Bangladeshi heavy metal

Bangladeshi heavy metal or Bangla heavy metal was originated from the evolution of British and American heavy metal bands of the 1980s. Bands like Iron Maiden, Metallica and Megadeth have had the greatest influences on Bangladeshi heavy metal musicians. Other 1970s bands to influence are bands like Deep Purple, Black Sabbath and Motörhead. The first bands to play heavy metal in Bangladesh were bands like Warfaze and Rockstrata. The most prominent era for heavy metal movement was between the early 1990s to early 2000s. Warfaze, Rockstrata, Aces and in Dhaka are often considered as the "big four founders of heavy metal". Other 2000s metal bands are bands like Artcell, Aurthohin, Cryptic Fate, Powersurge, Mechanix, Metal Maze, Vibe and Stentorian. Alternative bands like Nemesis, Arbovirus and Black also played some alternative metal songs over the years. Warfaze, Artcell and Aurthohin together are the most popular rock/metal trio of Bangladesh.

Although there were no Bangladeshi metal bands formed in the 1960s and 1970s, some blues-based rock bands helped to emerge heavy rock in Bangladesh. Such a band was Windy Side of Care, formed in 1964, Dhaka, who became one of the earliest rock bands to form in Bangladesh. Mainly inspired by rock n' roll artists like Elvis Presley, Cliff Richard and The Shadows, they mixed psychedelic rock, hard rock, blues rock with Bengali Classical music. Initially they did not intend to record their output but to play gigs. They used to jam at Shahbag Hotel. They jammed at high volume, so loud that they were told to turn down their volume by their grandfather. Their long instrumental jamming through high amps, powerful distortion and frequent whammy bar sets an early example of heavy rock in the Bangladeshi music scene. They did not become commercially successful but their early works and experiments indicate the major movement of heavy rock in Bangladesh.

Later in the 1970s, many pop rock and psychedelic rock bands were formed in Bangladesh. Although most of them did not play or contribute much to heavy metal but some bands like Miles, Feedback and Feelings played some hard rock songs in their concerts drawn from psychedelic and blues rock. Miles, despite being a pop rock and blues rock band, used to play few hard rock songs in their live concerts, around the early 1980s. James from Feelings (now known as Nogor Baul) was a pioneering psychedelic rock artist of Bangladesh. He too performed heavy rock riffs and solos. Late Ayub Bachchu was a member of the pop rock band, Souls, who later formed his own band, LRB. Ayub Bachchu, too, came forward with his technical guitar playing by following the bluesy styles, which also helped emerging heavy rock in Bangladesh.

The 1980s was the most important decade for the foundation of heavy metal in Bangladesh. Heavy metal and hard rock became very popular among young music fans. The young musicians picked up their instruments and started to cover hard rock and heavy metal songs. They also followed the styles of English and American metal bands styles – growing long hair, forming bands with English names, wearing tight jeans, t-shirts, boots, etc. However, due to cultural impact and strictness, many boys were not allowed to grow long hair until they became famous.