Karmant: Thrashing through society

It can be quite difficult for those not familiar with the art form to fathom the essence of extreme heavy metal music and its subgenres.

Some find it too heavy, while some find it meaningless. On the flip side, some look at it as a way of life in itself. In the words of the heavy metal kingpin Dave Mustaine, "Metal is not a trend. It's a way of life. As long as they can't take it away from you, as long as we stick together, no one can **** with us!"

These words from the Megadeth vocalist surely struck a chord with bassist Zami Hossain when he decided to form 'Karmant' back in 2016. The vision the band shares is no different to what the roots of what thrash metal preaches - speaking up against oppression and societal issues. For Zami, 'Karmant' is the place where he felt free to express himself creatively, without boundaries, and through the music he loved.

"I firmly believe that good things come to those who do good things. My band's original name was 'Karma'," said Zami. He later changed the name to 'Karmant,' a modified version of 'Karma not' or 'Karman't,' though he insisted that he did so in order to keep his band as distinctive as possible. 

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"One cannot escape Karma' is the evolved meaning of the band's name," he added.

It all began for Karmant back in 2021 when they released their debut Extended Play or EP 'Riot in Uniform,' which was greatly motivated by the student protests for safer roads back in 2018.

"The system itself is the source of all social issues, and 'Riot in Uniform' addresses that. This EP serves as a reminder of the sacrifices made by students in uniform in 2018, in the wake of the bus accidents that claimed the lives of two students," acknowledges the band in unison.

To provide insight into what a typical Karmant song may comprise of, let me first tell you that most of their songs contain thought-provoking lyrics addressing social issues - such as abortion or the dangers posed by the Rampal Power Station, with a consistent blend of heaviness from start to finish. The extremity of the vocals and riffs will not sound too low or heavy, keeping true to the fact that they're no death metal or black metal band.

Listen to one of the released singles, 'Smelling Death' from their upcoming album, for example. The song is about abortion. 

"The song's lyrics depict a melancholy image of life's race, in which a lone victor wins but forgets the true meaning of victory," said Naweed Kabir, the drummer of the band.

"Self-destructive urges clash with a firm conviction in the evil nature of humanity. The need for change grows as a result of social degradation and personal turmoil," he added.

Karmant is not your average Joe when it comes to local underground metal bands in the country. They not only perform at your NLAs (National Library Auditorium) and your college rag days, but have also performed on foreign soil. 

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Karmant has played in Kolkata on two different occasions and has returned with wide appreciation from the ones who attended the shows. They co-headlined both the times in 'Kolkata Metal Festival (2023)' and 'Kolkata Extreme Metal Fest (2022)'.

Even though traditionally in this part of the world metal concerts don't pull the biggest crowds, Naweed believes the ones who do turn up, do so for their 'true love and passion' for heavy music.

"The crowd that attends metal shows are true listeners and enthusiasts of the genre. They don't turn up for posting stories on Instagram. 'Bangladesh Thrash Fest' was a huge event for us as it also marked the return to the NLA. People were queuing up hours before the gates even opened and it was very pleasing to see," said Naweed.

Karmant expects to release their debut album 'Hack and Slash' by the end of the year. Two songs have already been released from the album as singles -  'Zip-tied, Gutted,' and 'Smelling Death.' 

Karmant's current lineup is made complete with bassist Zami Hossain, Rakibul Alam Rafat as the guitarist and Naweed Kabir on drums. The band has recently brought in a new vocalist, Ruzlan Safat.