IAmA Guitarist in a Death Metal band.. in Pakistan

So.. getting stoned after the show doesn't quit have the same meaning for you as bands here.

AHAHAHAH this comment made my day xD

Lol at the band name. That's like calling a death metal band "Enchilada"

ahaha.. but it fits.. basically the dish is created my chopping pieces of beef with a butcher knife while it is being cooked on a huge stove.. takatak is the sound of metal against metal..

That's pretty metal.

Have you posted any of your videos to /r/metal? They would probably enjoy it over there.

i'll give it a shot.. thanks for the tip :D

Definitely post it on R/Metal we love this stuff.

i'll do it tomorrow.. this thread is turning into a monster :O

There's nothing more metal, than having a metal band in pakistan.. that's awesome dude!

thanks a lot man :D.. im really loving all the positive feedback

As an afghan muslim, I approve of your metal. Rock on, brother. \M/

brofist \m/

First of, breakdown is a hell of a song, loving it!

I got the oppertunity to warm up for the Indian band Undying Inc last year. They toured with a local Norwegian band called Torch. Anyhow, got to talk to them before and after and they had a lot of crazy stories from the indian metal scene. Like, they played next to a traditional wedding one time and got in trouble with the police and housekeepers (they cut the power mid-gig).

Any stories like that you could share with us?

im really glad you liked our song man :D

hmm.. well that story is fucking hilarious xD.. all i got is a story of us going to play in a university.. the crowd is known to be a really tough one.. the band that came before us got eggs thrown at it.. we were like FUUUUUUUUCCCCCCKKKKK!!!

so we went on stage ready to get pelted by eggs.. but once we started playing everyone went fucking primal.. not one egg was thrown at us that night.. and the memory of about 200 people going ape shit while we played our songs shall remain etched on our brains till the day we die.. we smoked a bag full of weed and chilled all night..

sorry if you were expecting a crazy story.. this is the most dramatic one i got x)

Nah man, that's really cool! I know that feeling seeing people going apeshit while on stage, that's really magical. I got mad pumped up when we played at a small (not really public, just for friends and friends-of-friends) festival and people went crazy when we played.

if only all our gigs could go that way.. but i wont get to be on stage for a while now.. we are recording and we have a deadline till august.. cuz most of the band will go abroad to study.. that time will suck ass for me cuz im older than them and done with my collage.. ill only get to meet them for a few month every year.. and in that time we will have to record stuff and play gigs like crazy if we want people to remember us..

Really, man. I don't know if you understand how good Break Down really is. I'm not really big into metal anymore, but that's the first song in that genre that I've listened to in a while and just thought, "Man, that's a pretty damned good song."

fuuuuckk.. thanks a lot man :D.. and happy cake day :3

Dude, watched your videos: You guys fucking rock! Now, questions:

1. How is the scene in Pakistan? This goes for metal, punk and other underground music. A couple of my friends from university, both of whom moved back to Pakistan after they finished their PhDs were big metal fans, but they never really talked about a significant scene there.
2. What got you into death/extreme metal?
3. What kind of exposure do you think you'll get A) in Pakistan and south Asia, and B) in Europe, North America and Japan? What sort of exposure do you want to get?

thanks a lot man.. really appreciate the positive feedback..

1= the music scene is dominated by pop, and romantic songs played along side an acoustic guitar or piano.. real mellow stuff.. so metal punk etc is dead here.. but our generation is the metal generation.. or at least the metal tolerant generation.. so we hope to be the first band to bring metal at an acceptable level in the commercial scene

2= my friend started me off with iron maiden.. i loved it.. it was the best thing i ever heard.. then i heard megadeth's holy wars on the radio.. i came buckets.. then after a few months the same friends played kalmah's hades.. i died.. that was 5 years ago

3= a) we hope to become the first metal band to be released on a commercial level. b)our record label will release us in pakistan and uk, and our songs will be on sale on itunes.. the kind of expose i want to get is to get a record deal with road runner records or something and tour the world and make this band my fucking job :D

I read #1 and immediately laughed! My cousin is Bilal Khan and from what I hear is doing really well for himself over there and has exactly those kind of songs haha

As a fellow Pakistani you guys make me proud haha! Fucking awesome stuff, I am showing all my death metal loving friends here in America your guys' shit. They are going to freak out when I tell them you guys are from Pakistan.

haha wow.. that is awesome man.. and yeah Bilal Khan is the shit here.. no offence to his music.. music is music is art.. and i respect all forms of music..

spread the takatak love :D

Hey hey there. I toured with Soulfly a few years back and was in Incite with our lead singer Richie Cavalera and still keep in touch with his family. We went to school together. PM me and I can get you in contact with Gloria who manages all of Soulfly's events. I think they would really like you guys, you have a good sound.

wow.. thanks alot man.. that would be amazing.. can you do me a favor and add me on facebook so we can keep in touch more easily?

Awesome. Keep making good music and I wish you the best of luck. Hopefully I'll be able to check you guys out when (not if :p) you tour over here!

:'D

Awesome dude, as a fellow Pakistani, you have my support. I'll definitely buy your album and hopefully to see you guys with roadrunner record. touring with bands like Opeth, porcupine tree would be amazing for your music learning experience.

thanks a lot man.. your support means the most to me :D

how does calling your genre "Cookie Monster Music" make you feel?

i lol every time and agree whole heartedly.. i think that's badass

Good thing about Death Metal is that it doesn't matter where you are from / in which language you perform. No one understands shit anyway. :D I actually quite enjoyed it. ;)

ahahah.. thanks :D

Huge metal fan here. What are your lyrics about?

breakdown is a reply to an article by the israeli pm about pakistan in the jewish chronical

walls they collapse is a hate song about samba bank.. its the bank our vocalist works in hahah... he hates it there

so i guess we write brutal stuff :P

Ok, i work in an office, i heard your song, and suddenly felt like jumping on desk, swinging my underware, bang my head. DUDE, you guys ROCK, :) and i LOVE the pakistaniness. Im a middle easterner myself, and i have many pakistani friends. I would LOVE to see you guys on stage doing EXACTLY what you do, and embracing a LITTLE (or alot) of your culture, as little as some of your clothing, or even throwing some Takatak on the audience, :)

Eitherways, KEEP ON ROCKING.

oh man that was an awesome comment.. thank you bro :D

As a fellow Pakistani i'm proud to say that i'm proud. Sniff..

I'm proud to say that im proud that your proud :,D

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wow.. what an honor man.. thanks :D

As a metal guitarist, i can only say good job and good luck for the future!

You've got that "old-school" badass death metal sound which is awesome, and none of that over-processed crap of "modern death metal"! \m/

The guitars sound cool, what gear did you use to record?

thanks for the compliments man :D

we used a line6 guitarport

I'm actually studying in Nepal doing research on the Nepali metal scene right now. The first metal bands in Nepal to play original music (around 2000) used to get hilarious reactions - people would dance like with their hands like it was folk music because they didn't know how else to react to the music. What have your weirdest reactions been?

ahahaha.. THIS... This is the exact thing that happens to us..

our weirdest reaction was that once we were playing a gig for a fight club.. it was supposed to be a brutal gig.. but the crowd was filled with idiots.. so when we played our new song some dude decides to clear the area and start break dancing.. and then a whole bunch of people start break dancing.. they were doing the robot and some really funky shit.. it was hilarious at first.. but then i was like.. wtf am i playing taht these people are break dancing to it.. and then i started to dislike the song a little.. those bastards ruined the song for me :(

You should record some videos, this sounds epic/youtube gold to spike your popularity.

ahahah.. maybe man xD

Have you ever heard of/listened to Acrassicauda? They are regarded as the first prominent Iraqi death metal band. I imagine their success story could mimic yours in some ways.

i have never heard of them.. but hopefully we will mimic them :D.. i have the strength of reddit on my side xD

Dawg, if you ever find yourself in DC, hit me up and we can trade shows: Absolute Vengeance - seriously, would be great to have you guys out here: http://www.facebook.com/absolutevengeance

oh nice man.. thanks for the offer.. i'll keep that in mind if we make it big :D

Big or not, if you ever find yourself in the Washington DC area would be awesome to play with another great band.

:D your too kind man

Have you ever been threatened by religious extremists?

hahah.. thankfully no.. religious extremists care more about target killing our politicians.. mayb e if we get more famous we'll become their targets :O

well that's something to look forward too then! ;)

ahaha.. well it would certainly add a little more excitement to life xD

This comment made me realize how deluded I was in regards to pakistan and the middle east as a whole. I was apparently under the impression that people just constantly had to dodge flying body parts and shrapnel. I'm an American idiot. Shit.

naa man.. the media just focuses too much on the negative.. its not your fault if that's the picture that has been painted in front of you

1. You ever seen the movie Global Metal? They talk about the metal scene in the Middle East?

2. Who are your biggest influences musically?

1. oh yes.. that guy has made some pretty epic documentaries

2. our influences are lamb of god, the faceless, tool, as blood runs black, pantera, megadeth, gojira, breakdown of sanity and plenty more i can't remember or think or right now.. but these were the main ones

<3 the Gojira. You have two drummers do you, the brothers? Would you consider using the Slipknot style a bit and having one of them just bash the shit out of empty kegs for the mega bass whole the other does the technical stuff on the kit?

haahh.. we want to try that. we really do.. the only problem is one of our drumm kits is busted to shit.. and its costs alot of money to get ti fixed.. and our main priority is to buy a PA system.. so that;s gonna have to wait.. xD

What are the chances of donating some money somehow to help you guys get some equipment? Even if it's just a few bucks, I'd love to see you guys get going.

wow.. i really appreciate that bro.. but i could never take money from you guys.. thanks for the gesture though.. it means a lot :D

The lead guitarist is fucking MAD!!! The whole band is tight and completely professional. I don't really have any questions, I just want to wish you guys the best. Also, LOVED the Seek and Destroy cover.

thanks :D

I'm really sorry if this is a rude question to ask, but...are you guys Muslims? How serious are you about your faith?

we are born muslims but we arn't that religious.. im not offended at all by your question :D

Nice. Very heavy without getting muddled in excess fuzz like a lot of current American stuff. I look forward to more of this. Also, just looked up Takatak, looks tasty (will have to try it at one of the couple of Pakistani restaurants in my area).

hahahh.. takatak is the shit man :D

Excellent AMA overall. Upvotes all around.

im surprised myself that this has turned into a monster of a post

How do your families react to your music? Do they come to the gigs, do any family members hate what you are doing? Hopefully your friends and partners are more understanding though!

my friends are pretty supportive.. our generation is pretty cool.. but our parents and elders are pretty pissed about it.. i even had a conversation with my mom about going abroad to study music.. lets say she was not thrilled about it..

i don't want my parents or relatives to come to my gigs, mainly because Ii know they wouldn't approve.. and whenever i come on stage I never know what the reaction of the audience will be like.. i don't want my parents to watch me get boo'ed off stage..

Oh sorry to hear that. I hope once you guys get better known and have awesome gigs that your family will be able to appreciate it. Especially if you can make it to some of the awesome metal festivals around the world, bet you would have a great time. Have you been booed at before?

thanks for the kind words and well wishes man.. and thankfully we haven't been boo'ed yet.. but sometimes we hear an occasional "what the fuck" from the crowd

Do you get girls like the western rock stars?

nope.. getting girls is immoral :(

You should change your name to IED, cause you're a death metal band in Pakistan.

ahaah.. dont worry man.. iz cool xD

Haha, another middle eastern Death Metal dude. Greetings from an israeli Extreme (including death) Metal vocalist.

awww shiiiieeettt.. cool man :D

Thanks dude, good luck with the band. :D haha my band just broke, I hope you guys will stay united and be the leaders of the Pakistani metal scene.

thanks a lot man.. yeah it took the band 3 years to make it to this point.. and we ain't gonna quit now :D

Great! My band broke after 7 months, the drummer and bassist broke up our band, because of the fact they started to hate metal and to love horrible crap such as Skrillex and LFMAO and they are douchecunts. Don't let shit like that infect your band. Good luck brother!

thanks for those words of wisdom mate \m/

Please caputure everything on video! This could be a great doc/movie!

our studio recordings and everything is being recorded by a local record label.. we'll upload it on our facebook page once it's done

just relized i used the word record in my first sentence 3 times lol xD

How do people generaly react when you tell them your in a death metal band? Im on my phone so i cant really listen to the songs, but are they in English? Do you speak Arabic?

they are in English and our national language is Urdu. Its kinda like Arabic but not the same.

Well, being in a band itself is not a respectable thing here.. they have a special word for musicians, "maraase" which is like an insult..

if i tell someone im in a death metal band they simply start laughing.. its like im talking about something that doesn't exist.. there is no respect for a musician in the eyes of his parents or relatives.. however, this generation is a little different..

You guys should write some songs in Urdu, I think it would sound epic :)

that has been done before by other bands and it wasn't that successful.. and we plan to go international so playing in English helps. thanks for the advice though i really appreciate it :D

Yeah I realize that, I am quite a fan of music in many languages and am always sad when bands don't at least do a few songs in their native tongues! Sadly the markets seem to favour English. But maybe you guys can do a song here and there in Urdu? Best of luck it's cool to hear from metal bands in places like Pakistan.

maybe we will do a song in Urdu.. but it wont make a difference.. our vocalist is a growled and the general public doesn't understand what he's saying anyways xD.. thanks for the words of encouragement :D

In a similar vein, have you considered infusing any Pakistani musical elements into your music? Similar to how Sepultura use some traditional Brazilian instruments in some of their songs - does doing the same but with Pakistani instruments interest you at all? Or do you guys prefer to keep it a more mainstream sound? (Nothing wrong with either - just curious.)

we really want to experiment with our sound.. and maybe we will add a sitaar or something.. who knows.. thansk for the idea man.. relly helps a lot :D

Have you considered setting up a bandcamp page? Put up an EP on there, maybe generate some sales and you could use that to show appeal. Plus I want to hear more, and would totally pay for it. This is awesome! Excellent screamer and very tight riffs/drumming.

thanks alot man.. our record label will release us in uk and paksitan and we will have our songs up on itunes so taht should generate some cash :D

i can hear the lamb of god influence in breakdown, great job. in canada, you'd be surprised by the number of hot chicks at metal concerts...how is it in Pakistan? Any metal groupies yet? :P

ahahaha.. NONE... chicks do not dig growling vocals.. and our vocalist looks like a fucking devil with his beard and stage presence.. chick scatter xD

Damn they are missing out from what I saw. Maybe you guys should just get yourself over to a Western country or two where some of us girls like metal guys :P

ahahah.. cool good to know xP

Hey, what do you do outside of music? Or are you purely focused on it? People over there can be harsh on musicians itself, let alone an extreme one like yourself. Loved Break Down, Good luck!

P.S. - Your band name made my dad laugh (he speaks Urdu).

haah coooooool xD

well our activities besides playing music are smoking weed and watching movies, series (i myself am a huge HBO fan), and playing video games (i myself like he addictive kind; world of warcraft, dota etc)

is smoking weed punishible in some crazy way in pakistan?

ahahah. well some say that like an unforgivable sin.. like drinking alcohol.. there is no proper punishment for it.. but they will remind you that you will burn in hell lol

Who is the famous Pakistani musician producing your album?

well its really hush hush right now.. it's a surprise.. we will post it on our facebook page before we release our album to create hype :D

What kind of a music scene do you guys have in the pakistan? I have heard ramblings about there being a few punk bands over there but what does the scene over there consist of mostly? Has there been any violence pointed towards bands from from the community because it goes against typical customs?

the scene is mostly pop and love songs.. no violence just yet.. extremists are too busy making sure women cover their heads to point there fingers at us..

Are people who come to your shows generally receptive? Is metal pretty obscure there (I'm guessing so), and if so, how did you guys get into it?

well mostly our gigs are so-so.. we have really few "metal" gigs.. due to the fact taht we have really few metal bands.. and the audience for those gigs is about 30 people max lol.. you can check out our live videos on youtube.. in normal gigs people are usually so shocked by our performance that they either just sit quietly and stare, or they headbang :P

if they dissaprove of your death metal do they give you some death rock(s)?

that's what we call getting stoned

Pakistan has a reputation (from my ignorant western perspective) of being hostile to western influences- is there any hostility from Islamic elements in your society to the music you play? (P.s. the music, and your musicianship is incredible!) Thanks for posting!

well yes some parts of pakistan are extremely hostile.. i happen to live in a more modern area where western influences are the "fashionable" thing. lol.. thansk for the comment bro :D

Want to shake the world even more ? Get into the symphonic metal scene and pick a good female vocalist, who sings under a burqa. Year after year, the burqa disappears more and more.

Or just everybody play under a burqa, Lordi style.

A suggestion though. Do put some local melodics into your music. There's space for new ideas on the international scene if you bring some of the typical melodies. I am looking at Myrath in particular. Extremely good metal group which would really enjoy a female second singer, imho (but I am a fan of gothic, so it's just my opinion)

That said, congratulation man. Keep the metal flowing \m/

AHAHAHAAHAAHAHAAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHAAHAHHAHAHAHAHHHAHA :,D omg that was epic man thanks alot for that comment

You ain't got shit on Atif aslam.

JK, rock on bro!

ahahaah.. what are you talking about, atif is the shit man xD

Awesome! Which bands inspired you to make music?

our main inspirations are lamb of god, gojira, opeth, the faceless, as blood runs black, pantera, motorhead, breakdown of sanity, and many many many many more..

what are your thoughts on benazir bhutto?

we simply hate our politicians... they are all corrupt and ready to sell the country for a bag of cash... fuck them all.. it's a shame she died.. and it was a really sad way that she went.. but still.. these people have leeched all the potential out of our country

I like the songs man, and we share a lot of influences :D how do you record over there? Do you book time in a studio or record at home? If you record in a studio do the staff ever treat you badly because of your style?

well we used to record at a friends place with line 6 and pod equipment.. but now that we are in the studio we use God know how much shit load of equipment and its all really epic stuff and the sound is orgasmic. the studio people are really professional.. they appreciate our music and if they think something doesn't sound good they keep it to themselves and maybe hint that the part needs improvement

Hey man, your stuff sounds good! Pakistan definitely does metal right. I'm also in a metal band called Sirens here in the US. www.facebook.com/sirens.metal Check us out! If you guys ever do a tour here we'll hook you up with a place to play in the Indiana area.

wow that's really generous of you man.. i'll definitely keep that in mind.. im gonna like you facebook page and keep in touch :D

Any musical inspirations that aren't metal?

i really really like the band lydia.. and my friends hate me for this, but i kinda like blink 182.. before i listened to metal i was really big on punk.. and blink was my life back then.. i still think its pretty cool and i was one of those guys who was excitedly waiting for their new album xP

Sweet sound, love the 2 songs posted. Any death metal or metal in general inspirations or influences? Best of luck with your emergence! \m/

our main influences are lamb of god, the faceless, opeth, tool, break down of sanity etc.. thanks for the wishes :D

Hey man I'm from Pakistan. Really glad to hear from you. I'm personally not into death metal or even metal but I would love to see artists experiment in genres. People need to respect the art of it whether they like it or not. I'm positive new generation is more accepting. So just keep doing what you love to do. Best of luck for your band :)

thanks man.. your comments mean the most to me.. keep supporting us :D

Would you consider doing some songs that incorporate clean vocals (or gritty rock vocals)? I like the instrumentals and I don't mind some growling, but I don't think I can get into a whole CD of pure growling

we have thought of that.. and we will add it in our other songs.. thanks for the feedback bro :D