Hailing from Dhaka, Bangladesh – Orator is often hailed as one of the premier Death/Thrash acts of the South Asian region. A trifecta of musciains influenced by the likes of Merciless and Possessed, as well as the mysticism of the Aghori cult, Orator has put out 1 EP, 1 full length album, as well as played live outside of their native Bengal homeland over the years. Eternal Abhorrence talks to them about the upcoming Banish The Posers Fest, their lyrical themes, among other things.
– Greetings, Skullbearer, hope all is well at the Orator camp.
Thanks. So far we have been working on new songs, though we are not that active for the last one year.
– You’re playing at Banish The Posers Fest on the 11th of September. Over the years you’ve played at quite a lot of Primitive Invocation gigs, what’s the usual expectation for an event by them?
A very well organized gig, robust sound system and experienced sound engineer and apart from these, we expect nothing but fun and lots of headbanging from a very dedicated crowd.
– Do you think that the Bangladeshi metal scene has improved over the years due to PI’s work?
Definitely, ever since they started out their journey back in 2011 they have delivered us so many great metal concerts bringing bands from many parts of the world. They have also supported many new and old bands from Dhaka. PI has created a scene which was never there before, bathed in the essence of true metal spirit.
– Orator has primarily been a power trio, however a second guitarist was added for a short while last year, before reverting to a trio again. Can you elaborate a bit on that?
We have always thought of hiring a second guitarist, even before Kapalgnosis. Re-Animator (Navid Anjum Khan) was/is a promising guitarist and we hired him. We jammed many times last year and performed twice with him on the lineup. However, he had to leave Orator because of the imperatives of his demanding academic life. We wish him all the best in life.
– There has been a marked shift in production values for Orator between 2010’s “Dominion of Avyaktam” and 2013’s “Kapalgnosis,” with the latter favoring a more well-rounded, clear-cut sound as compared to the raw tendencies of the debut EP. Can we expect the sound to get more deliberately polished on future output?
Orator’s sound will remain mostly like Kapalgnosis, but of course much more polished than the previous productions.
– Orator has a very distinct visual aesthetic to it, manifesting itself in the live presence, lyrics and artwork of the band, and as a result setting Orator apart from most death and thrash metal acts in the South Asian region. Was this aesthetic a deliberate attempt?
Thank you. If it were not deliberate then we would be confused of our identity like many of the bands out there today. For Orator everything was deliberate from the start and shall be in the future.
– Your lyrics mirror the image of Aghori, “Left Hand Path” Tantric Occultism and other Gnostic related notions and you mention Aghoris as an Atheistic Avadhut in a recent interview. Aghoris renounce the establishments set by the orthodox Hinduism, yet they also partake in very specific rituals which signify a spiritual belief – added to that, they are devotee of Bhairava too. Traditional atheists do not usually partake in rituals or hold any spiritual beliefs, nor do they tend to be a devotee of any deity too. Can you explain this further?
Aghoris are not the devotees of any particular deities per se and they have many ruthless forms of bizarre practices that most of us might not have seen as of yet. Navakhanda, is a rite where they gash their limbs deliberately in nine ways just to have a strong quintessence of inner being. However, we do not take these religious practices literally. Aghori is for us a form, a hollow being that represents the perpetual orations of a decaying cosmos within and without. That Aghori is already dead and rotted away; he has no further belief nor any god to please, but him-Self. He is one with his being, an Avadhut in true form. Therefore, behold the mad Krakach, polluting the norms of established orders and purveying the essence of non-being.
– Considering that Orator is an established act now with its own distinct sound and identity, do you see Barzak – your and Vritra’s earlier band – and Orator to be connected entities or completely seperate?
Just to be clear, Vritra was not a part of the original Barzak lineup although he joined in just when we destroyed Barzak and formed Orator. We did it together. And I do not see Barzak ever returning. Barzak is dead. Orator has risen up from Barzak’s ashes, separate and immaculate.
– You’ve played outside Bangladesh, in India and Malaysia – how difficult/easy is it to go around touring different countries from where you guys are based in?
So far we have played in India, Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore. And I can honestly say that except for India, we never had any trouble flying outside of Dhaka and performing at the aforementioned countries.
– Thanks for your time, hope to see you live soon as well!
Thanks for the support! Hail!
Eternal Abhorrence 
Awesome read…wish I caught them at MDF a couple years ago…did they cancel?