[PRESS RELEASE]

North American Tour Kicks Off Tomorrow In Charlotte, NC

Kareem Chehayeb recently conducted an interview with Bassem Deaibess, frontman of Lebanon's longest running metal band BLAAKYUM, where they cover a number of topics.
Among the subjects discussed in the interview; Bassem provides insight about BLAAKYUM's latest studio album "Lord of The Night;" that was released earlier this month (January 13th) to great reception from fans and media outlets. He also delves into the current local Lebanese scene and how it compares to the 90s.

Here's how it went:


Hey, Bassem! How’s everything going?

Lord of the Night was released on January 13th, 2012, after 15 years! Tell us about the release party and the early impressions of the album.

It was great! I did not expect us to sell over half the first print in one night, especially that we are the first Metal band to release its album in a private party rather than a concert. We already had our album reviewed by Jorzine and got an 8.5 for it, response from fans was overwhelming with many asking us to release tabs for our music, and people expressing how much the wait was worth it. It really eased the fact that it took too long; people were promised the album by end of 2008 so the anticipation was high, and expectations higher and the disappointments almost non-existing.


Knowing that starting a band and maintaining it in the Middle East isn’t something easy to do. What were the major setbacks that held you back from releasing Lord of the Night for over a decade?

Genre: Industrial/Middle Eastern Folk Metal
Label: Domestic Genocide Records
Release date: January 29th (Digital release available now via Amazon)
Reviewer: Karim Tarek


After personally not being so active on Metality recently, I received the press kit of Hate Field’s debut album, “Scary Fairy Tale”, and I was pretty excited about writing a new album review after a period of idleness.

Hailing from Alexandria, Egypt, Hate Field is Alfi Hayati’s solo project, where he delivers all his inspirations through Industrial Metal tunes. If you are relatively into the Egyptian Metal scene, then I reckon you might have heard of Alfi’s name here or there as he has been the bassist of one of Egypt’s oldest and most high-profile bands, and one of my personal influences as a teenager, Odious, since 1999, which, I believe, plays a role as a crucial musical influence on Alfi despite the actual musical dissimilarity, with Odious playing Melodic Black Metal with oriental influences.

[PRESS RELEASE]
THE DEVASTATED is preparing for the release of their "gross, grimy, groove" metal masterpiece, Devil's Messenger , on February 14th. In addition to announcing the track listing for the brutal 13-song album, THE DEVASTATED also reveals that SUICIDE SILENCE front-man Mitch Lucker is a guest vocalist on the song "Spit Vitriol" on Devil's Messenger. Mitch Lucker had this to say about his guest appearance on the album:

"Greg, the vocalist, has been a close friend for years. When he reached out to me for the part I was ecstatic! His band is amazing and I can't wait for this record to drop. It's the best shit I've heard in a long fucking time; super original and crushing from start to finish."

Genre: Heavy Metal/Thrash
Label: Self-Released
Released: January 13th, 2012
Reviewer: Kareem Chehayeb

It took Blaakyum, Lebanon’s oldest active metal band, 15 years to release their debut full-length…makes “Time” (Wintersun) sound like a rushed album. Blaakyum is a band incredibly well known around Lebanon and has a very solid and unique lineup. The band began in 1995, split up in 2001, and returned in 2007. They represented Lebanon in the 2007 Global Battle of the Bands and were placed in the top 10 in the finals, which took place in London. The band consists of Jad on drums, Rany on bass, Elias on lead guitar (also plays lead for Weeping Willow), and founder, Bassem, on vocals and guitar (also vocalist for Syrian band, The Hourglass). Lord of the Night was recorded and mixed in Lebanon and mastered in Cutting Room Studios in Sweden (Meshuggah, Hypocrisy, Behemoth, In Flames). This album is for those who love Testament, Megadeth, orchestral, and Lebanese music (to a certain degree).

The album opens up with Dark Moon, a three-minute intro of orchestral goodness, courtesy of Wissam Tabet. Choirs, pizzicato violins, and cellos that eventually morph into an Epica-like symphonic metal passage that ends with a gong. Lord of the Night, which is the first full track of the album, follows in relatively smoothly. Sounds a bit like something that would come off of Megadeth’s Rust in Peace with a Lebanese-edge to it. Bassem’s vocals really impressed me. He is incredibly versatile. The chorus has such a catchy tune and a great melodic atmosphere that differs from the relative groove of the rest of the song. Bassem’s vocal chords take abuse with the intensity of singing, whether he’s hitting some falsettos, growls, or even what sounds like tenor operatic singing. Elias’ solo is phrased well, a combination of catchy melodies with some technical playing, and the orchestras punching behind the rhythm parts sound surprisingly well. Overall, it was an enjoyable song.