Pakistani rock

Pakistani rock is a variety of rock music that is largely produced in Pakistan. Pakistani rock incorporates elements of both British–American rock and Pakistani classical music.

Since the 1980s, Pakistani rock has had its own distinctive elements, such as a homegrown class of sounds and melodies, spanning progressive rock, hard rock, and heavy metal, initially influencing the development of heavy metal music in late 1990s. Pakistani rock is almost entirely sung in Urdu, however many bands have issued songs in Punjabi, Pashto, Sindhi and English languages.

History

New wave of music (1980–1989)

Rock music in Pakistan began in the 1980s with the arrival of cassettes of Western rock music groups such as Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin, Deep Purple and Van Halen. By 1983-85, local underground rock groups began to perform at the local five-star hotels and university campuses in the country. The rock music had rooted in the ultraconservative regime of President Zia-ul-Haq who had denounced the Western culture and put forwarded the program of Islamized transformation of the country.