Karakoram () is a Pakistani

alternative rock Alternative rock (also known as alternative music, alt-rock or simply alternative) is a category of rock music that evolved from the independent music underground of the 1970s. Alternative rock acts achieved mainstream success in the 1990s w ...

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 ( ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Administrative units of Pakistan, Pakistani province of Punjab, Pakistan, Punjab. It is the List of cities in Pakistan by population, second-largest city in Pakistan, after Karachi, and ...

Punjab Punjab (; ; also romanised as Panjāb or Panj-Āb) is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia. It is located in the northwestern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising areas of modern-day eastern Pakistan and no ...

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

Coke Studio Pakistan ''Coke Studio Pakistan'' () is a Pakistani television programme and a part of the international music franchise, Coke Studio, which features studio-recorded music performances by established and emerging artists. It is the longest-running annua ...

'', in collaboration with rappers

Talha Anjum Talha Anjum (born 3 October 1995) is a Pakistani rapper, singer, songwriter and lyricist. He is known for being a member and co-founder of the Hip hop music band Young Stunners along with Talhah Yunus and Jokhay. He got his first outbreak afte ...

and

Faris Shafi Faris Shafi (Urdu/ Punjabi: فارس شفیع; born 2 November 1987) is a Pakistani rapper, songwriter and an actor. Performing in Urdu Urdu (; , , ) is an Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in South Asia. It is ...

History

They released their first

extended play An extended play (EP) is a Sound recording and reproduction, musical recording that contains more tracks than a Single (music), single but fewer than an album. Contemporary EPs generally contain up to eight tracks and have a playing time of 1 ...

, ''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 () 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 third issu ...

'', in collaboration with Soch and the Young Stunners. Later in 2022, the band released the singles ''Kyun'' in collaboration with

Hasan Raheem Hasan Raheem (; born August 2, 1997) is a Pakistani singer, songwriter and rapper. He is known for his subtle, laid-back R&B, hip hop styles of music. Early life and education Raheem was born in 1997. He belongs to a Shina family hailing from G ...

, ''Duur'' and ''Zindagi''. Sherry Khatak was the associate producer for 14 season,

song "

Kana Yaari The fourteenth season of the Pakistani music television series ''Coke Studio Pakistan'' was produced by Zulfiqar Jabbar Khan (popularly known as Xulfi) after Rohail Hyatt stepped down from the role. The Coca-Cola Company, Coca-Cola Pakistan was ...

". 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 o ...

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 heavier subgenre of rock music typified by aggressive vocals and Distortion (music), distorted electric guitars. Hard rock began in the mid-1960s with the Garage rock, garage, Psychedelic rock, psychedelic and blues ...

, heavy metal,

neo-prog Neo-progressive rock (commonly abbreviated neo-prog) is a subgenre of progressive rock that 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 ge ...

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

and

alternative metal Alternative metal (also known as alt-metal) is a genre of heavy metal music that combines heavy metal with influences from alternative rock and other genres not normally associated with metal. Alternative metal bands are often characterized by ...

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

Linkin Park Linkin Park is an American Rock music, rock band formed in Agoura Hills, California, in 1996. The band's current lineup consists of vocalist/rhythm guitarist/keyboardist Mike Shinoda, lead guitarist Brad Delson, DJ/turntablist Joe Hahn, bass ...

Foo Fighters The Foo Fighters are an American Rock music, rock band formed in Seattle in 1994. Initially founded as a one-man project by former Nirvana (band), Nirvana drummer Dave Grohl, the band comprises vocalist/guitarist Grohl, bassist Nate Mendel, gu ...

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 are a British Rock music, rock band, formed in Sheffield, England in 2004. The group currently consists of lead vocalist Oli Sykes, drummer Matt Nicholls, guitarist Lee Malia and bassist Matt Kean (musician), Matt Kean. T ...

, as well as Pakistani bands such as

Entity Paradigm Entity Paradigm (Punjabi language, Punjabi, , in English sometimes shortened as EP) was a Pakistani rock band from Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan, Punjab, formed in 2000. The band was founded by songwriter and guitarist Zulfiqar Jabbar Khan, Xulfi, vo ...

and

Call Call or Calls may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Games * Call (poker), a bet matching an opponent's * Call, in the game of contract bridge, a bid, pass, double, or redouble in the bidding stage Music and dance * Call (band), from L ...

References

{{reflist Musical groups from Lahore Pakistani rock music groups