General Info
Artcell
Origin Dhaka, Bangladesh
Genre(s) - Progressive metal, Progressive rock, Alternative metal
Years active: 1999 – present
Label(s) - G-series
Members
Lincon
Ershad
Cezanne
Shaju
Artcell (or ArtCell) is a Progressive metal band of Bangladesh. The band is arguably the first Progressive Metal band of the country and usually experiments with tunes from other metal genres such as grunge and thrash. The band has sold the highest number of copies of the first solo album in the first day of release in South Asia.
History
The Beginning (1999-2001)
Ershad used to be the guitarist of a band named Tantrik back in 1999. Current vocalist/guitarist, Lincoln joined Tantrik just before the group broke up . They were looking for a bassist and a drummer when they met Cezanne and Shaju through friends. The members later renamed their band to "Artcell" in August 1999 and the band was officially formed in November 1999.
During this time Artcell continued to perform live concerts in Dhaka. They also released some EPs in different mixed album and gained some popularity.
OnnoShomoy (2002-2005)
A few years after the band's formation, tragedy struck. In 2002, a close friend of the members and the main songwriter for the band, Rupok, died of cerebral malaria when the band was working on their first studio album - "Onnoshomoy". The album was dedicated to Rupok. The fourth track on this album is titled as “Rupok - Ekti Gaan”.
Artcell's Bassist Cezanne also worked with the legendary Bangladeshi rock band, Warfaze, as a fill-in bassist and recorded a full studio album "Moharaj" with them. He left Warfaze after a few days. They kept recording in mixed albums but didn't release any full studio albums in order to experiment with their music.
Oniket Prantor (2006-Present)
Four years after launching its first album Onno Shomoy, Artcell released its second album- Oniket Prantor in April, 2006. It has been one of the longest waits for the fans of underground music in Bangladesh and for Bangladeshi rock fans worldwide.
Artcell performed their second solo concert titled "Oniket Prantor - Welcome To No Man's Land" on 12 May 2006 at Bashundhara Convention Center in Dhaka. Over two thousand people were in attendance[citation needed]. In their second solo concert, John of Black was featured as the vocal on the track "Opshori", Shumon and Komol of Aurthohin was featured as the vocal and lead guitarist on the track "Obosh Onuvutir Deyal" from Artcell's first studio album Onno Shomoy. Balam of Warfaze provided the vocal on the track "Onno Shomoy".
Influence and lyrics
The band cites American metal group, Metallica, as their main influence, although they also name Dream Theater as a very important inspiration. They also occasionally quote Pink Floyd as an influence
All of Artcell's lyrics are written in Bengali. Their lyrics typically highlight personal struggle, anger about social injustice and hypocrisy. However, their first album also had philosophical songs with softer tones. Their lyrics often contain political and social messages. Like all other groups of the progressive sub-genre, Artcell plays significantly with timing and scale and a few drastic changes in a song.
Although they have released very heavy suited-for-head-banging titles like Chile Koţhār Şepāi (Bangla: চিলে কোঠার সেপাই) - a song that incidentally shares its name with a famous novel by Akhtaruzzaman Ilias - in general, their songs are targeted for an audience with more progressive tastes. The epic Oniket Prantor - clocking around three quarters of an hour - was a big experimental step for Bangla rock music
Concerts
Artcell is known only to perform in underground concerts, although recently they have been seen performing in different mainstream charity concerts. They have been known to produce head-banging performances in their concerts. They have also performed in Rajshahi, Chittagong etc and even in Kolkata in India other than Dhaka. Artcell has also performed in "Amar Sure Shadhin Bangla" (Independent Bengal In My Tune) concert, organized by Grameenphone. In their concerts they usually perform their own songs but sometimes they also cover some songs of Metallica, Pink Floyd, George Harrison and other Bangladeshi bands.
Many popular Bangladeshi bands, like dNA, Arbovirus, and Eclipse have covered Artcell's songs.
Discography
2002 - Onno Shomoy (অন্য সময়) (In another Time)
Number of tracks - 10; Total length - 65:36; Release - G-Series
2006 - Oniket Prantor (অনিকেত প্রান্তর) (No mans Land)
Number of tracks - 10; Total length - 1:11:05; Release - G-Series|
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