''Maazi, Haal, Mustaqbil'' (Urdu: ماضی، حال، مستقبل, literal English translation: "past, present, future") is the second studio album of the Pakistani

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 ...

band

Mizraab Mizraab ( ) is a progressive rock and Progressive metal, metal band from Karachi, Sindh, Pakistan, formed in 1997.Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...

. Lyrically, the album contains references to life, death, nature and the environment a person lives in. The album was recorded and produced by vocalist and lead 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 ...

. The album is the second album produced by Faraz. The album is entirely a progressive rock and heavy metal album and the first concept album which is released in Pakistan. ''Maazi, Haal, Mustaqbil'' was released to critical acclaim and commercial success. Five singles have been released in promotion of the album along with their music videos; "Meri Terhan" and "Insaan" in 2002, "Izhar" in March 2003, "Kitne Sadian" in April 2004 and "Panchi" in September 2005. "Kitne Sadian", "Insaan" and "Meri Terhan" did very well at the local music charts. The album received generally positive reviews from music critics. The album sold more than 30,000 copies upon its release and is the band's highest selling album.

Background

After Akhthar Qayyum left the band, Faraz Anwar recruited two new members Jamal Mustafa on

rhythm guitars In music performances, rhythm guitar is a technique and role that performs a combination of two functions: to provide all or part of the rhythmic pulse in conjunction with other instruments from the rhythm section (e.g., drum kit, bass guitar) ...

and Irfan Ahmed on drums. The band then started working on their second studio album. Firstly, the band struggled to strike a record deal as no

record label A record label, or record company, is a brand or trademark of music recordings and music videos, or the company that owns it. Sometimes, a record label is also a publishing company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the produ ...

was willing to release a

album as the general Pakistani audience were not aware of the genre. Leaving aside the record labels, the band also faced opposition from the local music channels as they banned the band from playing their music videos which were initially given a lot of air time. Music videos of singles "Insaan", released in October 2002, and "Meri Terhan", released in December, were banned from playing on many local music channels. However, the band did not gave up and went on recording and releasing their third single music video, "Izhar", for the

2003 Cricket World Cup The 2003 ICC Cricket World Cup was the eighth Cricket World Cup, organised by the International Cricket Council (ICC). It was co-hosted by South Africa, Zimbabwe and Kenya from 9 February to 23 March 2003. This edition of the World Cup was the f ...

and dedicated the song to the

Pakistan cricket team The Pakistan national cricket team or Pak cricket team, often referred to as the Shaheens (), Green Shirts, Men in Green and Cornered Tigers is administered by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB). The team is a Full Member of the International ...

. The video of the song was made in a very short period of time and was released in March 2003. The video was a success and received a lot of air time play on music channels and was even played internationally on the

Dubai Dubai (, ; ar, دبي, translit=Dubayy, , ) is the most populous city in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the capital of the Emirate of Dubai, the most populated of the 7 emirates of the United Arab Emirates.The Government and Politics of ...

based sports channel

Ten Sports Sony Sports Network, formerly Sony Pictures Sports Network, and also known as Sony TEN, is a group of Indian pay television sports channels owned by Culver Max Entertainment (formerly Sony Pictures Networks India). The original TEN Sports chan ...

. After the release of "Izhar", Khalid Khan also left the band due to playing bass for two bands at one time, Mizraab and

Aaroh Aaroh ( ) is an alternative rock band from Karachi, Sindh, Pakistan, formed in 1998. The band was founded by keyboardist Kamran Khan and lead guitarist Nabeel Nihal . (This name was given to them by Shoaib Mansoor), who were joined by, Vocalist ...

. Aaroh had already broken into the mainstream and Mizraab was not going to remain underground much longer. Realising that it was difficult for him to continue with both these demanding acts, the band decided that Khalid should limit himself to one of these. So, Khalid ended up parting ways with the band and became a full-time band member of Aaroh. Faraz Arshad, an ex-student of Faraz Awar, replaced Khalid Khan on

bass guitars The bass guitar, electric bass or simply bass (), is the lowest-pitched member of the string family. It is a plucked string instrument similar in appearance and construction to an electric or an acoustic guitar, but with a longer neck and s ...

Reception

On April 14, 2004, Mizraab released their fourth single "Kitni Sadian" music video directed by Babar Sheikh from their upcoming second studio album. On March 8, Mizraab released their second studio album ''Maazi, Haal, Mustaqbil'', which found the band renewed popularity and success. The album was released by the record label, Sadaf Stereo and was quickly sold out in the market. The album received much criticism and acclaim by critics. The album also featured the two new recruits in the band, Jamal Mustafa and Faraz Arshad. The album was released after 3 years of struggle because no record label was interested in releasing a progressive rock format album in Pakistan. However, the album sold more than 30,000 copies upon release and the album sales surprised the record label and was forced to print out more copies because of its demand. ''Maazi Haal Mustaqbil'' credited to be the first proper Urdu metal album released and the first ever progressive concept album released in Pakistan. Due to the success of the album, at the Lux Style Awards 2004, the album was nominated for the "Best Music Album" award. On August 5, 2007, Mizraab's single "Insaan" was at number #1 for the download of the week by Instep magazine.INSTEP Magazine - Download this week
Retrieved on March 20, 2011

Track listing

All music composed & arranged by

. All songs written by Adnan Ahmed, those which are not are mentioned below.

Personnel

All information is taken from the CD. ;Mizraab *

lead vocals The lead vocalist in popular music is typically the member of a group or band whose voice is the most prominent melody in a performance where multiple voices may be heard. The lead singer sets their voice against the accompaniment parts of t ...

lead guitar Lead guitar (also known as solo guitar) is a musical part for a guitar in which the guitarist plays melody lines, instrumental fill passages, guitar solos, and occasionally, some riffs and chords within a song structure. The lead is the featur ...

* Irfan Ahmad -

drums A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other Percussion instrument, auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair o ...

* Jamal Mustafa -

rhythm guitar In music performances, rhythm guitar is a technique and role that performs a combination of two functions: to provide all or part of the rhythmic pulse in conjunction with other instruments from the rhythm section (e.g., drum kit, bass guitar ...

* Faraz Arshad - bass,

backing vocals A backing vocalist is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists. A backing vocalist may also sing alone as a lead-in to the main vocalist's entry or to sing a counter-melody. Backing vocalists are use ...

;Additional musicians * Khalid Mustafa Khan - bass ;Production * Produced by

Mizraab Mizraab ( ) is a progressive rock and Progressive metal, metal band from Karachi, Sindh, Pakistan, formed in 1997.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 ...

and Jamal Mustafa * Recorded & mixed at 8-93 in

Karachi Karachi (; ur, ; ; ) is the most populous city in Pakistan and 12th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 20 million. It is situated at the southern tip of the country along the Arabian Sea coast. It is the former cap ...

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...

* Web designing by Syed Abdul Moni * Cover concept and design by Babar Sheikh * Photography by Babar Sheikh, Murtaza and Ibaad * Additional artwork by Khurrum Khan

References

External links

Official Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mazi, Haal, Mustaqbil 2004 albums Mizraab albums Urdu-language albums