From Pantera to Purnota: Oni Hasan shreds through a night of heavy metal nostalgia

Photo: Amimul Ahsan

If you asked fans to close their eyes and paint a mental picture of Oni Hasan, chances are they'd see the same thing—a wild, flamboyant guitarist, leaning back mid solo, his fingers shredding across the fretboard at the speed of light. And, clutched in his hands would be that unmistakable Jackson Flying V—which had become synonymous to Oni's antics on stage.

At his first-ever solo show on Friday night, Oni Hasan stepped on stage with a similar white Flying V in hand—only this time, nearly a decade and a half since his signature Jackson era, he was rocking a Kiesel. 

Still, about 90 minutes into what would become a full-blown three-hour shredfest, he made a quiet but thunderous move—he swapped guitars and brought out his custom made reimagination of the iconic Dimebag Slime. The moment that neon, swamp forest looking  beast came into view, the metalheads in the crowd knew exactly what was coming next—Pantera was about to roar back to life.

With a sly chuckle, Oni leaned into the mic and teased the crowd, "Jamshed has an announcement for you." Powersurge's Jamshed Chowdhury stepped forward, a grin playing on his face as he explained that the next few songs were ones they grew up worshipping. "Hope you're ready," he said—and the crowd clearly was. 

Despite the tightly packed space at Aloki, a handful of diehards tried to ignite a moshpit, bodies pushing and shoving in chaotic unison. 

Then the stage exploded—Oni and Jamshed, flanked by the powerhouse Raef Al Hasan Rafa on drums, tore into 'Mouth for War'. The energy was raw, feral. Before the crowd could catch their breath, that unmistakable riff kicked in—'Walk'. The room roared, fists flew in the air, and for a moment, time bent back to the heyday of Pantera. That wasn't the end because no Pantera cover set is complete without Cowboys From Hell' and 'Cemetery Gates'

The whole night felt like a giant collaboration. Oni and his band—featuring a rotating crew of instrumentalists and vocalists—powered through a massive 20 song set (and word is, they had a few more on the list that didn't even make it to the stage). 

The crowd was a real mix. Some were seeing Oni live for the very first time—getting to hear those classic Warfaze tracks in person was probably a dream come true. 

Then there were the old-school metalheads who came alive during the Vibe, Pantera, and Megadeth covers. And let's not forget the guitar nerds, absolutely loving every moment as Oni and Taawkir Tajammul Nisshobdo ripped through solos and traded licks like it was nothing. 

Everyone had their own reasons to be hyped, but it wasn't all smooth sailing—there were a few small hiccups and details here and there that did raise some eyebrows.

The first hour of Oni Hasan's solo show was a blend of his instrumental tracks and a few covers from Vibe. While he has performed in Dhaka a handful of times in recent years, those were usually shorter sets. 

This full-length solo gig gave him the rare chance to dive deep into his own catalogue, playing nearly all of his released instrumental pieces. 

For many in the audience, it was a treat to finally experience songs like 'Himalayas', 'Adrenaline Rush', 'Blissful Youth', and 'Until We Meet Again' outside the confines of YouTube or Spotify. 

His performance was not just sonically powerful—thanks to his signature mid-boosted guitar tone—but visually captivating too, with his signature stage antics and expressive guitar faces stealing the show. 

A standout moment came during 'Shrine Revisited', where the crowd truly connected, swaying along to its soulful main melody, one of Oni's earliest compositions.

The second hour is when things really started to heat up. Oni jumped into the heavier, more popular Vibe numbers as well as the Pantera and Megadeth covers. 

Photo: Amimul Ahsan

One of the biggest surprises of the night was 'Otripto Pran'—a deep cut that most people in the crowd probably hadn't heard live before, if ever. It was a cool moment, but it's also where a few cracks started to show. 

During some of these songs, little slip-ups and timing issues began to creep in, and they kept popping up as the set went on. To be honest, there were moments where it felt like there wasn't enough synergy in the band. 

Nothing majorly disastrous—but enough to notice, and it did take away from the tightness you'd expect from the quality of artistes on display in a show  like this. 

Take 'Otripto Pran', for example—the intro backing track started playing over the PA before the band was even ready to kick off the song. That kind of thing happened a few times throughout the night. 

There were some sound issues here and there—vocals cutting out, cables getting disconnected, performers' in-ear monitors slipping loose. 

Knowing how much of a perfectionist Oni is, you can bet he wasn't thrilled about any of it. But you'd never know it just by looking at him. He kept that wholesome smile on his face the whole time, powering through the glitches like a total pro, never letting it affect the vibe he was giving off on stage

"Aloki is definitely better designed acoustically compared to a lot of other venues in Dhaka, where the sound just bounces around uncontrollably," said Shafayat Faisal, the audio engineer for the night. "But it still came with its own set of challenges. With multiple vocalists performing, getting the levels right and balancing each of their unique vocal tones in real time wasn't easy."

A few words definitely need to be said about the instrumentalists who shared the stage with Oni—and the great part was, everyone got their moment to shine. Flautist James was a constant presence, adding smooth, calming layers to several songs and instrumental sections. 

Then there was the baby-faced bassist, Fardin Fayez Omee, who held things down all night with solid groove and precision. He had a fun little spotlight moment too—while the rest of the band was taking a short breather, Omee broke into the main riff of Arnob's 'Tomar Jonno' on bass, instantly getting the whole crowd singing along. 

Rafa, of course, couldn't resist throwing him a shade, joking, "The only time a bassist gets attention is when he plays a guitar lick," which got a good laugh. Rafa also had his own cheeky moment—as he picked up the sticks, he played the unmistakable theme of a certain black-and-orange website (if you know, you know), and the crowd definitely caught the joke.

The smoothest co-performer of the night was hands down Oni's longtime producer and co-guitarist, Taawkir. Cool, composed, and razor-sharp, Taawkir had a few solos scattered throughout the set, but the one that truly brought the house down was during 'Tornado of Souls'. 

He and Oni harmonised the iconic Marty Friedman solo—already a beast of a piece to play live—and Taawkir nailed every note without a hint of hesitation. It was borderline eargasm territory. 

Not only did he match the original's complexity, but the harmonising added a whole new dimension to it. "I thought it would be a fun idea," Taawkir said later. "I was just noodling with it during rehearsals and Oni bhai liked how it sounded, so we figured—why not do it live too?" 

A large part of the crowd had shown up just to hear a few very special tracks—Oni's legendary compositions from Warfaze's 'Shotto' album, released back in 2012. 

Expectations were sky-high for 'Na' and 'Purnota', but a bit of a curveball was thrown when it was announced that Mizan Rahman, the original vocalist behind both songs, wouldn't be performing. 

No explanation was given, and the news was left at that. Stepping in to handle vocals were Rafa, Jamshed, and Kazi Zohad Yazdani, who shared the duties between them.

What was meant to be the emotional high point of the night stumbled a bit. 'Na' got off to a shaky start—the timing felt off, the band wasn't totally in sync, and the vocals lacked their usual power. 

To be fair, the trio probably hadn't even rehearsed the song properly, given it was originally planned for Mizan. Still, the crowd carried it, singing along, energy intact.

Then came 'Purnota', Oni's most famous composition till date. By then, half the crowd had left—it was past 11—but those who stayed made it count. 

They sang every word. As the final notes rang out, Oni stepped forward and closed the night with an instrumental outro of Purnota, backed only by drums, bass, and keys. A quiet, powerful finish.