Getting down from the bike before the YAMAHA Flagship Center at 5:45pm last Friday, January 23, I spotted a short, lean man; hardly looking older than 40–45, walking out of the parking lot. As he moved closer, it became clear who I was looking at: Ibrahim Ahmed Kamal, the legendary guitarist of Warfaze, who was in town to lead “Guitar Master Class 4”, a special session featuring him as the guest mentor.
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Before I could properly introduce myself, my simple, timid wave was enough. He walked right up, shook my hand, and I introduced myself as his interviewer.
“Oh. Am I looking good?” he asked. When I said it was for a newspaper, he laughed. I said yes anyway. And honestly, at almost 60, wearing his own old merch, sporting a full beard and bandana, and noticeably leaner than before; his appearance felt almost unrecognisable. Still, the rockstar persona radiated from him at full volume.
The fame, however, does not get to his head. He gave us more than an hour of his time, speaking like an old acquaintance. The same holds true for his fans. Even now, he frequently goes live on Facebook and mentions that the easiest way to get him to respond is simply greeting him with a salam (and definitely not asking if Mizan Bhai is coming back).
Ibrahim Ahmed Kamal started Warfaze at just 14, inspired by Western metal bands; the usual suspects: Deep Purple, KISS, Megadeth, Black Sabbath. The first song he learned on guitar was Black Sabbath’s “War Pigs”, and years later, it remains the band he feels most comfortable covering outside his own material.
At that age, he already knew what he wanted, and had the nerve to act on it. He showed up early, back when showing up early actually mattered. That head start explains, in part, why Warfaze occupies its current position: a pioneering force that helped carve out multiple subgenres within Bangladeshi rock and metal.
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In 1984, with no video tutorials and no mentors to guide him, Kamal learned guitar entirely by ear; with only time, passion and obsession. In Warfaze’s early days, he played bass. But in late 1987, the band’s trajectory shifted when guitarist Meer left, and Kamal took over guitar duties.
Years later, after decades of practice and 42 years of experience; he says he no longer needs a guitar to practise. An air guitar is enough. He can visualise everything in his head: two hours of physical practice, followed by closed eyes and moving fingers.
Still, his innate musical ability is undeniable. “I can emulate stuff very easily,” he said, proving it by mimicking something I said in the same pitch, then twisting it into an exaggerated nasal “female” voice.
When asked about the current scene, Kamal admitted that things are different now. Starting a band may look easy, but talent alone is not enough. Pioneers, he said, had advantages newer musicians do not. His advice to aspiring artists is practical, almost harsh: if you have the funds, buy a good guitar, have a safety net, and accept that it may not work out.
It sounds discouraging, but it is realistic. In a world where success stories urge people to chase dreams, Kamal advises tying your feet to an anchor before taking the leap.
That realism extends to his philosophy of music. Asked what remains consistent in Warfaze’s sound, he answered simply: distortion.
That led me to a larger question. Does this principle apply to life as well? Punk music began as rebellion against systems and conventions—was that part of the motivation early on?
Kamal did not romanticise it. “I think the system is already disrupted,” he said. “If we can bring discipline into the chaos, that’s success.”
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Warfaze has always carried rebellion in its DNA. The band rose during the decline of the Ershad regime, and songs like “Ekti Chele” and “Shadhikar” spoke directly to that moment. Even Boshe Achi carries undertones of resistance, if one listens closely.
Asked whether listeners always grasped the messages, Kamal said they mostly did. For him, music begins with a concept—a message worth sharing, something that might change a life.
That mindset carried into the Yamaha Flagship Centre in Tejgaon at 7:00pm, where the fourth session of the “Guitar Masterclass” drew young musicians eager to hear from a childhood hero. With decades of experience and instinctive musicality, Kamal offered more life lessons than technical drills—and that, perhaps, mattered more.
He had prefaced the session with a clear warning: they might learn one or two concepts, but what mattered was what they did with them afterwards.
Organised by Team Alpha, known for supporting emerging musicians through platforms that prioritise songwriting, performance and proper production—the masterclass blended hands-on playing with often-overlooked essentials: tonality, songwriting nuance, and what professionalism truly means on the guitar.
To demonstrate, Kamal asked the room for a random topic—“election”—and, with humour and precision, showed how tonality could exist within anything. He followed this with breakdowns of Warfaze classics including “Rupkotha”, “Purnota” and “Oshamajik”.
Faisal Iftekhar opened the session with covers of Nemesis and Artcell songs, while Ershad from Artcell later made a surprise appearance.
As the interview drew to a close, I asked the inevitable question, amid AI-generated music and TikTok virality, is rock dead?
Kamal disagreed. Anyone who thinks rock is dead, he said, is simply looking in the wrong places. Almost every Bangladeshi band today incorporates rock elements. With bands like Powersurge, Mechanix, Bay of Bengal and Sonar Bangla Circus, he believes the scene is no worse off than when Warfaze began.
In the end, it comes down to circles; and what you choose to expose yourself to. Rock is alive and well. It only asks for attention, understanding, and the respect needed to let it keep breathing.
