I need to ask them (laugh)"


Could you give us a breakdown of the EP - what do the songs mean, how was the EP made, etc.

     "Well the EP tells the journey of death itself as the supreme entity who conjured his wrath against the mortals. The journey begins with the intro which summons the darkness within. All the five tracks were made focusing on the key aspect of Death Metal, that is to create the uncanny sound of sheer malevolence through a unique way of expressing the nothingness within."


Finally do you have any greetings, thank you's you wish to send out?

     "Thank you for the interview. It’s always great to see people appreciating our music."


https://www.facebook.com/Nekrohowl/