Tension between India and Pakistan has held high since the 1940’s, and the feud has been particularly reignited this past month.
On April 22nd, a terrorist group called The Resistance Front killed 26 civilians in the town of Pahalgam, India. In response, India fired missiles into Pakistan – while India claims the strikes were aimed towards those responsible for the aforementioned terrorist attack, 31 Pakistani civilians were killed. This prompted a multitude of further missile and drone strikes from both sides’ armed forces.
The conflict is currently under ceasefire.
We reached out to members of bands in the Indian and Pakistani metal scene, confirming their safety and to hear their perspectives on the recent events.
Aarlon – based in Delhi, India; confirmed safe
Apocryphal – based in Mumbai, India; confirmed safe
Dymbur – based in Shillong, India; confirmed safe
Flint Knife Murder – based in Shillong, India; confirmed safe
Gutslit – based in Mumbai, India; confirmed safe
Moral Collapse – based in Bangalore, India; confirmed safe
Tabahi – based in Karachi, Pakistan; confirmed safe
Takatak – based in Lahore, Pakistan; confirmed safe
Zygnema – based in Mumbai, India; confirmed safe
The Pakistani thrash duo Tabahi clarified, “it’s deeply sad. War hurts everyone — soldiers, civilians, children, the land itself. Fortunately, no one close to us has been directly hurt or affected in the recent violence. But that doesn’t mean it hasn’t shaken us. The entire community here lives in a constant state of anxiety. We’ve grown up in Pakistan, where acts of terrorism and violence are part of the daily headlines. In a way, we’ve been desensitized to it — and that in itself is tragic.”
“It’s a lifetime of uncertainty. We’ve seen cities burn, we’ve heard blasts echo through our streets. This isn’t something you just read about — it’s a reality we’ve lived through. So yes, the pain is real, even when it’s across the border. And it’s always the common people who pay the price,” continues guitarist Faiq Ahmed.
Some Indian acts felt similarly, with folk metallers Dymbur adding “it’s important that dialogue and diplomacy prevail over conflict” and Flint Knife Murder felt that “the way the British left things wasn’t great and things haven’t gotten better. We do hope things get better with bilateral talks and diplomacy.“
Alternatively, prog group Aarlon used this moment to share how “Pakistan has been a safe haven for the terrorists since quite a long time now,” citing various attacks across India as having direct links with Pakistan. “No sane individual would want that in their country! As citizens we stand tall with our Government, the Air Force, Navy, and Army. I think it is high time that cross-border terrorism should be dealt with strong hands. Gandhi-ism can’t be a solution, it is more of a utopian vision,” continues Aarlon.
Owner of Subcontinental Records as well as member of India-based extreme projects Eccentric Pendulum and Moral Collapse, Arun Natarajan shares that he’s “not surprised by how aloof and uncommitted Pakistan is towards hostility shown to India,” while also considering that the terrorist attack in April may have been an inside job.
Arun seems quite versed in the history of India-Pakistan politics and wars… and honestly, it’s a dense timeline. Nonetheless, the Moral Collapse frontman summarizes a chronology of the First India–Pakistan War in October 1947, wars in 1965 and 1971, a controversial election in 1987, the Kargil War of 1999, a terrorist attack in Mumbai in 2008, and a 2019 attack in Kashmir as escalations that lead up to today.
While their recent single “The Killing Joke” ponders the acts of serial killer John Wayne Gacy, Indian deathgrind group Gutslit explains “at the end of the day, it’s always the common people and soldiers on both sides who end up paying the price.”
It’s difficult to imagine living so close to fatal attacks where people you know personally were killed. Aarlon admits the violence have left them “numb… befuddled.” Is there a silver lining? Well, Tabahi tells how their “entire journey as metal musicians is shaped by the instability.” They’ve experienced “suicide bombings, political murders, gang wars, and criminal chaos.” Guitarist Faiq continues, “fear and fire translated into our music. Thrash metal, for us, was never just a genre — it was survival. It gave us a way to express everything we were seeing and feeling. Our lyrics are heavily political, anti-violence, anti-corruption.”
THE SOURCE OF WAR AND VIOLENCE?
The answers are a mixed bag – across the bands I spoke to, religion got five votes, history got four votes, and politics got three votes.
Tabahi assures us that “the conflict isn’t just about religion. It’s political. It’s historical. It’s built on years of mistrust and power games. Religion is often used as a tool, but the real issue is control. We’re not here to blame only one side — Pakistan has done things wrong too. Our treatment of minorities isn’t something to be proud of. That’s why the only way forward is honesty, real conversations, and respect for all people.
The variety of perspectives from all the musicians throughout the Indian and Pakistani metal scenes is vast, it’s difficult to summarize all here. Dymbur holds fear about both countries’ nuclear abilities, where Moral Collapse hopes that “tourism continues instead of terrorism and peace treaties are followed and respected and no more problems happen in this area.” Oh, and Flint Knife Murder briefly confirmed that their upcoming music is influenced by disturbing Pakistani folklore – “we are sure it’s going to help understand and draw parallelism on how culture transcends borders and how evil truly lies in Man.”
Despite the war, the bands are still writing and recording.
Aarlon and Dymbur are writing, Tabahi just completed production on their third record (Reborn – dropping late this year?), and Gutslit is playing new material at European festivals as well as Australia. Apocryphal also just dropped a gothic metalcore banger called “Nightmare Revisited” featuring Arbaaz Khan. Arun Natarajan has lots going on; he just formed a project titled Dissentor with drummer Krzysztof Klingbein (Vader, Batushka), Eccentric Pendulum is dropping a live album, and Moral Collapse is preparing an EP.
We hope peace is possible. We believe it is. We’ve seen it in our fanbase — Indian metalheads have always supported us, shown love, and stood by our message. We’re not enemies. We’re the same people with the same passion for music. When we shared our anti-war stance recently, the number of Indian fans who messaged us saying, “We feel the same way,” was overwhelming.
We’ve had a few connections online with Indian bands and metalheads, and there’s always mutual respect. We’re part of the same struggle — trying to keep heavy music alive in countries that don’t fully understand or support it. Being a metal band in South Asia means fighting for space, fighting to be heard, and often doing it without any kind of backing.
Indian fans have always been solid with us. They’ve supported our releases, bought our CDs, streamed our music, and always reached out when we share messages of unity. That’s real. We’d love to collaborate or share a stage one day — that’s the dream. Because when metal speaks, it doesn’t speak in languages or borders. It speaks in noise, truth, and rebellion.
While politicians build walls, we’re building bridges with distortion pedals and double kicks. This scene isn’t about countries. It’s about survival, identity, and staying true to yourself — no matter where you’re from.
– Tabahi