The Silence Festival and Carnival of Rock are some platforms where thousands of music lovers gather to enjoy their love for metal music. Moreover, the fandom for metal music has been ever increasing in Nepal. And to support the love, several metal gigs are organized every now and then in Kathmandu. As a result, more than 100 underground metal bands currently exist in country.
Fragments is one such underground metal band that follows the path of Extreme Progressive Metal (Djent). The band was formed in 2013 by guitarist Ritesh Tamang, vocalist Regan Awale and Suzzeet Shrestha. Similar taste in music and mutual understanding brought them together. With technical and poly-rhythmic style in music followed by melodic and ambient elements, the band has established itself as one of the finest metal bands in Nepal.
Tamang said they named the band Fragments because the country has been divided in the name of culture and caste. “We want to reunite the nation with the help of the music and Fragments is a satire to those people who create chaos in the name of religion and culture,” he said.
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Fragments current lineup comprises vocalist Regan Awale, drummer Suzzeet Shrestha, guitarist Ritesh Tamang, guitarist Sunit Maharjan and bassist Kanchan Baskota. They had a rocky start at the Battle of Bands (Silence Fest V Selection) 2014 as they got eliminated from the event due to the lack of technical knowledge. But band members learned from their mistakes, and worked harder than ever before to gain success.
As result, they won the 11th KCM Inter College Music Competition (ICMC) from NCIT College in 2014. They also went on to perform several gigs like ‘Show No Mercy III’ organized by Nepal Underground, ‘Satan Nights in Hells’, and performed with the Underside band.
“May be winning the ICMC was a turning point for us as it brought us in the limelight,” said Awale. However, they continued to face many hurdles throughout their musical journey. Standing out from the crowd as a progressive metal band in Nepal was tough nut to crack. At one point, vocalist Dilak Shakya, bassist Monil Shrestha and guitarist Susan Joshi decided to quit the band due to personal reasons. But band didn’t give up and realized the need for a band manager to manage them in systematic way. Hence, Prabin Maharjan was appointed as the manager.
According Maharjan, the band was in a mess after the winning the ICMC. Since his appointment, he has helped to promote the band, set band tours, sell their band T-shirts and other products and fix meetings with music studios.
The band members plan to launch their second album soon. Besides that, they also want to establish the band in the European market because they think Nepal does not have a favorable financial environment.
Fragments is influenced by bands like Periphery, Animal As Leader, Periphery and Monument, among others.
