District Unknown was formed in 2008 by cousins Lemar and Qais, and brothers Qasem and Pedram through filmmaker Travis Beard. Originally starting as a Doom / Thrash metal band, the quartet began experimenting with psychedelic music in order to carve out their own sound.
Originally playing small shows with a series of covers and original songs "The Nightmare" and "The Dying Bride", threats towards the band began arriving from ultra-conservative and Taliban militants who were opposed to the group making music, so the band had to play in secret, wearing masks and not revealing their names.
In 2011 the band experienced a change in lineup with Lemar moving abroad, with Sason and Fa'ez joining the band to bolster the lineup and Nasir Ahmad of Afghan pop group Arian joining temporarily on keyboards. After stopping wearing masks the band began to gather attention from international media outlets who gained an interest in their story, such as the BBC, CBS and Rolling Stone.
2012 saw further changes in the band as District Unknown reverted to a 4 piece band, with Yo Khalifa joining as the new lead vocalist and Sulleiman joining on lead guitar. In August 2014 the band released their debut album, Anatomy of a 24 Hour Lifetime, and in June 2015 the band, along with documentary film Martyrs of Metal, won the Global Metal Award at the Metal Hammer Golden Gods Awards, held in London on June 15, 2015.
www.facebook.com/districtunknown/info/