Stentorian
Encyclopedia
Stentorian is a Heavy Metal
band from Bangladesh
formed in the early 2001. Stentorian released one commercially successful album Protimuhurtey
in 2005
and several commercially successful singles. Their most notable songs include Adrissho Juddho, Bishonno Adhaar, Bidrohi, Jolosrot, Anubhuti, Mone pore na and most recently Chhobi. Stentorian is regarded as one of the pioneers of underground heavy metal music movement which re-energized heavy metal in Bangladesh in this current decade. Perhaps Stentorian is most notable for being led by two of the greatest Bangladeshi rock vocalists of all time, Torsha Khan and Tanim Sufyani
and for their commercially successful single Bishonno Adhaar where they featured Sumon
from Aurthohin
.
Stentorian is typically classified as heavy metal, but it ranges from soft rock
, power ballad to thrash metal
and most recently progressive metal
. Stentorian's approach has remained the same over the band's career, preferring to play what they enjoy and do best; their appreciation of early rock
and heavy metal is reflected in some of their occasional cover songs. Stentorian's heavy metal lyrics typically cover such topics as war
, good versus evil, abuse of power
, psychological depression, social disorder and politics
. Stentorian’s popular soft music lyric contains love, affection and emotional appeal.
. Nevertheless, they had to sacrifice Torsha because that’s when he had to leave Bangladesh for higher studies (later immigration
). Members somehow managed to record the vocal tracks for Adrissho Juddho & Bhoy. Both the songs were later released that year respectively in the mixed albums Aguntuk-2 and Dinbodol. Adrissho Juddho instantly became both commercial and critical success over the nation (later, a cult classic).
Tanim’s powerful performance and unique ability of delivering in both baritone
and tenor
range, took Stentorian into a whole different dimension. James and Tutul’s dominant guitar playing along with Rafiul’s drums and Shams’ bass playing; it was not a surprise that the band had performed in more than 100 concerts in 2005 alone. During this era, Stentorian was often quoted as “The most popular band of underground” in so many places including internet forums, newspaper, magazines, etc. Stentorian took the major leap to their mainstream
success as Bishonno Adhaar was released, which featured Bassbaba Sumon
from Aurthohin
(Bishonno Adhaar is the first ever featured song in Bangladesh). Bishonno Adhaar became an instant success all over the nation and Stentorian got their second classic. Stentorian received almost 100% positive reviews from the leading musicians and legends of Bangladesh. Tanim and James gained cult following with the song as they were fondly nicknamed by their fans "MeTaL GuRu" and "Rocket Roll V" respectively. With the huge success of Bishonno Adhaar, Stentorian did their first ever national tour. After the tour, they signed up with G-Series, a major musical label of Bangladesh. Stentorian concentrated on recording of their debut album
.
Torsha came back to Bangladesh only for a month in August 2005. Stentorian took a quick approach and recorded six songs with Torsha. Torsha couldn't perform any concert due to the shortage of time. After Torsha's departure, Stentorian fully concentrated on the album and on October 2005 Stentorian's debut album Protimuhurtey
was released. Protimuhurtey became people's popular band with the sales of more than “way above five figures” copies nationwide (considered Gold). Songs like Jolosrot, Mone Pore na and Onubhuti became people's favorite, and they are often sung by the young generation.
2010. Stentorian started national tour once again and started to appear at media
regularly. In 7 March 2010, a brand new song was released from the second album as an album preview, Chhobi. The song was also made available for free download. Chhobi gave Stentorian a new image, and it statistically proved as the most popular song of Stentorian as this song was downloaded more than 45000 times from its original hosting only. Stentorian's 4 June 2010 live show at ABC Radio was attended by thousands of fans around Dhaka city
. Till date Stentorian is working on their 2nd album and so far 8 songs have been recorded.
Compilation tracks
Heavy metal music
Heavy metal is a genre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, largely in the Midlands of the United Kingdom and the United States...
band from Bangladesh
Bangladesh
Bangladesh , officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh is a sovereign state located in South Asia. It is bordered by India on all sides except for a small border with Burma to the far southeast and by the Bay of Bengal to the south...
formed in the early 2001. Stentorian released one commercially successful album Protimuhurtey
Protimuhurtey
Protimuhurtey is the debut album of Bangladeshi heavy metal band Stentorian released on October, 2005. This album is most notable for exceptionally strong lyric and both Tanim and Torsha's full length studio album debut...
in 2005
2005 in music
-Events:*During the year 2005, 12 rock music albums scored number 1 in the USA. This was the first time even ten albums have scored number 1 since 1996.-January:...
and several commercially successful singles. Their most notable songs include Adrissho Juddho, Bishonno Adhaar, Bidrohi, Jolosrot, Anubhuti, Mone pore na and most recently Chhobi. Stentorian is regarded as one of the pioneers of underground heavy metal music movement which re-energized heavy metal in Bangladesh in this current decade. Perhaps Stentorian is most notable for being led by two of the greatest Bangladeshi rock vocalists of all time, Torsha Khan and Tanim Sufyani
Tanim Sufyani
Tanim Sufyani , is a Bangladeshi musician, singer and author. He first gained mainstream popularity in the early 2005 as the lead singer of Stentorian.-External links:* Official Site of Tanim Sufyani* Official Site***...
and for their commercially successful single Bishonno Adhaar where they featured Sumon
Khaled 'Bassbaba' Sumon
Saidus Salehin Khaled, better known as Sumon or BassBaba is a bassist from the south Asian country Bangladesh...
from Aurthohin
Aurthohin
Aurthohin is a Bangladeshi hard rock & metal band formed in 1993 by bassist, singer and songwriter Sumon, known mostly by his stage name BassBaba, who has remained the sole constant member. In the late 1997 the name of the band was changed from Sumon O' Aurthohin to Aurthohin...
.
Stentorian is typically classified as heavy metal, but it ranges from soft rock
Soft rock
Soft rock is a style of music which uses the techniques of rock music to compose a softer, more toned-down sound. Soft rock songs generally tend to focus on themes like love, everyday life and relationships. The genre tends to make heavy use of acoustic guitars, pianos, synthesizers and sometimes...
, power ballad to thrash metal
Thrash metal
Thrash metal is a subgenre of heavy metal that is characterized usually by its fast tempo and aggression. Songs of the genre typically use fast percussive and low-register guitar riffs, overlaid with shredding-style lead work...
and most recently progressive metal
Progressive metal
Progressive metal is a subgenre of heavy metal originating in the United Kingdom and North America in the late 1980s...
. Stentorian's approach has remained the same over the band's career, preferring to play what they enjoy and do best; their appreciation of early rock
Classic rock
Classic rock is a radio format which developed from the album-oriented rock format in the early 1980s. In the United States, the classic rock format features music ranging generally from the late 1960s to the late 1980s, primarily focusing on the hard rock genre that peaked in popularity in the...
and heavy metal is reflected in some of their occasional cover songs. Stentorian's heavy metal lyrics typically cover such topics as war
War
War is a state of organized, armed, and often prolonged conflict carried on between states, nations, or other parties typified by extreme aggression, social disruption, and usually high mortality. War should be understood as an actual, intentional and widespread armed conflict between political...
, good versus evil, abuse of power
Abuse of Power
Abuse of Power is a novel written by radio talk show host Michael Savage.- Plot :Jack Hatfield is a hardened former war correspondent who rose to national prominence for his insightful, provocative commentary...
, psychological depression, social disorder and politics
Politics
Politics is a process by which groups of people make collective decisions. The term is generally applied to the art or science of running governmental or state affairs, including behavior within civil governments, but also applies to institutions, fields, and special interest groups such as the...
. Stentorian’s popular soft music lyric contains love, affection and emotional appeal.
2001-2003: Early years
Stentorian's first line-up had Torsha Khan (Vocals), James Kabir (guitar), Shams Alim Biswas (bass), Golam (guitar), and Bobby Khan (drum). After hard practice and patience of 10 months Stentorian got their first ever break at a concert in the Indian High Commission Auditorium, Dhaka (27 October 2001). From the very first show, Stentorian had a kick start. Torsha's vocal performance was widely praised among the critics and other fellow musicians. Around 2003, Golam left the band and went abroad for higher studies. However, the band continued performing on shows and kept on writing songs.2003-2004: Adrissho Juddho & Torsha's depurture
Stentorian got their first big break to participate in Aguntuk -2, a band mixed album coordinated by Bassbaba SumonKhaled 'Bassbaba' Sumon
Saidus Salehin Khaled, better known as Sumon or BassBaba is a bassist from the south Asian country Bangladesh...
. Nevertheless, they had to sacrifice Torsha because that’s when he had to leave Bangladesh for higher studies (later immigration
Immigration
Immigration is the act of foreigners passing or coming into a country for the purpose of permanent residence...
). Members somehow managed to record the vocal tracks for Adrissho Juddho & Bhoy. Both the songs were later released that year respectively in the mixed albums Aguntuk-2 and Dinbodol. Adrissho Juddho instantly became both commercial and critical success over the nation (later, a cult classic).
2004-2006: Tanim era, Bishonno Adhaar & Protimuhurtey
In 2004, when Stentorian’s fate was at stake and members were thinking about breaking up and forming own projects; Torsha, who was still with the band suggested his childhood friend’s name who was none other than Tanim. After Torsha’s repeated request Tanim (previously working with D.o.B) joined Stentorian in September 2004. On the first concert with his new band Tanim literally smashed all the bands away and put a full-stop to the “just-standing-up-with-a-microphone-age” with his energetic and powerful performance. Tutul Rashid and Rafiul Habib also joined at this time.Tanim’s powerful performance and unique ability of delivering in both baritone
Baritone
Baritone is a type of male singing voice that lies between the bass and tenor voices. It is the most common male voice. Originally from the Greek , meaning deep sounding, music for this voice is typically written in the range from the second F below middle C to the F above middle C Baritone (or...
and tenor
Tenor
The tenor is a type of male singing voice and is the highest male voice within the modal register. The typical tenor voice lies between C3, the C one octave below middle C, to the A above middle C in choral music, and up to high C in solo work. The low extreme for tenors is roughly B2...
range, took Stentorian into a whole different dimension. James and Tutul’s dominant guitar playing along with Rafiul’s drums and Shams’ bass playing; it was not a surprise that the band had performed in more than 100 concerts in 2005 alone. During this era, Stentorian was often quoted as “The most popular band of underground” in so many places including internet forums, newspaper, magazines, etc. Stentorian took the major leap to their mainstream
Mainstream
Mainstream is, generally, the common current thought of the majority. However, the mainstream is far from cohesive; rather the concept is often considered a cultural construct....
success as Bishonno Adhaar was released, which featured Bassbaba Sumon
Khaled 'Bassbaba' Sumon
Saidus Salehin Khaled, better known as Sumon or BassBaba is a bassist from the south Asian country Bangladesh...
from Aurthohin
Aurthohin
Aurthohin is a Bangladeshi hard rock & metal band formed in 1993 by bassist, singer and songwriter Sumon, known mostly by his stage name BassBaba, who has remained the sole constant member. In the late 1997 the name of the band was changed from Sumon O' Aurthohin to Aurthohin...
(Bishonno Adhaar is the first ever featured song in Bangladesh). Bishonno Adhaar became an instant success all over the nation and Stentorian got their second classic. Stentorian received almost 100% positive reviews from the leading musicians and legends of Bangladesh. Tanim and James gained cult following with the song as they were fondly nicknamed by their fans "MeTaL GuRu" and "Rocket Roll V" respectively. With the huge success of Bishonno Adhaar, Stentorian did their first ever national tour. After the tour, they signed up with G-Series, a major musical label of Bangladesh. Stentorian concentrated on recording of their debut album
Protimuhurtey
Protimuhurtey is the debut album of Bangladeshi heavy metal band Stentorian released on October, 2005. This album is most notable for exceptionally strong lyric and both Tanim and Torsha's full length studio album debut...
.
Torsha came back to Bangladesh only for a month in August 2005. Stentorian took a quick approach and recorded six songs with Torsha. Torsha couldn't perform any concert due to the shortage of time. After Torsha's departure, Stentorian fully concentrated on the album and on October 2005 Stentorian's debut album Protimuhurtey
Protimuhurtey
Protimuhurtey is the debut album of Bangladeshi heavy metal band Stentorian released on October, 2005. This album is most notable for exceptionally strong lyric and both Tanim and Torsha's full length studio album debut...
was released. Protimuhurtey became people's popular band with the sales of more than “way above five figures” copies nationwide (considered Gold). Songs like Jolosrot, Mone Pore na and Onubhuti became people's favorite, and they are often sung by the young generation.
2007 - Present: Come back, 2nd album & Future
After 1 year of irregular activity and ultimate departure of Torsha and Shams from the band, Stentorian restarted its journey once again with a track on the mixed album Rock 101, Choritrohin. Anabeel Sen replaced Shams on Bass. Choritrohin gained much critical attention as the song narrates secret desires of a perverted rapist. Stentorian announced that they are releasing second album soon enough, which is expected at ChristmasChristmas
Christmas or Christmas Day is an annual holiday generally celebrated on December 25 by billions of people around the world. It is a Christian feast that commemorates the birth of Jesus Christ, liturgically closing the Advent season and initiating the season of Christmastide, which lasts twelve days...
2010. Stentorian started national tour once again and started to appear at media
Mass media
Mass media refers collectively to all media technologies which are intended to reach a large audience via mass communication. Broadcast media transmit their information electronically and comprise of television, film and radio, movies, CDs, DVDs and some other gadgets like cameras or video consoles...
regularly. In 7 March 2010, a brand new song was released from the second album as an album preview, Chhobi. The song was also made available for free download. Chhobi gave Stentorian a new image, and it statistically proved as the most popular song of Stentorian as this song was downloaded more than 45000 times from its original hosting only. Stentorian's 4 June 2010 live show at ABC Radio was attended by thousands of fans around Dhaka city
Dhaka
Dhaka is the capital of Bangladesh and the principal city of Dhaka Division. Dhaka is a megacity and one of the major cities of South Asia. Located on the banks of the Buriganga River, Dhaka, along with its metropolitan area, had a population of over 15 million in 2010, making it the largest city...
. Till date Stentorian is working on their 2nd album and so far 8 songs have been recorded.
Discography
Studio albums- 2005: ProtimuhurteyProtimuhurteyProtimuhurtey is the debut album of Bangladeshi heavy metal band Stentorian released on October, 2005. This album is most notable for exceptionally strong lyric and both Tanim and Torsha's full length studio album debut...
- 2011: Untitled second album (Announced)
Compilation tracks
- 2004: Adrissho Juddho (Agontuk-2)
- 2004: Bhoy (Dinbodol)
- 2005: Nilkal (Lokayot)
- 2005: Bishonno Adhaar (feat. Bassbaba) (Agontuk-3)
- 2008: Choritrohin (Rock 101)
Band members
- Tanim Sufyani — vocals, additional guitars and keyboards (2004–2006, 2007–present)
- James Kabir — Guitars, backup vocals (2001–present)
- Tutul Rashid — Guitars (2003–present)
- Anabeel Sen — Bass, backup vocals (2008–present)
- Rafiul Habib - Drums (2003–present)
Former members
- Torsha Khan - Vocals (2001–2008; inactive 2004-2008)
- Golam - Guitars (2001–2003)
- Shams Alim Biswas - Bass, Backup vocals (2001–2007)
- Bobby Khan - Drums and Percussions (2001–2003)