Entertainment

Auj, Black Hour, Uraan and Marjaan among final 8

BY ALI NAQVI –

The 4th episode of the fourth season of Pepsi Battle of the Bands was more like a full scale war than anything else. There were intense battles between six bands and only four were to qualify for the next round. Auj faced Jhoot in the first battle that was entertainingly fierce.

Auj performed their original O Jaana. It was by far one of the best songs of season 4. The melody, arrangement and the song structure were spot on. Vocal quality of Auj’s Abdur Rahman was the major factor in determining their place in the top 8.

It was a big ask to beat or even match the performance of Auj by Jhoot. The song had to be extraordinary to win the battle. Sona Chandi sounded like just an ‘OK’ song. It was good by some standards but not enough to beat the electrifying Auj. It was tough for judges nevertheless to make a final call. After positive comments for both bands the judges declared Auj the winner.

The second battle was even greater, Marjaan VS Black Hour. It was an amazing performance by Marjaan. The song Rang Jaa had a perfect melody that touched the hearts. The band did lift their game to get the applause from both the audience and the judges. Like Auj, Marjaan is lucky to have in their possession a great vocalist.

Auj waiting to face the final verdict of the judges.

After listening to Marjaan one felt that Black Hour would not be able to defeat them. But Black Hour proved everybody wrong. The song Aik Nayi Subh was a bit slow to start with but it gradually charged the band and crowed with an exciting mix of vocals and guitar riffs.     

The judges were out of their wits and rightly so. To pick a winner between these two bands was one of the toughest decisions that the judges had to make. Finally, their verdict was in favor of Back Hour. Marjaan had another ray of hope, the danger zone.

Seismic Tremors’ Dil Ki Baat in their battle against Uraan was weak in terms of strong structure. They tried to do a little too much in a single song. Sweet to start with, the song experimented with narration as well as rap that cannibalized the actual melody. Having vocal quality and variation, positive energy and a great combination as a band, Seismic Tremors could have done much better.

What a comeback by Uraan, a band that was underrated in the qualifying round. Their original song Gol was sweet, melodious, soothing and beautiful to say the least. The judges felt that and the audience enjoyed it too. Uraan made the decision easier for the judges and Seismic Tremors had to step into the danger zone.

The three bands that were thrown in the danger zone included Marjaan, Seismic Tremors and Jhoot. It was the power of Rang Jaa that landed Marjaan in the next round. Seismic Tremors and Jhoot had to face the elimination. Overall, all the bands performed really well. The toughest bands have survived only to lock their horns in greater battles that lie ahead.