What comes to mind when you picture Pakistan? Maybe the Taliban, maybe some dirt roads and poverty, maybe Osama getting killed. Well, if you’re even relatively into good metal you should be thinking about some Foreskin. And no, I don’t mean your penis. Foreskin is probably the only crossover/thrash act coming from Pakistan. B.I.T.P. is a really cool little demo with a lot of a attitude.
The first thing I really liked about this demo is how good it sounds. When I think about demo bands from Pakistan, I was expecting something that sounded like the early black metal tapes – indistinguishable guitar riffs, blasting drums that sounded like white noise, and so forth. You don’t get that aspect with this demo. It has a nice and neat recording quality, though it’s not so polished that it loses that aggressive edge. It’s mixed very properly as well. I like how everything is conformed and audible. You’re not left with a lacking feeling at the end of the six tracks. It sounds a lot better than my first attempts at mixing my own records.
Onward to the music. The riff work is simple, yet it does the job nicely. There’s quite a bit of thrashy chugging, specifically featured in “Raid the Stage”. Foreskin’s songs are mainly short, sweet, and to the point. Saying that, there isn’t a lot of riff diversity. But I do enjoy what’s there. In lack of a lot of riff work, they offer aggression with riff work played at high speeds, though they throw you a curve ball with “Attack of the Radioactive Posers”. This song reeks of pure heavy metal vibe. The guitar work sounds like something I would’ve found on an old school NWOBHM record. This song is definitely the highlight of this demo. Moving onward, we have the vocal work. I can’t think of a band to compare them to, but they work. They’re more harsh than a lot of standard thrash bands. Imagine a crossover band using a black metal-influenced vocalist. There’s also a bit of reverb thrown into his vocal work that sounds pretty cool.
Foreskin is a Pakistani force to be reckoned with. I dig their style and what they’re trying to do. For being only six songs long, it’s an interesting listen. I hope Hassan keeps this project going because there needs to be better crossover bands floating around in the scene. I’m glad I’m circumcised or Foreskin might thrash off the extra skin.
https://www.facebook.com/foreskinband?fref=ts
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