Heavy metal and hard rock old tapes in Nepal

[jnfernal]

Well, I'm here in Nepal for 1 month already.... planning to stay here a couple of months more if it worths the time

When I came here in 2010 there were music shops everywhere, literally everywhere and you could find thousand and thousand of local albums, from fucking boring folk/pop/indo songs to.... yes, hard rock, heavy metal, grind, hc, punk...

Unfortunately at that time I was not particularly interested in discovering local old recordings.... I just developed it after that very trip. Looking back now, I highly regret that choice

2022: now. No music store ever existing in the whole valley of Kathmandu, a hell of traffic jam, smog, tourist trap, poverty and extremely unfair social injustices.
I had a list of over 60 music shops, back from the past, found through google maps, local contacts and FB.... well, NONE of them does not exist anymore. None of them ever survived but two: a ridicolously hyper expensive music shop selling tibetan mantra songs at Boudanath Temple and a ridicolously useless shop in Thamel, the most commercial and touristic area of Kathmandu. Everything else has simply disappeared, erased, removed, annihilated, deleted.

In 2010 there was an active scene with lot of bands, concerts, gigs, recordings, albums, demos.... even my best friend in Italy produced a couple of nepalese noise projects; It was not too difficult to see some local extreme bands appearing on some asian compilation together with bands from India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka.... there was a scene because there were music shops, there were recordings (PHYSICAL recordings), there were tradings and there was a small but existing interaction with the outside world in order to trade bands releases and material

Nowadays everything totally disappeared. People, young generations, local musicians don't even know that once upon a time something called CD or Tapes.... nowadays everything is reduced to shitty single songs uploaded on youtube, filled with stupid advertising and phone numbers popping out every 10 seconds. This is the BEST WAY to make a scene dying and disappear for good. How can people ever think toget international exposition with just a (hyper produced, which is basically just a waste of time and money) single videoclip? Do they think they will go abroad on tour just playing the only song from their videoclip? Do they hope a multinational like BMG or Sony will sign them for a billionaire deal just watching a single, lonely, isolated music video?

That's how the scene disappeared. Music shops and music companies just turned into the real business of this country; tourism. Where once were really filled music shops, nowadays there are restaurants, travel agencies, trekking agencies, fashion shops, shops selling garbage to tourists and shops selling food. No more food for mind: the musical scene totally disappeared once everybody involved in (producers, distributors, shop owners, traders, band themselves) found ti was way much more lucrative to turn into the tourism business rather than keeping a thin but honest music scene alive. That's it.

In 1 month I have found absolutely nothing.... not even a single tape left. A CD. A shitty Mp3 CD. Nothing at all. And it's nearly impossible to track down even a history of early nepalese bands and recordings. I found a couple of collectors who agreed to send SINGLE songs taken from here and there, but this is totally helpless for a rigorous research on who's who and what have been done. A discography would be never possible to track down, in such conditions and with such mentality

However, in years of researches, I could track down a theoretical list of bands and recordings.... obviouysly for 99% of them, I just base my opinion on what I can judge by the cover, the album title and the general aspect. For physical material or actual songs.... well, we are 15 years late. At least.

Enjoy some photos while I track down the few information I could find:


- ANAMNESIS / ANAMESIS (Pokara):
- ARCHEOPTRY: 1 song on "3rd Saigon Memorial Open Nepali Pop Song Competition 2054" (Cassette, 1997)
- BANNED: "Censored" (Cassette, year unknown, MT RECORDS COMPANY)
- BLIND FAITH: Song on "Rhythm" (Cassette, 1993, TIK'N'TOK PRESENTATION)
- BRUCE LEE:
- CHARISMA: "Adam & Eve" (Cassette, year unknown, SELF-RELEASED?)
- COBWEB (Patan): "Anjaan" (Cassette, 1993)
- COBWEB (Patan): "Cobweb" (Cassette, 1996, SANTANA RECORDS)
- COBWEB (Patan): "Rolling string" (Cassette, 1998, SANTANA RECORDS)
- COBWEB (Patan): "Mercedes Benz" (Cassette, 2000)
- COBWEB (Patan): "Rock'n'roll" (Cassette, 2002)
- COBWEB (Patan): "Greatest Hits" (Cassette, 2003)
- COBWEB (Patan): "Swing" (Cassette, 2004)
- COBWEB (Patan): "Namaste" (CD, 2010)
- COBWEB (Patan): "Astitwa" (CD, 2016)
- COBWEB (Patan): 1 song on "Sajjan Memorial Pop Song Competition 2053" (Cassette, 1996)
- CRISS CROSS (Kathmandu):
- DEEP SOUL (Kathmandu):
- DEEPAK BAJRACHARY: "Littluns" (Cassette, year unknown, ANNAPURNA CASSETTE CENTRE)
- DEMONS: 1 Cassette Album (year unknown)
- DR. PILOTS: "Dooshi" (Cassette, 1994, ALFA RECORDS)
- DR. PILOTS: "Oh, mayalu" (Cassette, 1995, ALFA RECORDS)
- DR. PILOTS: "On Air" (Cassette, 1998)
- DR. PILOTS: "Shangri La" (Cassette, 2000)
- DR. PILOTS: "Sarkari jagira" (CD, 2004)
- FACET: "Grenades in grave" (Cassette, 1994, CASSETTE BOX PRODUCTIONS)
- GREASE:
- INCARNATION: 1 song on "Sajjan Memorial Pop Song Competition 2053" (Cassette, 1996)
- JUTOH:
- LITTLUNS: Tape album (Indreni Cassettes, year unknown)
- MANEATER (Kathmandu):
- MATRIX: 1 song on "3rd Sajjan Memorial Open Nepali Pop Song Competition 2054" (Cassette, 1997)
- METAL CROSS: Song on "Rhythm" (Cassette, 1993, TIK'N'TOK PRESENTATION)
- MILESTONE (Pokhara): "Adhuro prem" (Cassette, 1995)
- MONGOLS: 1 Cassette Album
- NEWAZ: "Newaz" (Cassette, 1995, HRT AUDIO LINK)
- NIHARIKA GROUP (Narayangarh): "Niharika Group" (Cassette, year uknown, NANJANA CASSETTE CENTER)
- NUM SKULL:
- PADUWAZ / THE PADUWAZ / THE PADUWAS:
- PAROMANIA / PAROMANIA BAND / PAROHANIA: "Rest for a while" (Cassette, year unknown, SUNRISE AUDIO CASSETTES)
- ROCK KIDS:
- SCABBARD: "Hamr bhabisya" (Cassette, year unknown)
- SKINHEAD BARBIE:
- STASH: 1 song on "Sajjan Memorial Pop Song Competition 2053" (Cassette, 1996)
- STEEL WHEELS: 1 song on "3rd Sajjan Memorial Open Nepali Pop Song Competition 2054" (Cassette, 1997)
- THE BAD KISS: "Nashalu Hayan" (Cassette, year unknown, N.P. C's)
- THE CRISIS: "Wildfire" (Cassette, 1992, 12 songs, JYOTI CASSETTES PRODUCTIONS)
- THE CRISIS: Song on "Rhythm" (Cassette, 1993, TIK'N'TOK PRESENTATION)
- THE GODS: 1 tape album, nepali title (Cassette, 1993, TIK'N'TOK PRESENTATION)
- THE MOVE: "Shiram" (Cassette, 1991)
- THE MOVE: "Priyasi II" (Cassette, year unknown)
- THE MOVE: 1 song on "Aalish Presents: Young Strike - The Best Collections" (Cassette, year unknown, MAGNUM AUDIO & VIDEO)
- THE MOVE: Song on "Rhythm" (Cassette, 1993, TIK'N'TOK PRESENTATION)
- THE NIGHT HARE (Kathmandu ?):
- THE PEACE (born in 1991): One cassette album (title unknown, year unknown)
- THE ROCKERS: 1 album (Cassette, year unknown)
- THE VICTORY: 1 song on "Sajjan Memorial Pop Song Competition 2053" (Cassette, 1996)
- VAGABOND:
- VEGETARIAN VAMPIRES (Kathmandu):
- VILE: Song on "Rhythm" (Cassette, 1993, TIK'N'TOK PRESENTATION)
- VIVAX (from Pokhara, changed name to PARASITE):
- WHO DUZ: "The disaster of 1993 - Kebal timro lagi" (Cassette, 1993)
- WRATHCHILD (Kathmandu):
- ZENITH: 1 Cassette album (year unknown, title unknown)
- ZENITH: Chapter 2 (Cassette, year unknown)
- ZENITH: 1 song on "3rd Sajjan Memorial Open Nepali Pop Song Competition 2054" (Cassette, 1997)
- VARIOUS ARTISTS: "1st Sajjan Memorial Open Nepali Pop Song Competition 2053" (Cassette, 1996, SANTANA RECORDS)
- VARIOUS ARTISTS: "3rd Sajjan Memorial Open Nepali Pop Song Competition 2054" (Cassette, 1997, SANTANA RECORDS)
- VARIOUS ARTISTS: "Aalish Presents: Young Strike - The Best Collections" (Cassette, year unknown, MAGNUM AUDIO & VIDEO)
- VARIOUS ARTISTS: "Genius" (Cassette, year unknown, SQUARE AUDIO CENTRE)
- VARIOUS ARTISTS: "Rhythm" (Cassette, 1993, TIK'N'TOK PRESENTATION)


Cobweb: Anjaan (1st album 1993) + Cobweb (2nd album 1996)


Cobweb: Rollin' String (3rd album 1998)


Dr. Pilots: Dooshi (1st album 1994)


Dr. Pilots: Oh mayalu (2nd album, 1995)


Dr. Pilots: On air (3rd album, 1998)


Facet: Grenades in grave (1994)


Littluns - with Deepal Bajracharya (year unknown, 90's)


Newaz: Newaz (1995)


- Niharika Group (from Narayangarh) - Niharika Group (year unknown)


Paromania Band: Rest for a while (year unknown)


Scabbard: Hamro bhabisya (year unknown)


The Angels: 4th (!) album


The Bad Kiss: Nashalu hayan (year unknown)



The Crisis: Wildfire (1992)


The Move: Shiram (year unknown)


Who Duz: The disaster of - Kebal timro lagi (1992)



V.A. - 1st Sajjan Memorial Open Nepali Pop Song Competition 2053 (1996)


V.A. - 3rd Sajjan Memorial Open Nepali Pop Song Competition 2054 (1997)


V.A. - Aalish Presents: Young Strike - The Best Collections (year unknown, late 90s / early 2000s)


V.A. - Genius (unknown year, I don't know which are the metal bands announced on the cover)



V.A.: Rhythm (1993, with Vile, Snowmen, The Crisis and Metal Cross - top want!!!)



V.A.: unknown compilation (they told me there are some hard rock bands in)


other tapes: Zenith "Second Chapter", Dr. Pilots' "Shanrgi La" (2000), Mongols, Demons.... and who knows what else...


Well.... that's all, for the moment

[DaN]

First of all it's great to see that you're out & about doing this fantastic research again - or at least trying to
Reading about that 2010 vs 2022 comparison gave me complete angst. I think most collectors and trivia-geeks can recognize the utter despair of Missed Opportunities...
Can't argue about much of your observations and reflections concerning the change of attitude within that scene and similar... What amazes/irritates me about this and a similar situation I think you told me about in India, is how little interest there seem to be about preserving and documenting the local music legacy. What happened with being proud of ones music history? Hope we'll see an end to that kind of attitude one day coz I don't wanna die without ever having heard one single note from those cool looking tapes

[jnfernal]

Well, dear Dan, I think you already know what I think about this point. We talked about it when I was trying to build a database for this part of the world in 2021.

I just copy a few thoughts that I shared in another forum, as, basically, they are my point of view always valid everytime and everywhere.


You see, in Europe, in the US, in America or Japan, even in Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand.... after the big crisis of major, generic music companies, tons of small, independent label emerged, surfaced and got a different approach to the music production. Reissues, boxset, collector's edition, old albums reissued as well as new bands, new recordings.... a huge, vaste competition field where (relatively) small labels keep promoting our beloved music. No Remorse, High Roller, F.O.A.D., Leyenda Records, Psychophony Records, Jolly Rogers... they demonstrate that it is still possible to make music, great packaging, interesting releases, to gain success within a specific audience of public without being necessarily hyper-rich, without being a major company who need television or radio covering... if you set your target on a specific audience you can keep releasing music. And with much more freedom, creativity and with better relationship with your customers and other independent music labels. The only way to keep heavy metal music alive passes through independent productions, small labels, very specific labels who concentrate their efforts in this very specific kind of music. Nowadays it's impossible for a big major such BMG, Sony, Warner to give an opportunity to new bands or spend their time in releasing old forgotten stuff. So, this is the only way... and results speak clearly: every month new releases, new labels, new projects pop out. I can be only happy for this. Because this is the only way possible, nowadays.

Ok, pressings are not like 30 years ago... nowadays we talk about 100, 200, 500 copies. 1000 copies or even up to 2000 in the luckiest situation. But the music scene is active as never before. You see wit your own eyes how many new labels emerge or appear. Not big business, not big money, but.... hell.... who thinks to become millionaire with heavy metal nowadays? It's like Messi or Ronaldo... maybe just one band/label will emerge over a million. But still, more and more, new labels, new bands, new and old recordings appear on the market. The scene is active as never before. And that's a fact. And I'm glad to see that it's happening worldwide: from Europe to USA to Central and South America to Malaysia and Thailand, young people are demonstrating that you don't need to be billionaire to establish a music production. And with few money you can give a chance to new bands and resurface from the past and release from oblivion old gems from the past to keep the story and heritage always alive and available for the future generations.

What happens here in the indian continent? Here, even the shittiest band hopes to become billionaire being signed by some major labels, going on tour to Japan, USA, Europe and making a living with music.... they are just here for money, one of the many ways to make money. Nobody think that "ok, let's start from a shitty demo, let's distribute it in some small self-produced concerts or among friends, let's tape trade, let's get in touch with other shitty bands to release a split or a compilation together...."

No.... here there is one target only: to play music in order to become the next big thing, to become millionaire among a mass of beggars, to get success among girls and groupies in order to fuck them as celebrities and as the new gods on earth.
And if we don't get any success (and how could be it possible when you already start with such hyper high expectation?) then we just give up and MAKE MONEY (because, in the end, that's the only thing that matter: music is just a mean, not a target) in other different ways
That's how the music scene disappeared here: just for profit. Both by musicians and by producers and distributors. It doesn't involve any passion. It's just a matter of business, nothing else.

Yesterday morning for breakfast I was talking with a guy ("I'm so rich, I have a lot of land"... ok, who cares) and he told me that nobody today will ever think to release an album because it's too much expensive to shoot HIGH QUALITY VIDEOS with the BEST DIRECTORS, with the BEST EQUIPMENT and with the BEST TECHNOLOGY.
"Sorry, but do you really need the best, when still nobody knows you and you didn't even played your first concert ever?"
"Yes, you need to show people THAT YOU ARE COOL, otherwise you will never go anywhere"
"Ah, ok.... in fact the scene really went nowhere, with this kind of stupid approach. Congratulations. Give me 50 euros and I will produce 3 demos for 3 different bands and spread them in Europe and USA, and let's see who will get the best international exposition. If you with your best everything or me with my shitty 50 euros"
"Are you so powerful?"
"No, I am an idiot. Just like you". And I left the place.

I witnessed this yesterday: there was a "famous" music label here called Ciwek.... they released some rock album (I also posted some of them above).... ok.... you know what? Now they went out of business and turned into a private clinic for foreigners in the same residential street of the british and indian embassy (I know because I went to such clinic to visit a french guy who got really sick): 150 euros per day for every recovered patient (an average salary for an average factory worker is 80/100 per month, here... but i know lot of people who make several thousand euros every month with tourism business as well).... they thought that with music they would never became billionaire. Now, they fulfilled their dream. Same situation for another music company who now is a successful 5 stars hotel: next to my guesthouse there is the Moonlight Hotel, a good 4 or 5 stars hotel, really expensive. I made a research. Until ,2015, before the earthquake, they were a famous music company and music producers. But, obviously, the tourism business brings much more profit: so, thank you and goodbye CDs and tapes and welcome to tourists and travellers. I just talked with the manager this morning: they threw away all their musical stocks, they don't care anymore about music. "We make more money with tourists rather than selling cheap tapes to local people"

Well, I broke with my local girlfriend a few days ago.... she blamed me to try making money in the WRONG WAY, with music, movies and books and art in general. "If you want to make real money, just sell and buy coffee or food".... maybe she didn't really get the point of what's passion and what's just mere business. I dontwant to be a generic businessman (a word that I even hate so much, by the way): I just want to work and earn honest money in the field that I really love and that really marks my whole life. That's it. Even because I really dislike the concept of being a businessman selling and buying everything just as billions of people do here in Asia: I was a teacher of italian language and i loved that job because it involved culture and sharing culture. I loved pressing the newspaper as a factory worker because I was producing art and information. I don't want to be a businessman just 2-3 billions people here in Asia selling everything that can be on demand. I don't care and I don't like it. So, if I search, buy and sell music it is just because I LIKE it, I like to get and share information and bits of history and background. I do it just because I love all the stories and the information behind it. To be a businessman asian-style selling sponges, teaspoons, cigarettes, coffee or garbage to tourists just for the sake of making money is not my cup of tea at all.

So, I think that we always need some physical places where to sell/trade/find music because they are important to keep a scene alive.
I see the record stores in Kuala Lumpur or Bangkok that I know quite well: they became also meeting points, they organize regular Record Store Day Exhibitions, they serve also as a cultural reference for a certain part of the population who's into this kind of music. Like other shops all around the world where you go, first of all, to meet other people just like you or me. Where to discuss and share ideas or projects. And I'm glad to see thay they also receive tourists and travellers from all over the world. It's thanx to places like these that a new wave of local independent labels surfaced in Malaysia and Thailand and they are releasing lot of new bands and quickly rescuing from obscurity their old heritage and musical history. I feel so happy for this. I can't say anything bad: that's the way we have to follow.

But even if the most generic music store disappear, obviously also physical records must disappear as there is no more a physical space where to distribute and sell them. And that's what happened here. Nepal cannibalized itself in the name of making easy money with tourism: all its artistic scene disappeared,with its own local identity and diversity. It just survives as a mass-production garbages for tourists: reproduction of traditional instruments or shitty carpets and paintings to please tourists, like a hyper-stereotyped one way only to show the external world that Nepal is just mantra, traditiona folk songs and buddhism. It's like Italy just offers pizza, mandolini and dolce vita to everybody, saying: "ehy, we are just this. Nothing else than this".

And when both shops and label disappear and everything reduces to shitty videos on YouTube.... Well, I feel like there's no real passion in the activity/job you do. You're in it only for money and not for a real passion. Today you produce/sell music and tomorrow you cook pizza or sell trekking bags to tourists. Who cares about what you produce or sell. Just money count.

You know, I still have in mind a conversation I had with the band Millennium from India a couple of years ago.... they released a tape album back in 1993-1994 which is really good and I offered them to re-release it on a limited 500 copies edition, with the first ep as bonus tracks:

"We have an estimated fan base of 50.000 fans, so that's our starting point. And we would like to have a deal with a major company like Sony in India"

"Oh, well.... to be honest, I think that very few people know you outside India and I guess 500 copies with remastering, in-deep booklet and interesting bonus tracks may serve as a nice presentation card for the western audience"

"Sorry, we don't have the Ep anymore, it's impossible to find nowadays. Anyway we are not interested in a pressing lower than 10,000 copies. But, if western people really LOVE us (?) they may find SOME OF OUR BEST SONGS (....) n youtube"

Well... ok... that's it. What can you reply when bands have this kind of approach? Just let them be forgotten, let their recordings go lost forever and who cares if in the future nobody will be able to find their albums anymore. We can still listen to SOME OF THEIR BEST SONGS on youtube, so we can consider ourselves lucky. If we really LOVE them.

Well.... I guess they are right. It's just me who's a dreamer and utopistic loser. Music exists only as long as it may represent a business. It's not passion or art. It's just a business like thousand others. What is done is done and nobody will ever drop a tear on the forgotten past. And if one day it will disappear forever.... oh, well, who cares. Anyway they were not a big business.

Sic transit gloria mundi

[jnfernal]

a few more stuff:

The Gods: The Gods (around 1994)


The Matrix: Swapna (mid 90s)



Vibrato: Aatma kata (2000 - one of the very first fully heavy metal album from Nepal. Also available on the tube)


Wrathchild: one of the first metal bands, active from 1987. No recordings known (at least to me)




Zenith: Chapter One (around 1996: the first album is hard rock/metal. The second one is garbage)


V.A.: Gorkha Rocks (2002)


V.A.: Hope (mid 90's: with The Peace, Heartbeat, The Gods, Valiant and above all Shristy who released two thrash metal cassette in the USA during those years. Obviously unknwn to everybody)


V.A. - Youth Collection - Voice (mid 90's - with The Bad Kiss, see the first post)




Still searching for a picture of Milestone (they released a tape album in 1996 with the very first 2 proper heavy metal songs, beside 6 hard rock ballads), the two Drishty tape album recorded in Ohio in mid 90's (thrash metal); Metal Cross' "Navin" tape album (1993); Stash tape album (1997); Blind Faith + The Peace + Vagabond + Vile cassette albums.... all stuff said to be proto-metal, metal or including sone metal numbers among other tracks.

Good luck.... I give up the idea to find even a shitty cds.... to be honest in more than one month I even hadn't seen any more stationery shop or electronic shop or super/minimarket selling empty cdr..... bad, bad, bad sign

[tbieri]

Thanks for those pics! Cool to see! And some are funny too!

[jnfernal]

Yeah, those with skulls and skeletons on the cover are the best

[Nix Nox]

Still searching for a picture of Milestone (they released a tape album in 1996 with the very first 2 proper heavy metal songs, beside 6 hard rock ballads), the two Drishty tape album recorded in Ohio in mid 90's (thrash metal); Metal Cross' "Navin" tape album (1993); Stash tape album (1997); Blind Faith + The Peace + Vagabond + Vile cassette albums.... all stuff said to be proto-metal, metal or including sone metal numbers among other tracks.

Good luck.... I give up the idea to find even a shitty cds.... to be honest in more than one month I even hadn't seen any more stationery shop or electronic shop or super/minimarket selling empty cdr..... bad, bad, bad sign

Not sure if this forum is still active. But if it is and if you're still looking for photos of Milestone, I have some. I actually played drums for Milestone.

[DaN]

Still searching for a picture of Milestone (they released a tape album in 1996 with the very first 2 proper heavy metal songs, beside 6 hard rock ballads), the two Drishty tape album recorded in Ohio in mid 90's (thrash metal); Metal Cross' "Navin" tape album (1993); Stash tape album (1997); Blind Faith + The Peace + Vagabond + Vile cassette albums.... all stuff said to be proto-metal, metal or including sone metal numbers among other tracks.

Good luck.... I give up the idea to find even a shitty cds.... to be honest in more than one month I even hadn't seen any more stationery shop or electronic shop or super/minimarket selling empty cdr..... bad, bad, bad sign

Not sure if this forum is still active. But if it is and if you're still looking for photos of Milestone, I have some. I actually played drums for Milestone.

Hellcome to the forum Nix'!
Haven't seen jnfernal around for a while, but please do believe we're more than a little excited to see & hear more of the Nepal HR/HM scene!
Is there any chance that you have copies of the tapes pictured in this thread, or similar stuff from this period? It would be an absolute treasure to finally let the world hear them

[Nonseinormale65]

[jnfernal update] edited by aDmiN

[DaN]

[jnfernal update] edited by aDmiN

Goot to hear Fr** is still alive. I thought the personal situation of a forum member isn't really relevant to a Metal fandom forum so I cut it out. Been there, done that, so edited for privacy.

[Nonseinormale65]

[jnfernal update] edited by aDmiN

Goot to hear Fr** is still alive. I thought the personal situation of a forum member isn't really relevant to a Metal fandom forum so I cut it out. Been there, done that, so edited for privacy.

Well,he shared publicly these info but i get your point