In the tumultuous realm of Bangladeshi Death Metal, WARHOUND stands as a formidable force embodying the undying spirit of rebellion, monstrosity of war and obvious death. Formed back in 2006, they originally started as CARNAGE but split up in 2008. Four years later, they reformed as WARHOUND and have been active ever since by raising their discography with the seminal debut EP “Ominous Death Carnage” (2013) and rapidly came up with the highly revered split “Ascending Into The Oblivion Of Dusk” (2015), with Swedish Death Metal legends WOMBBATH and continuing with the demo “Only Death Is Real” (2015) and the single “Flesh Decay”(2016). And, then after a long slumber these Bengal hounds reappear again with a new line-up and released the single “Tyrants Of The Trident” (2022), and the demo “শূন্যাসক্তি” in 2023. During that time, their return was marked with line-up changes as Asish Papai (NEKROHOWL, ex – ORATOR, HOMICIDE, ENMACHINED, BURIAL DUST, NAFARMAAN) joined the forces in the departed spot of their long-time bassist Amitav Swapnil. With that new line-up WARHOUND led a few violent and ear damaging live shows around with a significant stride on the bass attack into their ever-possessive old favorites to new numbers. As best demonstrated in their released single “Tyrants Of The Trident”, where ‘Rampage Of Ashoka’ and the title track reawaken the commendable force WARHOUND has been. Nonetheless, familiar foe uncertainty strikes back again. The enduring might behind drums Mephistopheles Warmonger (NEKROHOWL, ex – CHROMATIC MASSACRE, JAHILIYYAH, ORATOR) departed the band along with lately joined bassist Asish Papai. The band followed on with a new line-up involving Shah Zawad Mahmood (INFUSACATION, BURIAL DUST, ex – ORATOR, TYAGRA) on drums and Farhan Sazid (OBNOXIOUS) on bass. With this newest line-up, WARHOUND just released their latest EP “1857: The Rebellion” independently which thematically focused on a pivotal point in the history of this subcontinent, symbolizing resistance against British colonial rule and serving as a catalyst for the independence movement. The rebellion’s impact on the Great Bengal Famine and its role in highlighting the oppressive nature of British rule make it a decisive period in its quest for freedom. Musically, this EP comes with four new compositions and clocked just below 15 minutes. The record opener ‘Lest We Forget’ onwards to ‘Bone Chilling Gust’, display their characteristic playing styles backed by sweltering riffing and provoking passages. The solid riff works of Strifelord spread fire inside as soon they roll in with super tight and heavy skin battering by newly joined drummer Shah. You got to roll your lousy heads with the nasty and tasty rolls and kicks of the drum which collides with the deep guttural vocal delivery of DeathWarrior. The structures come with their trademark low to mid-tempo attacks, while DeathWarrior’s bellowing vocals particularly on ‘Last Stand Of The Old Order’ reminds all why his ferocity so revered locally and beyond borders. The bass lines have just followed through the compositions and possibly intended to keep it simple. However, as it gets blended with the fury of guitar and drums mix, so a robust bass attack would have burst out more menacing energies to call out against exploitations and depravity forced upon by the culprit British colonialists and their crooked collaborators. As in the standout ‘Unbent Until Death’, which felt like unavoidable spear thrown against colonizer usurpers, and likely to featured often in live to ram many heads. The overall production sounds basic and straightforward, in comparison to the throat-ripping ferocious productions in numbers such as ‘Rampage Of Ashoka’, ‘Flesh Decay’, ‘Shards of Steel’ or ‘Ironborn’ or atmospheric possession of ‘Worship Death’ or ‘Enchantment For The Dark Divinity’. Still, it has a certain warmness which should be enough to feel the deadliness and insurrectory potential of these compositions. Particularly, the drum sound deserves special praise and displays the caliber of Shah, behind the kit. The artwork by Aryan Shrestha rightly intended to convey the rebellious essence of this record but could benefit from more details yet displays his imaginative prowess. Nevertheless, “1857: The Rebellion” resonates with a profound anti-colonial sentiment and the feistiness of new tracks upheld the energy of igniting onlookers against modern imperialism and oppression of the masses. It is certain that with bolder production matching members’ talents, future efforts will doubtlessly raise their defiant banner higher for all followers locally and beyond. And as WARHOUND continues to evolve, they certainly should receive support and label association for future releases with traditional physical formats of tape / CD vinyl besides digital spaces. You can stream the full EP here. For any further band information contact WARHOUND at www.facebook.com/warhoundbd, e-mail: carnagedeaththrash@gmail.com.