Aurthohin is a Bangladeshi

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...

band formed in

Dhaka Dhaka ( or ; bn, ঢাকা, Ḍhākā, ), formerly known as Dacca, is the capital and largest city of Bangladesh, as well as the world's largest Bengali-speaking city. It is the eighth largest and sixth most densely populated city ...

in 1998 by Saidus Sumon (vocals and bass guitar), Tonmoy Rahman (lead guitar), Ponir (rhythm guitar) and Rumi Rahman (drums and percussion). They are considered to be one of the pioneering band in Bangladeshi alternative rock music. They have released 8 studio albums and also have appeared in some mixed albums. Though they were formed as a rock band they have experimented with genres like

progressive metal Progressive metal (sometimes shortened to prog metal) is a broad :Fusion music genres, fusion music genre melding heavy metal music, heavy metal and progressive rock, combining the loud "aggression" and amplified electric guitar, guitar-driven s ...

and

groove metal Groove metal is a subgenre of heavy metal music that began in the early 1990s. The genre achieved success in the 1990s and continued having success in the 2000s. Inspired by thrash metal and traditional heavy metal, groove metal features raspy ...

. Sumon's interests in

slap bass Slapping and popping are ways to produce percussive sounds on a stringed instrument. It is primarily used on the double bass or bass guitar. Slapping on bass guitar involves using the edge of one's knuckle, where it is particularly bony, to ...

also led the band's sound into

funk-rock Funk rock is a fusion genre that mixes elements of funk and Rock music, rock. James Brown and others declared that Little Richard and his mid-1950s road band, The Upsetters (American band), The Upsetters, were the first to put the funk in the r ...

. After signing with G-Series, they released their debut studio album ''Trimatrik'' on 7 October 2000. The following album ''Biborton'', released on 10 December 2001, was more positively reviewed and gained more success than the previous one. The band released several hit songs in the 2000s like "''Adbhut Shei Cheleti''" (2000), "''Amar Proticchobi''" (2001), "''Hoytoba''" (2003), "''Anmone''" (2008) and "''Nikrishto''" (2008). Their most commercially successful album ''Aushomapto 2'' was released on 7 October 2011 by ME Label. Their sound was drawn from variety of musical influences including

alternative Alternative or alternate may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * Alternative (''Kamen Rider''), a character in the Japanese TV series ''Kamen Rider Ryuki'' * ''The Alternative'' (film), a 1978 Australian television film * ''The Alternative ...

blues Blues is a music genre and musical form which originated in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues incorporated spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts, chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads from the Afr ...

and also the

country music Country (also called country and western) is a genre of popular music that originated in the Southern and Southwestern United States in the early 1920s. It primarily derives from blues, church music such as Southern gospel and spirituals, ...

John Denver Henry John Deutschendorf Jr. (December 31, 1943 – October 12, 1997), known professionally as John Denver, was an American singer-songwriter, guitarist, actor, activist, and humanitarian whose greatest commercial success was as a solo singe ...

. There were several lineup changes, with Sumon being the only member who remained throughout the band's career. They have won many accolades including

Channel i Channel i ( bn, চ্যানেল আই) is a Bangladeshi Bengali-language satellite and cable television channel owned by Impress Group. It was launched on 1 October 1999, as Bangladesh's first digital television channel. It is one of the ...

and

Citycell Pacific Bangladesh Telecom Limited, doing business as Citycell ( bn, সিটিসেল), was the oldest mobile operator of Bangladesh. It was 1st mobile operator company in Bangladesh and pioneer telecommunications network companies in Sout ...

's best band of the year award in 2008 and 2011 respectively.

History

Formation and early years (1997–1999)

In 1997, Saidus Sumon released a solo album named ''সুমন ও অর্থহীন (Sumon and Aurthohin)'' from G-Series. He was still the bassist of

Warfaze Warfaze (Bengali language, Bengali: ওয়ারফেইজ) is a Bangladeshi heavy metal band formed in 6 June 1984 in Dhaka by Ibrahim Ahmed Kamal, Kamal, Meer, Helal, Naimul, and Bappy. They are one of the early heavy metal music, heavy ...

. The album featured bass and vocals by Sumon and some guest artists. The track 6 of the album ''অর্থহীন (Meaningless)'' featured 8 prominent guitarist of that era playing a collection of 27 guitar solos. The vocals of the song was done by Sunjoy of Warfaze. He umonhad the idea to form a band of his own from the song "অর্থহীন (Meaningless)". Then, in 1998 he formed the band along with Tonmoy Rahman (guitars), Ponir (guitars) and Rumi Rahman (drums).

''"ত্রিমাত্রিক (Three-Dimensional)"'' and ''"বিবর্তন (Evolution)"'' (1999–2001)

In the early 1999, Aurthohin signed a contract with G-Series. They started working on their debut album. The album was released on 7 October 2000. The album featured a confusing line-up of musicians, since Sumon credited both musicians that had left the band and had joined after the album was recorded. According to the sleeve of the album, the line-up included Sumon (lead vocals, bass guitars), Minhajuddin Ahmed Piklu (lead guitars), Russell Rahman (rhythm guitars, vocals) and Rumi Rahman (drums). The album was produced by

Iqbal Asif Jewel Iqbal Asif Jewel (born 1 March) is a Bangladeshi singer, songwriter, guitarist, composer and producer. He is currently a member of the band Miles. Career Iqbal's first band was ''Legend'', whose first album was ''Onnobhubon''. After the rest of ...

. It also started a trend of songs that would see sequels in later albums, including the ballad "অদ্ভুত সেই ছেলেটি (That Weird Boy)" and the taunt anthem "গুটি (Cube)". The album also featured a few acoustic based

soft rock Soft rock is a form of rock music that originated in the late 1960s in Southern California and the United Kingdom which smoothed over the edges of singer-songwriter and pop rock, relying on simple, melodic songs with big, lush productions. S ...

numbers such as "আমার না বলা কথা (The Things I Haven't Said)". This album paved the way for Aurthohin for gaining popularity and they also got more huge record deal in the next years. In February 2001, they signed a new contract with ME Label to release their next album. The album ''Biborton, বিবর্তন (Evolution)'' came out in the stores on 10 December 2001. Continuing with the same line-up, the album would grow to be Aurthohin's most critically acclaimed and widely accepted album yet. Featuring the sequels to the numbers "অদ্ভুত সেই ছেলেটি (That Weird Boy)" and "গুটি (Cube)", it also featured complex guitar and bass solos by the duo that was Piklu and Sumon and mixed in a blend of hard rock numbers intertwined with soft, melodious songs. Popular songs from the album include "গুটি ২ (Cube II)", "আমার প্রতিচ্ছবি (My Reflections)" and "অদ্ভুত সেই ছেলেটি ২ (That Weird Boy II)", which featured

Artcell Artcell is a Bangladeshi progressive metal band formed in October 1999 by vocalist and riff guitarist George Lincoln D'Costa, lead guitarist Ershad Zaman, bassist Saef Al Nazi Cézanne and drummer Kazi Sazzadul Asheqeen Shaju. The first song th ...

vocalist George Lincoln as a guest artist. This album was the second album produced by Iqbal Asif Jewel.

''"নতুন দিনের মিছিলে (New Day Procession)"'' and ''"ধ্রুবক (Constant)"'' (2002–2003)

In 2002, Russell Rahman left the band due to differences with frontman Sumon, paving the way for Kronic vocalist Imtiaz to fill in as guest vocalist for one of Aurthohin's most ambitious projects. Featuring the longest song in Bangladeshi rock history, "সাত দিন (Seven Days)", it was released to huge expectations nationwide. Kronic vocalist Imtiaz appeared in the song. It spanned for 28 minutes and 31 seconds long, chronicling the last seven days of an inmate on death row. The album received mixed reviews, some praising the ambitiousness behind "সাত দিন (Seven Days)" but feeling the other songs did not differentiate themselves from the pack. It also featured Apu from Triloy on keyboards. After the release of "নতুন দিনের মিছিলে (New Day Procession), Imtiaz told the band that he could not do the vocals as a guest members anymore and the band decided not to take any more guest members. Shishir Ahmed (guitars) of DNA joined the band. The band then faced their biggest problem to date when vocalist Sumon got sick and doctors told him he would not be able to sing as he did before. Sumon had to stop singing most of the vocal arrangements, and the band decided to take a new vocalist.

Raef al Hasan Rafa Raef Al Hasan Rafa (born 27 October 1988) is a Bangladeshi singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist. He is best known as the former drummer of rock band Aurthohin, and current drummer of metal band Cryptic Fate. He's also member of meta ...

, the drummer of Severe Dementia, joined the band as the vocalist and also a drummer. Aurthohin's fourth album, "ধ্রুবক (Constant)" was released in 2003 by G-Series. Most of the album was recorded in Art of Noise Studio, except for the bass guitars of the album which was recorded in Studio Bass. Featuring songs like, "চাইতে পারো (Can Ask)", " একটা গান দাও (Give Me a Song)" and "রঙধনু (Rainbow)", it went on to be one of the year's biggest hit album and received overwhelming positive reviews. It was their third album to be produced and mixed by Iqbal Asif Jewel.

Band problems (2004–2006)

Shortly after Aurthohin's 4th album ''"ধ্রুবক (Constant)"'' was released Sumon's health deteriorated. Due to Sumon's illness the band stopped almost all the gigs. At the end of 2004, longtime guitarist Minhajuddin Ahmed Piklu left the band. Sumon got the affiliation from

Michael Tobias Design Michael Tobias Design (MTD) is a Kingston, New York-based manufacturer of electric bass guitars founded by luthier Michael Tobias in 1994. Tobias, along with two part-time helpers, currently builds about 10 electric basses per month at his shop ...

. In 2005, Sumon's jaw got dislocated. Doctors told him to give up singing permanently. Chances of recovery were very low. Aurthohin stopped all their activities, Sumon and the others were planning to disband. But suddenly things began to change as Sumon was getting well. Aurthohin performed with the same line up until 2006.

Ibrahim Ahmed Kamal Ibrahim Ahmed Kamal (born 2 May 1969) is a Bangladeshi guitarist, songwriter and producer. He is the lead guitarist and the founder of the heavy metal band Warfaze. He has been the band's guitarist and composer for three decades. In his early ...

of Warfaze joined as a guest guitarist. After doing a few gigs Sumon offered him a permanent place which he accepted. Soon after the band started working on their fifth album.

''"অসমাপ্ত (Unfinished)"'' and ''"অসমাপ্ত ২ (Unfinished II)"'' (2008)

After a long break of five years, they released their 5th album ''"অসমাপ্ত (Unfinished)"'' in 2008 by G-Series. By the release of the album, it became the biggest hit album of the band featuring songs like "চাইতে পারো ২ (Can Ask II)", "আনমনে (Unheeding)", " গুটি (The Finale)", "নিকৃষ্ট (Inferior)" and "ফিটাস এর কান্না (The Cry of the Fetus)". The lineup of the band changed in this album. Shishir Ahmed became a full-time guitarist and Rafa became a full-time drummer. Ibrahim Ahmed Kamal of Warfaze also joined the band as the guitarist. The album was mixed and produced by Fuad al Muqtadir. All of the songs of the album was recorded at Studio Bass, Clockwork Studio and Hit Factory. The band won the

best band of the year award in 2008 for this album. Aurthohin released their 6th studio album on 25 November 2011. It contains 11 original tracks including sequels to previous songs 'Shurjo-2', 'Nikkrishto-2', Golper Shuru ('Audbhut Shei Chheleti prequel') and 'Anmonay-2'. Due to illness Kamal couldn't participate in the whole album. He played in 3 songs. Most of the guitar solos are done by Shishir while Rafa also contributed guitar solos in 3 songs. "Uru Uru Mon", "Anmone-2", "Nikkrishto-2", "Surjo-2" and "Cancer" has been instant hit. All songs except "Uru Uru Mon" are written by Sumon and all tracks composed and produced by Aurthohin. It took them only four days to create the album.

After ''"অসমাপ্ত ২ (Unfinished II)"'' (2011–2016)

Due to illness of Sumon, Aurthohin didn't play many concert's in 2012. After a long break they came back with live gigs in early 2013. In the middle of the 2013, Aurthohin announced on their Facebook page that Kamal is no more with the band. On 15 October 2013, they released their new single "Amjonota", that has lyrics about Bangladesh's current events, corruptions, political conflict and other issues. After playing 12 years, Rafa left the band due to his work pressure and schedule clashes with Aurthohin. Mark Don, Drummer of Trainwreck and guitarist of Metal Maze joined as drummer in 2015. They released an official music video of the song called "আলো আর আঁধার (Light and Darkness)" from the previous album. The video was directed by Sumon himself.

''"ক্যান্সারের নিশিকাব্য (Cancer Nishikabya)"'' (2016–present)

29 June 2016 Aurthohin released their 7th studio album ''Cancer er Nishikabyo'' at Robi Yonder music app.

Musical styles

Aurthohin has experimented with various genres over the years. They are known for developing various rock and metal genres in Bangladesh. Sumon used to arrange various music instruments to experiment with genres. He featured growling in his songs along with

screaming A scream is a loud speech production, vocalization in which air is passed through the vocal cords with greater force than is used in regular or close-distance vocalisation. This can be performed by any creature possessing lungs, including human ...

. Rafa, Imtiaz, Rasel etc. musicians backed up Sumon for growls and screams. Piklu also developed his guitar skills and brought extreme metal tone along with soft melodic tone in their songs. Their musical styles include –

hard rock Hard rock or heavy rock is a loosely defined subgenre of rock music typified by aggressive vocals and distorted electric guitars. Hard rock began in the mid-1960s with the garage, psychedelic and blues rock movements. Some of the earliest hard ...

alternative rock Alternative rock, or alt-rock, is a category of rock music that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1970s and became widely popular in the 1990s. "Alternative" refers to the genre's distinction from Popular culture, mainstre ...

metal A metal (from Greek μέταλλον ''métallon'', "mine, quarry, metal") is a material that, when freshly prepared, polished, or fractured, shows a lustrous appearance, and conducts electricity and heat relatively well. Metals are typicall ...

, heavy metal,

thrash metal Thrash metal (or simply thrash) is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music characterized by its overall aggression and often fast tempo.Kahn-Harris, Keith, ''Extreme Metal: Music and Culture on the Edge'', pp. 2–3, 9. Oxford: Berg, 2007, . ...

progressive rock Progressive rock (shortened as prog rock or simply prog; sometimes conflated with art rock) is a broad genre of rock music that developed in the United Kingdom and United States through the mid- to late 1960s, peaking in the early 1970s. Init ...

funk rock Funk rock is a fusion genre that mixes elements of funk and rock. James Brown and others declared that Little Richard and his mid-1950s road band, The Upsetters, were the first to put the funk in the rock and roll beat, with a biographer sta ...

speed metal Speed metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music that originated in the late 1970s from new wave of British heavy metal (NWOBHM) roots.K. Kahn-Harris, ''Extreme Metal: Music and Culture on the Edge'' (Berg Publishers, 2007), , p. 31. It ...

, symphonic rock etc. They have had a very wide music genre range, especially in their prime years, from 1998 to 2004.

Lyrical Theme

Aurthohin has had written various songs with different themes. Their songs focus on different subjects such as politics, life, love, corruption, narcissism etc. They have written many songs which were released as series focusing different topics. Such songs are songs like ''Guti, Chaite Paro, Nikkrishto (worst), Audbhut Shei Cheleti (The Weird boy) and Surjo (sun)''. Guti series songs focus on hypocrisy and narcissism of a powerful man. Audbhut Shei Cheleti tells a story of a messed up boy's life. A song called, ''Amjonata'', released in 2013, was about political status of Bangladesh. Sumon also wrote songs about his health issues. A notable song was, ''Cancer'', which tells the story of his cancer life.

Popularity

Aurthohin along with Rockstrata,

Cryptic Fate Cryptic Fate is a Bangladeshi heavy metal band formed in 1993 in Dhaka. They are one of the pioneers of Bangladeshi metal music. Since 1993, they have released four studio albums and several singles in mixed albums. The original lineup consist ...

, Stentorian,

Arbovirus (band) Arbovirus is a Bangladeshi rock band formed in 2001 in Dhaka. They have released three Studio Albums, one EP, and twelve singles through various mixed albums. History Formation and early years (2001-2005) Suharto formed the band with Ran ...

Metal Maze,

Black Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white ...

, Nemesis, Vibe, Kronic and The Attempted Band are among the first and few bands in

Bangladesh Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the eighth-most populous country in the world, with a population exceeding 165 million people in an area of . Bangladesh is among the mos ...

to popularise rock and heavy metal in the country. Their popularity paved the way for many bands to be formed especially in

Members

Present members

* Saidus Sumon – vocals, bass *

Shishir Ahmed Aurthohin is a Bangladeshi rock band formed in Dhaka in 1998 by Saidus Sumon (vocals and bass guitar), Tonmoy Rahman (lead guitar), Ponir (rhythm guitar) and Rumi Rahman (drums and percussion). They are considered to be one of the pioneering ...

– guitars, keyboards * Mahaan Fahim – guitars * Mark Don Sarker – drums, vocals

Past members

– drums, vocals, guitar * Rumi Rahman – drums * Minhajuddin Ahmed – guitars, vocals * Russel Rahman – vocals, guitars * Muntasir Mamun – drums *

– guitars * Tonmoy Rahman – guitars * Ponir – guitars * Shovon – guitars

Discography

Studio albums

* ''Trimatrik (Three-dimensional)'' (2000) * ''Biborton (Evolution)'' (2001) * ''Notun Diner Michhile (New Day Procession)'' (2002) * ''Dhrubok (Constant)'' (2003) * ''Aushomapto 1 (Unfinished I)'' (2008) * ''Aushomapto 2 (Unfinished II)'' (2011) * ''Cancer er Nishikabyo (Cancer Night Poems)'' (2016) * ''Pheonix er Diary 1 (Diary of the pheonix 1)'' (2022)

Videography

* ''নতুন দিনের মিছিলে (New Day Procession)'' * ''সমাধি শহর (Tomb Town)'' * ''অসমাপ্ত (Unfinished)'' * ''চাইতে পারো ২ (Can Ask II)'' * ''শেষ গান (Last Song)'' * ''আলো আর আঁধার (Light and Darkness)'' * ''চাইতে পারো ৩ (Can Ask III)'' * ''কারণ তুমি অমানুষ (Nikkrishto Revisited)''

References

External links

* {{Authority control Musical groups established in 1998 Musical quartets Alternative metal musical groups Bangladeshi rock music groups 1998 establishments in Bangladesh Bangladeshi progressive rock groups Groove metal musical groups