Karakoram ( ur, ) is a Pakistani

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 ...

band. The band consists of Sherry Khattak as the lead vocalist and guitarist, Omair Farooq as bassist, Bilawal Lahooti as drummer, and Zain Peerzada and Annan Noukhez as guitarists. It was formed in

Lahore Lahore ( ; pnb, ; ur, ) is the second most populous city in Pakistan after Karachi and 26th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 13 million. It is the capital of the province of Punjab where it is the largest city. ...

Punjab Punjab (; Punjabi: پنجاب ; ਪੰਜਾਬ ; ; also romanised as ''Panjāb'' or ''Panj-Āb'') is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the northern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising ...

in 2017. The band came into prominence with the release of the single ''Yeh Dunya'' on season 14 of ''

Coke Studio Pakistan ''Coke Studio'' ( ur, ) is a Pakistani television programme and international music franchise which features studio-recorded music performances by established and emerging artists. It is the longest-running annual television music show in Pakis ...

'', in collaboration with rappers

Talha Anjum Talha Anjum (born 3 October 1996) is a Pakistani Urdu rapper, songwriter and lyricist. He was born and raised in Karachi and is popularly known for being a member and co-founder of the Hip hop music, hip-hop band Young Stunners along with T ...

and

Faris Shafi Faris Shafi (Urdu/ Punjabi: فارس شفیع; born November 2, 1987) is a Pakistani rapper, songwriter and actor. He is son of actress Saba Hameed and Syed Pervaiz Shafi, and brother of musician Meesha Shafi. Performing in Urdu, English and P ...

History

They released their first

extended play An extended play record, usually referred to as an EP, is a musical recording that contains more tracks than a single but fewer than an album or LP record.

, ''Ibtida'', in April 2020 which consisted of four tracks. This was followed by a debut album, ''Ailaan-e-Jang'', in February 2021 comprising nine tracks. The album was mixed and produced by

Zulfiqar Jabbar Khan Zulfiqar "Xulfi" Jabbar Khan (born 28 October 1980) is a Pakistani composer, singer-songwriter, music producer and a guitarist. Starting his career in 1994, Khan is the recipient of multiple awards in Pakistan. He is currently working on the te ...

and was praised for its fusion of "tastefully-mixed distortion, rip-roaring shouts, catchy lyrics and bombastic drumming". They gained prominence with their single ''Yeh Dunya'', which was released in collaboration with rappers

and

on season 14 of ''

'' and featured a fusion of "Urdu rap and heavy metal". They also contributed to the title song ''Dil Fatah Karain'' of the animated comic series ''

Team Muhafiz Team Muhafiz ( ur, ) is a Pakistani comic book series featuring an organized group of fictional teenage Pakistani crime fighting superheroes launched in August 2015. The team faces the real-life issues of trafficking, terrorism and in its thir ...

'', in collaboration with

Soch ''Soch'' is a 2002 Hindi language crime thriller mystery film starring Sanjay Kapoor, Raveena Tandon, Arbaaz Khan, Danny Denzongpa and Aditi Govitrikar among others. ''Soch'' is a remake of Alfred Hitchcock's 1951 film '' Strangers on a Train ...

and the

Young Stunners Young Stunners are a Pakistani hip hop duo formed in Karachi in 2012. The duo is composed of Talha Anjum (rapper) and Talhah Yunus. Much of their music is produced by Jokhay. Talha Anjum and Talhah Yunus rose to fame as rappers on YouTube afte ...

. Later in 2022, the band released the singles ''Kyun'' in collaboration with

Hasan Raheem Hasan Raheem (born August 2, 1998) is a Pakistani singer, songwriter and rapper. He is known for his subtle, laid-back R&B, hip hop and indie pop styles of music. Early life and education Raheem was born in 1998. He belongs to a Shina family ha ...

, ''Duur'' and ''Zindagi''. In March 2023, they released ''Gol Chakkar'' with guitarist

Faraz Anwar Faraz Anwar (Urdu: فراز انور; b.15 July 1976) is a Pakistani musician, composer, singer-songwriter, bandleader, and a guitarist who founded the ''Mizraab'', a heavy metal music and hard rock genre band based in Pakistan. His musical act ...

Musical style and influences

Karakoram's musical style is noted to feature elements of alternative rock,

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 ...

, heavy metal,

neo-progressive rock Neo-progressive rock (also known as neo-prog) is a genre, subgenre of progressive rock which developed in the UK in the early 1980s. The genre's most popular band, Marillion, achieved mainstream success in the decade. Several bands from the genre ...

nu metal Nu metal (sometimes stylized as nü-metal, sometimes called aggro-metal) is a subgenre of that combines elements of heavy metal music with elements of other music genres such as hip hop, alternative rock, funk, industrial, and grunge. Nu met ...

and

alternative metal Alternative metal (also known as alt-metal) is a genre of heavy metal music Heavy metal (or simply metal) is a genre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, largely in the United Kingdom and United States. With r ...

. In terms of drawing influences, their style has been compared to that of

Linkin Park Linkin Park is an American rock band from Agoura Hills, California. The band's current lineup comprises vocalist/rhythm guitarist/keyboardist Mike Shinoda, lead guitarist Brad Delson, bassist Dave Farrell, DJ/turntablist Joe Hahn and drummer ...

Foo Fighters Foo Fighters are an American rock band formed in Seattle in 1994. Foo Fighters was initially formed as a one-man project by former Nirvana drummer Dave Grohl. Following the success of the eponymous debut album, Grohl (lead vocals, guitar) re ...

Porcupine Tree Porcupine Tree are an English rock band formed by musician Steven Wilson in 1987. During an initial career spanning more than twenty years, they earned critical acclaim from critics and fellow musicians, developed a cult following, and became ...

Bring Me the Horizon Bring Me the Horizon (often abbreviated as BMTH) are a British rock band formed in Sheffield in 2004. The group consists of lead vocalist Oliver Sykes, guitarist Lee Malia, bassist Matt Kean, drummer Matt Nicholls and keyboardist Jordan Fis ...

, as well as Pakistani bands such as

Entity Paradigm Entity Paradigm ( Punjabi, , in English sometimes shortened as EP) was a Pakistani rock band from Lahore, Punjab, formed in 2000. The band was founded by songwriter and guitarist Xulfi, vocalist, songwriter Fawad Khan and keyboardist and vocalis ...

and

Call Call or Calls may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Games * Call, a type of betting in poker * Call, in the game of contract bridge, a bid, pass, double, or redouble in the bidding stage Music and dance * Call (band), from Lahore, Paki ...

References

{{reflist Musical groups from Lahore Pakistani rock music groups