Danob came out in 2006. Sreshtho came out in 2002. Ends are Forever came out in 1995. Long, LONG gaps to be sure. But that is what happens when you're a full time career person and a part time musician. And when your drummer keeps skipping out on you. Wll it wasn't really his fault, as he had his career goals and they were all centered on settling in the US. Especially since he was a green card holder, had graduated from a top college there and gotten his MBA from an ivy league university. But all that resulted in the rest of us staying back in Dhaka losing our momentum and generally shooting the breeze as regards music.
I remmeber it was very hard getting into our groove for Danob. In fact the first song we attempted to compose sort of fell apart at the seams. It refused to evolve from its basic primary nature into a complete flowing song. In the end we just discarded the song and moved on. Another thing with Danob, we wanted a very dark album. We wanted to the music to have a groove, but it had to be dark. And complicated. And according to others, experimental. Because i never felt we were experimenting. We were doing what came to us naturally at the time. But later on people who heard the album claimed it was a complicated and experimental album. Those who liked it liked it for these reason. And those who didn't think much of the album did so for these reasons as well. You can't please everyone.
We decided a few months back that we'd start working on the new album. We wouldn't wait another 4 years. And unlike Danob, we hit success with our first song in our first practice session. To be fair it was a riff that we had toyed around with previously, around the time Danob was being recorded, but still it was a good sign that things were flowing smoothly. Since deciding to work on the album, we've jammed quite a lot and we've come up with 4 solid songs. And in fairly quick time too. This time, we want songs that are fun to play and sing, songs that are simple and songs that are melodic. Not melodic in a dark sense (our primary concern in Danob), but just melodic. I guess we had a lot of things to prove in the last album and we feel we have proved them. Now we have nothing to prove. Now we just want to do straight out heavy metal.
Even as i write this, the band's future is in a flux. Things are happening that will steer the band in one dedfinite direction or another. Who knows which will be for the better. But whichever way our fate lies, we are all hanging on for the ride. Because come hell or high water, we will finish the 4th album in the enxt 6 months.
3 comments:
Shakib Vai, assalamualikum. Following is a screed containing my views on Danob. I think Danob was a killer album. Not because it was 'no holds barred heavy metal' (or something like this) but because it was unique. Yes, it was heavy and dark but it was in no way traditional heavy metal as your web site unnecessarily claimed. For me its not necessary for an album to fit that description to be a great album. Each and every element in Danob, from songwriting to musicianship, stands up on their own. Still the best part is probably your singing. Its worth listening the album just for that. Production wise the album sounded almost great. The guitar tone and bass and everything. I just don't know what the hell your sound engineer was smoking when he tracked the drums. How you guys allowed that to come out of mixing sounding like that I have no idea. I'm sorry but thats what I think. Although I didn't expect the album to be as progressive as it sounds, it was nonetheless a pleasant surprise.
Anyway, I obviously have great hopes for the next one. Would you consider releasing one song as a single?
And another thing I wanted to ask you. In an interview you said that bands need to evolve musically with time (I totally agree with this). But as an example of how bands sound dated and uninteresting if they do not evolve with time you mentioned Iron Maiden. Would you now stand by that view in light of Maiden being so big and strong again?
Thanks
Hello Shakib bhai. A major fan of yours, and CF, here! =D I've got to say the same thing I've been saying since the release of Danob: that album was probably the best of progressive metal any BD band had EVER churned out! EVER! All the so-called progressive bands around us will probably never be able to reach, let alone exceed, the complexity, experimentalism, and the overall dark nature of the album. Even with the badly mixed drums, it sounded kickass. And I can guarantee you that I, and most people I know of who listen to ACTUAL progressive music (not just the Dream Theater and Artcell fad that is quite the dominant definition of "progressive" music amongst all the pseudo-progressive-fanboys of BD), could discern a mixture of a wide variety of influences: from 70's prog-rock ala Rush, King Crimson; to modern-day prog-rock ala Tool; to even progressive metal bands like Opeth. Was this really a conscious effort to actually combine all those influences into the album? Or did it come off naturally?
Also, I'd HIGHLY request you (by happily falling on my knees and kissing your feet!) to keep on making the kind of music that CF put into Danob, and not steer back to the Shreshto-era CF. Not that those were bad at all (as a matter of fact, Shreshto set up the standards of heavy metal in Bangladesh!), but Danob really set you guys apart from most other bands, giving a new insight into CF capabilities and potential, and a unique sound overall. Please do keep some Danob-ish tracks on your upcoming release! PLEEEEEASE!!!
P.S. Bhaiya, if you don't mind me asking you, then could you please tell me the time signature changes of the tracks "Ognibina" & "Danob"? I'm having a hard time figuring those out!
Dear Shakib Vai,
Due to the kind of music you play you do not enjoy the super stardom an artist of your calibre deserves. This, however, gives rise to the fortunate situation where fans should be able to communicate with you directly. I would reasonably surmise that you don't have to answer thousands of fan mails every day. I thought that it is common decency and politeness to reply. Anyway, everything that happens in our lives has a positive side. This taught me a lesson. Thank you for reading.
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