Five years ago, I discovered djent from Pakistan. Takatak put out a beautiful proggy debut album titled Acrophase in 2020, and I’ve been craving more ever since. With big grooves and catchy vocal hooks, I recall dreaming for a tour announcement fittingly alongside Tesseract and Nothing More.
Over the years, they’ve dropped a few interesting singles like the Volumesesque “Backseat,” “Let You Know,” and recent “Free Fall.” This fresh new banger is easily my favorite though…
“Not Worthy” hits the sweet spot between radio rocker and progressive metalcore anthem. The single is off the upcoming record Influx, mixed by Keshav Dhar (Skyharbor, White Moth Black Butterfly), and mastered by Forrester Savell (Karnivool, Animals as Leaders, Twelve Foot Ninja). Hold your breath until January 9th.
Takatak’s full-length album Influx (OK it’s a bit short to say “full-length” but whatever) dropped a couple of weeks ago, and the previously unreleased tracks do not disappoint. This band is fascinating to me, because the notion of a metalcore band getting this good coming up in Lahore, Pakistan and then staying together for almost a decade despite having a shockingly small number of followers, is kind of inspiring in and of itself. I also think it’s interesting how they manage to mix prog, more traditional metal, and pop influences.