Tag Archive: new band

Jul 03 2012

Metality UAE’s Top UAE Bands to Watch in 2012

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Band News, Reviews

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July 3, 2012

Yes, we did it again – we risked vicious, incoherent comments and threatening emails to bring you what we think are the top 10 bands to watch in 2012 in both the rock and metal genres. (to check out our Top 10 bands of 2011, click here)

The following bands were chosen on a combination of how new and good they are and/or whether they are releasing new material. This means that you will see brand new bands in this list, as well as some old-timers who have released albums over the last two months or are releasing new material this year.

SO STARTING OFF WITH THE BRAND NEW BANDS:

SIGMA

This impressive new progressive rock-style band has only played two gigs, but has received rave audience feedback for both of their sets. This band plays only originals, so don’t be walking up to the stage and asking them to play Metallica. Check out their Facebook page and videos here: https://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Sigma/101334446656631 and make sure you catch them at their next gig if you are into clean prog. Have a read of our interview with the band here.

ALIVIA

This band is the brainchild of well-known Dubai-based musician Ali Maarrawi and brands itself as melodic metal. This band is also just starting out after Ali’s year-long search for the right musicians to play in the band. Check out their Facebook page here: https://www.facebook.com/#!/Aliviadubai - and have a rea of our interview with the band here.

ARAMAIC:

This is a brand new doom/death/Oriental band made up of a series of seasoned Dubai musicians: Fadi Al Shami : Guitars, Michael Al Asmar : Bass, Serge Lutfi : Vocals, Ahmad Hafez : Drums.

A bit about the band:
The band started when the friends Michael and Fadi gathered and started jamming on 2010, after few sessions the chemistry was undeniable and the result was some very interesting ideas. The band is joined by Ahmed & Serge who are part of the song writing process.
 The name came from the Ancient Arameans who lived in the region where the bands musicians hail from, with their very rich mythology as they worshipped Assyro-Babylonian gods such as Haddad (Adad), Sin, Ishtar, Shamash and Nergal, and Caananite-Phoenician deities such as the storm-god, El, the supreme deity of Canaan, Anat(‘Atta) and others.  The band is currently working on new material, that combines the Oriental elements with classic Death/Doom metal.
while this lot have yet to play a show, we are impressed by the line-up and are looking forward to hearing their debut. Check out their Facebook page here: https://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Aramaic/169156139852117
KICKSOUND
This band manages to tick two boxes, being both new on the Dubai music scene and in the process of recording their debut album. The band classifies itself as grunge and has played some successful shows in various venues to date. The band lists its influences as Muse, Soundgarden, Rage Against the Machine, Nirvana, Metallica, Red Hot Chilli Peppers, Incubus, Led Zeppelin, Jimi Hendrix, Black Sabbath, Audioslave, Smashing Pumpkins, Pearl Jam, System of a Down, Stone Temple Pilots, Avenged Sevenfold, Alice in Chains, Foo Fighters! Quite a lot!

Check out their Facebook page here: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Kicksound/279094198785846?ref=ts

THE OLD (ER) BANDS

SHOTGUN ENEMA

This enthusiastic young metalcore band from Abu Dhabi has been on the scene since 2008 and has made quite a splash in the underage scene. However, they have been quiet for quite some time and we now find out that they have been cooking up an album.

Details are still sparse, but we hear that it will be out this year. Check out their video below and let us know what you think

Check out their Facebook page here: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Shotgun-Enema/50670653554

FATINIZA:

This lady of rock needs no introduction, with a hugely successful South American tour under her belt, a little black book chock-a-block with gigs and being one of the nicest and most professional musicians on the circuit, she is recognisable by her trademark raunchy rock and ballsy music style.

Fatiniza is at it again and is soon to release her second album,, one which she assures us is FAAR better than the first one. We are expecting some surprises. Check out her Facebook page here: https://www.facebook.com/fatiniza.fans and have a listen to her new single in Spanish below:

COAT OF ARMS

Another UAE band that needs little introduction. Abu Dhabi-based metalcore artists Coat of Arms have been spending a busy few months adding the finishing touches to their album, which they promise is far better than 2011′s ‘This is Manslaughter’. (we really liked that album so we can’t imagine what is in store!).

The latest post on the band page reads “Mixes for the album so far are sounding massive. Put simply, its music we were not capable of writing a year ago. Secondly, all of our new live gear is now being delivered. Be excited!!!! More to come soon!”

Check out their Facebook page here: https://www.facebook.com/coatofarmsband

Stream their entire last album here:

2ZERO2

This band has been in hiatus for a while having lost some of its original members, but, its is BACK with a vengeance with new members and a fresh sound. Check out the original band here: 2zero2.

The new line-up includes Puneet from Red Circle on bass, Ashish from Vin Sinners on guitar and two of the original members, Kenan on drums and Alaa on guitar. Watch out for more info on these guys!

XCEED 

Previously a cover band, Xceed, known for its impressive vocals is giving up the cover’s only tag they have earned over the years and are working on all-originals which they will debut after Ramadan. Check out their Facebook page here: https://www.facebook.com/pages/XCEED/130015130955

RIFF RAFF

Another band that needs no introduction have JUST released their debut album ‘By the Seat of Our Pants’. These hard rockers have wormed their way into the hearts of fans across the Emirates and have built a strong following of hardccore fans. Check out our interview with them here and listen to their album below:

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Jun 25 2012

We catch up with Alivia (melodic metal)

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Band News, Interviews

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June 25, 2012

Dubai-based Melodic metal band Alivia recently played their first two live gigs since they formed. The band has been in the making for around a year and band creator Ali Maarrawi has spent considerable time getting the members right. We heard their debut gig at Cheers Bar (see our review here) in what used to be the Rydges Plaza and was impressed by their technical sound. Keep an eye on their page here to catch them live again soon. We caught up with band maestro Ali to find out more about the band.

Where did the name Alivia come from?
It’s actually a mixture of things, as a word in Spanish it means TO RELIEVE or TO HEAL, and it is an uncommon girls name and in our case it is the name of the character of the band which you can see in the painting, it also sounds like the word ALIVE and has a nice ring to it, plus in a way it is a tribute to my idols Jon and Criss Oliva, and the cherry on top is the first three letters of the Alivia, since it is my baby.

Describe Alivia’s music in three words.
Intense, moving and melodic.

Who are the band’s strongest influences?
Savatage, Kamelot, Evergey, Iced Earth, Dark Tranquillity and Iron Maiden.

Who are the Alivia band members? Can you tell me a bit about each of them and their background in music?
Junior, on drums, he has a clear vision of music and a great work ethic. He is an important asset because he has the perfect mix of amazing musicianship and an amazing personality. He is a veteran musician having released three albums with the Lebanese death metal band Weeping Willows, who opened for bands like Anathema, Apocalyptica, To Die For, and Theatre Of Tragedy.

Fredy, on bass, very energetic and charismatic musician who sings, plays bass, drums and guitar. He has a big range of influences and a vast knowledge in music, which adds a different flavor to our sound. He is the solid backbone of the band and a good friend, He was involved in other cover bands inIndia.

Moutaz, on rhythm guitar, a fresh talent and a very dedicated and aspiring guitarist, he is a very good keyboard player too. The youngest of the Alivia family with the biggest hunger to learn and contribute to growth of the band.

Nabil, on keyboards, he is our secret weapon, needless to say that he is a very good guitarist and vocalist, he comes up with these amazing crazy ideas that fit perfectly and add dimension to our layered sound, he is a huge talent and a good friend. Nabil has an extensive experience playing with cover bands inDamascus.

Neil, on vocals, an amazing, flexible and powerful voice, a natural born singer with a great ear and seamless taste, a perfectionist and a committed musician. He is a well known figure in theDubai rock scene through his work with his own alternative rock band.

Ali, on lead guitar, is also the songwriter and lyricist of Alivia. I think the word “creativity” would describe my most valuable contribution to Alivia, adding to that the countless hours of hard work in the writing process, research and conjuring the metal muses to harvest the Alivia sound and identity.

I grew up in a family listening to classical music and Queen, I started my first band back in Aleppo in 1994 with the name Life Tattoo, and out of the two surviving members of that band ( Rami and I) we teamed up with Shant and Aram and formed the well known Syrian act Nu.Clear.Dawn, we used to play cover songs but the ones no other band did or could play, like Dream Theater, Savatage and Maiden.

In 1999 I left toSaudi Arabiafor work, and Nu.Clear.Dawn carried on and released their album Poem Of A Knight and played inTurkeywith Blaze Bayley, Paul Di’Anno, Epica,LakeOfTears, Circle II Circle, Sentenced and many more.

In Saudi I taught guitar to most of the guitarists and bass players of the present Saudi bands and solo artists, then I moved to Spain in 2006 where I played with a couple of bands till I moved to Dubai in 2010 where I started my search for musicians to form Alivia.

How long has it taken you Ali to put this band together and what are your hopes for the band now?
It took me more than a year to find the right people/musicians for this project, I hope that we continue writing songs to complete and record our first album, then to play gigs to promote the album and we’ll take it form there . . .

What are your plans for Alivia in 2012?
Hopefully to complete the writing of our first album and to play the right gigs.

Which UAE band would you most like to play alongside?
I could not really tell, there is bunch of a good bands that came out lately and disregarding their style I admire them for making it happen in here, because I know how hard it is to come up with your own songs and record an album in this part of the world, especially having a day job and not having the right support for the metal music scene which is still an underground scene. Hats off to all of the bands in the region, dedication demands respect, period.

What do you think of the other progressive-style bands in the UAE and who is your favourite?
First of all term “progressive” is being used very loosely lately, and I am not a big fan on categorizing or stereotyping, we do not play progressive metal, music is not math neither a marathon, we incorporate prog elements, as well as other metal elements, to add intensity and to convey certain ideas, never as showcasing technique, that’s why I rather if I have to label our music, to call it melodic metal. And to answer your question I will repeat and say that I admire all real efforts by any band in local scene.

If you could invite five musicians either living or dead to dinner at your house, who would you invite and why?
Out of respect for the dead I will start with Freddie Mercury, Criss Oliva, and Ronnie James Dio. From the living it will be John Schaffer and Roy Khan.
And to answer why, it would be because of the unique personality of each of them, they were/are individuals who stood for what they believed in regardless of what others thought of them, they are timeless idols not only as extraordinary musicians but also as amazing human beings.

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Jun 14 2012

Who is Sigma? We found out the story behind the hottest new prog rock/metal band in the UAE right now

Categories:

Band News, Breaking News

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June 14, 2012

Sigma have only played two gigs, but have already been getting attention in the local press for their exceptional talent on stage and range of high-quality original progressive tracks.

Their approach to music is more simplistic than for example Absolace, but each note is executed perfectly. We peg these guys as one of the top bands to watch in 2012-2013. If they can get a chance to go on tour outside the UAE I reckon they would become as popular as their Middle Eastern prog heroes Orphaned Land.

How did Sigma start and who are the members?
Sam: It was quite simple really. Sigma started when I thought of getting a band together and called up Zaher (bassist) and asked him if he knew any drummers. Zaher’s answer was yes. He knew his old friend Sherry (drummer) and recommended him. Zaher in the meantime told me that he’d been playing bass for a while. So we thought of getting together and when we jammed for the first time it all really fell into place and we clicked. The members are:

Sam: lead vocals/guitars

Zaher: bass

Sherry: drums/backing vocals

Sigma – Sherry – Drummer

Zaher: Sam called me up one day asking me for a good drummer in Al Ain. I couldn’t think about anyone better than Sherry – who is also the drummer for Apeira. Sam asked Sherry for a bass guitar player after they got together and jammed couple of times, Sherry recommended me even though I’m more of a guitarist than a bassist, but I was glad to join the gang.

Tell me a bit about each of you, where are you from, what instrument do you play and what do you do as a day job?
Sam: I was born in Dhaka but moved to the emirates at a very early age. I play rhythm and lead guitar. I work as an English teacher.

Zaher: Sherry and I are both university students, Sherry is doing architectural engineering and I’m doing civil engineering which works perfectly cause even our jams are like that, he designs and I build :) Sherry plays the drums and as I said I play the bass but I also come up with guitar ideas in the band. Sherry is Pakistani and I’m from Iraq… I never thought one day that I’ll be having a best friend and band mate who is Pakistani hehehee! So Sherry and I are really close. As for us and Sam then I know Sam through my eldest brother from about 7 years ago. We’re all having fun and enjoy what we compose.

Your two performances so far have been very highly rated – how do you feel about that?
Sam: We feel extremely privileged since we’ve been around for only around six months. We didn’t really expect that our performance would be highly rated. We feel extremely grateful to everyone who liked our music.

Zaher: It feels good to be rewarded for what you do, after all musicians just want to be heard. We wish to have more gigs actually because we are working on some awesome and very different material coming out soon. I don’t want to give away too much but let’s just say it’s going to be legendary.

You play all originals, which is rare for a brand new band. Why did you decide to go that route?
Sam:I had been playing covers for a long time with other bands in Al Ain. Personally speaking I felt that there was

Sam

no more growth left in it for me. I started writing music when I was quite young and so I had these piles of original stuff getting nowhere. Just made up my mind that it’s time to find the musicians I’m looking for and play never heard before material.

Zaher: Covering songs will not allow us to express our feelings, I mean sure there’s always that one song from a specific band that we enjoy listening to every now and then but coming up with your own stuff is entirely better for me. For me covers are not as impressive as coming up with your own stuff. Covering Sweet Child o’Mine is amazing but the question is: Can you come up with a song as good as it?

Do you have a favourite Sigma song?
Sam: Our favourite ones have to be ‘Rape of Sanity’ and ‘Empty Streets’.

Zaher: Both Sherry and I agree that it is ‘Rape of Sanity’ it’s almost a nine minute song that has awesome riffs and it’ just very melodic and progressive and that’s why so far we like it the most. In our two gigs we played that song last because you know what they say… Save the best for last.

Who would you say are the bands strongest influences?
Sam: Our strongest influences have to be Opeth, Dream Theatre and Led Zeppelin. 

Zaher

Zaher: Sherry’s strongest influence would be Dream Theater. As for me I can safely say it’s Tool. But we both have Opeth as our second most influential band for us.

If you could play an instrument with any band in the world for just one day, which band would you pick and why?
Sam: I think it would be Opeth because I can relate to their music quite well. Their music can get as soft as possible and then as heavy as possible. That’s the kind of music I love to play.

Zaher: Sherry is going for Dream Theater and he would be playing the drums for sure!
I’m gonna go for playing the rhythm for Opeth.

What other UAE progressive bands do you like?
Sam: I really like Apeira and anuryzm. Apeira being close friends have always supported us and have actually showed up in both our gigs. 

Zaher: Among the over all genres in UAE – not necessarily progressive - we also like Apeira, Soulfuel, and Nightmare Overdose.

If you could play with any other Middle Eastern progressive bands, who would you put in the line-up?
Sam: Most probably it would be Orphaned Land and Apeira. I’m big into oriental and when mixed with metal it creates a genre that is both unique and fascinating to play. Both these bands have their own unique oriental sound. So I would definitely create something with them.

Zaher: Orphaned Land.

What does your family think of Sigma?
Sam: Our families are very supportive of our music. 

Zaher: Sherry’s mom has always been supportive to us, she has made it to every Sigma gig so far – she also comes a lot for the jams so it’s all good with that.
However – my family – I haven’t really told them anything because I know how that conversation will go…. They would say stuff like “focus on your studies…etc” So I decided to go the safer road and not let them know about the whole thing.

Your house is on fire and you only have enough time to grab one item – what would you pick?
Sam: It would be two items, the keys to my mustang and my guitar !!  

Zaher: Sherry is going with “my cat” (Metality UAE approves ;-) in this one. But I’d grab Slash’s cigarette that I have kept with me since he came to Dubai with Velvet Revolver, it means so much to me and I guess I’d grab that one and then run for my life.

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Jan 01 2012

Happy New Year Everyone! 2012 will be rocking.

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asides

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January 1, 2012

We here at Metality UAE would like to wish all our readers and listeners a very happy new year! We also want to thank all the bands and musicians who gave up their time to be interviewed either for the website or live on air on Metality UAE Radio.

Without you guys, our growing success would not have been possible and we thank you ALL for your help!

Metality UAE  and Metality UAE Radio were created to support primarily the underground and independent rock, metal and punk musicians of the UAE, but, as 2011 progressed we found loads of bands from across the Middle East were keen to work with us, so we happily welcomed them on board.

We will continue to bring you UAE and Middle Eastern band news and hope that this year we can include countries such as Tunisia and Libya as well as they seem to have a lot of talent there and we are always keen to find great bands.

We will also be spending time looking for young under 21 bands to interview – these guys are the future of music in the region and we look forward to meeting a bunch more musicians.

Our readership figures on the website have more than doubled in the last six months, going from 100 to 200 readers a day to between 300 and 1,000 readers a day, depending on the content (according to Google analytics and WordPress stats).

We are also pleased to have now almost reached over 1,000 friends on Twitter and currently have 1.780 fans on our Facebook page, over 200 of which have joined in the last week!

If you have any ideas or suggestions you would like to send us about Middle Eastern/North African bands and musicians who you think we should cover, please drop us a comment below, or send us an email to metalityuae@yahoo.co.uk.

If you wish to be interviewed or have your music played on Metality UAE Radio, drop us an email, everything we do for musicians is free, from interviews to PR and helping with contacts in the local UAE media.

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Dec 06 2011

New band alert! Fighting Superheroes – punk from UAE

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Band News, Interviews

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December 6, 2011

Metality UAE is proud to introduce the first – hopefully the first of many – Metality UAE-made band. Fighting super-heroes got together on our forums and are now punk-rocking their way around stages in Dubai.

“I’ve been playing drums for a long time now; started back home in Manila, and since I came to Dubai in 2006 I’ve jammed with other musicians here and there but never got the chance to form a band that would play the music I enjoyed most. So I posted an Ad on Metality UAE website after a friend recommended I check it out, it is awesome by the way , and luckily I got a quick reply from Rashwan. So, we met and scheduled a jam session and it worked out great; thanks to Metality UAE,” Ariel, the Fighting Superheroes’ drummer and backing vocalist.

Rashwan, an avid rock n’ roll fan was sent the Metality UAE website link by his brother, he checked out the forums and saw Ariel’s post. It was not long before he was in contact.

“I found an Ad [on Metality UAE] by a drummer looking to put together a band so I contacted Ariel and sent him the demo of my band back in Syria – Mazhott (check it out ) and apparently we share the same taste in music. We went to the studio for a jam session and it was awesome and a lot of fun. Another guy replied to Ariel’s Ad, Mohammed Sabbar, he wanted to join as a guitarist but agreed to play bass with us until we find a proper bassist and it wasn’t long till Bibars came along as Fighting Superheroes bassist. Unfortunately, Mo had to go back to Canada and now we’re a trio,” said Rahwan.

Bibars‘ heard of Fighting Superheroes search for a bassist through is brother, who is friends with Rashwan’s brother here in Dubai.

The current Fighting Superheroes lineup is:
Rashwan Zaza – guitars and vocals:
Rashwan is Syrian and works as a graphic designer and copywriter, who came to Dubai to escape military service back in Syria.

Ariel Aquino – drums and backing vocals:
Ariel is a senior computer engineerand has been  here in Dubai for six years.

Bibars Nakhesh – bass guitar:
Bibars left Syria and came to Dubai about seven months ago, just like Rashwan – to avoid compulsory military service and to find a better job here in Dubai, a city that offers better job opportunities than Syria.
Bibars now works at a website where he started as a translator and is now doing the graphic designing there.

Fighting Superheroes is not a name that springs easily to mind, and in fact came about after a night fuelled with argument and alcohol, the two things guaranteed to get the creative juices flowing.

“The idea is that all the superheroes in our day and age are fake and actually are the bad guys, if you think about it! Politicians, pop-stars, actors, even rockers have gone commercial and sold out. The media controls people’s brains and feeds them whatever the hell they want to! But now people are starting to wake up, like the revolutions in the Arab world and the Occupy movements around the world. Those are the real superheroes, not politicians and pop-stars and whomever the media presents as the role models people should look up to. So, we are fighting the fake superheroes… that’s it,” said Ariel.

The band name, Fighting Superheroes, fits in well with the genre they play – punk rock has a history steeped on 1970′s anti-establishment sentiment and rampant rebellion.

The band have an awesome list of influences, which include the punk gods, Sex Pistols:
Rashwan: Sex Pistols, the Offspring, Iron Maiden, Metallica, Rancid, Dead Kennedys, Bad Religion, Penny Wise, the Prodigy, the Gorillas… and many others.

Ariel: The Ramones, Misfits, Metallica, Doors, the stoogies, Dead Kennedys, Sex Pistols ,Rancid, the wailers, Led Zep, Deep purple and of course the one and only Ozzy Osbourne and Black Sabbath, Agnostic front, Black Flag and many more…

Bibars: classic heavy metal in general: Metallica, Iron Maiden, Iced Earth, Dio … also Moonspell, Anathema and Nirvana.

This kick-ass new band has humble plans for the rest of this year and the beginning of next year, they are simply hoping to write more originals and play as many gigs as possible; and of course produce an album once they have enough material.

So, now you all know about the band, we thought we would find out a bit more about who they are, so we asked them who they would invite round for dinner, alive of dead, if they could:

Rashwan: For some reason so many girls just popped in my head – playmates basically :D But I think Johnny Rotten (Sex Pistols), James Hetfield (Metallica), Dexter Holland (the Offspring) and the guy who wrote fight club.

Ariel: Johnny Rotten , (Sex Pistol) Ozzy Osbourne , John Bonham (Led Zeppelin), Jello Biafra (Dead Kennedys) and Dennis Ritchie the inventor of C language – without his knowledge and invention wewouldn’t have what we call computers now a days.

Bibars: Well, since we are discussing music my first pick would definitely be Cliff Burton, Metallica’s former bassist. My Second pick would be Steve Harris, the guy who has a huge role in the existence of the best heavy metal band on Earth, Iron Maiden. He is a one of the greatest bassists and he writes amazing lyrics. Third, I would have loved to meet Steve Jobs before he passed away, because I think he was one of the smartest people on earth in the past 50 years. Last, Christopher Nolan, The guy who has written and directed Inception, the Dark Night and the Prestige. I think he is one of the most creative people ever.

Catch Fighting Superheroes playing LIVE at the Metal Asylum Saffa rock, metal and punk night on December 16th and on January 6th at Punk n’ Grunge.

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Nov 29 2011

Aldo Rock & The footprints – Rock from the UAE

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Interviews

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November 29, 2011

We recently saw Aldo Rock & The Footprints rocking out the stage and were very impressed by their performance. The band has been active since the beginning of this year (2011) and has a number of gigs under its belt. We hope to hear an album of their original tracks soon and will definitely be grabbing a copy!

We nabbed an interview with Melbourne Mascarenhas, the vocalist of Aldo Rock & The Footprints, to find out more about the band.

Where did the name Aldo Rock and The Footprints come from and tell me a bit about the band?
The coming together of Aldo Rock & The Footprints was long overdue. It was Aldo’s long time dream to get together old-time musicians. Aldo, Paul, & myself having played together sometime or the other in theBombay circuit finally caught up inDubai to give it a shot with our vast experience in Pop, Rock, Jazz & Metal.

Who are your major influences as a band?
As the band, we tend to target the Classic Rock era, Reggae, & Jazz. I have 10 of my own compositions under my belt which have been influenced by Dio, Black Sabbath, Gary Moore, Thin Lizzy & Deep Purple, Iron Maiden. Our cover versions include again, the Classic Rock era, Peter Tosh, Bob Marley, The Police, Spyro Gyra, Al Jarreau, etc.

How long have you been playing music and how and when did you start?
Individually, the oldest member of the band has to be me at 48, having begun my career at 16. Aldo & Paul follow close at my heels. The youngest members in the band are Michael & Oliver, who after much auditions had to be settled for as musicians the band were looking  for. Aldo Rock & The Footprints started in May 2011.

Describe Aldo & The Footprints musical style – your bio says you play rock, reggae, metal and jazz, which is quite a wide variety, which of these is your favourite genre?
That’s right! Aldo, Paul & myself have been in the Pop, Rock, Metal & Jazz genres with bands inBombay since 1979 and therefore we were happy to welcome Michael & Oliver into our circuit with similar experience. And therefore when it comes to identifying our favourite genre, it’s somewhat difficult to specify. But yes…I would say Rock & Metal gives us good satisfaction to express ourselves.

What music/musician/band could you not live without?
Again, this is a difficult question to answer because we listen to all kinds of genres. You could suddenly pop into my home and find me listening to Indian Ghazals, Al Jarreau, Frank Sinatra, Iron Maiden, etc. …. It’s all about the mood I could be in, and so goes the same with the rest of the guys. But yet again…I love to stretch my vocal chords and therefore, with all of us too, bands of the Classic Rock genre have to be our best genre to perform. I would say, Deep Purple.

What is the most exciting thing about playing music in the UAE and what is the worst thing about playing in the UAE?
For the three of us over 40, Aldo, Paul  self, we won’t go down without a fight and still have that kick in us to go on….thanks to our supporting families in our passion for performing. The most important thing about playing music in the UAE is that we can showcase our talents to the global communities in the UAE. And thanx to venues like Metal Asylum & Rock Nation who keep the Rock & Metal scene alive. I wish there were more avenues which is our only regret.

 

Can you tell us about any funny/annoying stage experiences with the band?
There are always funny things happening in the band with me around…! The most annoying stage experience is the look on some of the audiences’ faces when I go on stage with my unusual attire & unassuming appearance. But once I open my mouth to sing, I can see the audience staring back with their mouths open. That’s truly annoying & amusing…

If you could cook your wife/girlfriend/partner ANY dish in the world, what would it be and why?Goa sausages….I make a mean one with a dash of Goan Fenny to knock your sox off!

Describe your band in two words.
“Kick A….e!”… that’s the thing in the mind when we hit the stage.

Head on over to their Facebook group to catch up on their latest gigs, news videos and pictures here.

 

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Nov 21 2011

Atom – going nuclear for rock in Bahrain

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Band News, Interviews

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November 21, 2011

Atom – the first in this week’s series on the bands competing at the Bud Battle of the Bands in Bahrain on Friday 25th November – define themselves as rockers (although there was that unfortunate incident where they were classified as an MJ tribute band!

So, you got through the auditions forthe Bud Battle of the Bands, what are your plans forthe next round? Any surprises?
Well, we only did two songs from our regular sets… so we have a couple of tricks up our sleeves. If we go out, we go big. LONG LIVE ROCK n ROLL!

Tell me about your band, how did it start, who are the members and who are your influences?
Where do we begin! The band was wrongfully labelled as a Michael Jackson tribute band last year (a coincidence and not the real intention). A few line up changes took place while Abdulla and Adel remained to be the backbone. Salem( current bassist) joined briefly with Ronald and Ryan Shera (Purple Headache) before he had to leave for studies. To cut the story short, we focused on song writing and now that the lineup is complete with Jasim’s and Ali’s input, we will ROCK.
With respect to our influences, we’re happy that this line-up shares the same taste in music, more or less, and at least that’s what brings us together. While we do vary in musical taste, each member is adding something unique. You have all the typical metal/rock band influences, yet these change with time. That being said, we’re influenced by GOOD music!

What made you enter Bud Battle of the Bands?
A chance to open for Skid Row. Plus it’s a good opportunity to forband exposure.

What are you most looking forward to about the competition?
Sharing a stage with one of the bands we grew up listening to.

What other international bands would you like to see play in Bahrain?
Symphony X, Rage Against the Machine, Down, Blackmore Night, Alice in chains.

What is the music scene in Bahrain like at the moment? Do you think it is growing? Do you see changes?
It is definitely growing, for sure, and we’re witnessing that bands are actually working together fora change.

If you win this competition, what would it mean to you?
DOMINATION !!!!

What is the craziest/funniest thing that has happened to you as a band either on stage or off?
Trying to take a band photo without a photographer and using a timer without a tripod… so we used the car to set the camera on!

Tell me one thing about each of you that your fans don’t know.
Adel: The first band I joined, was an arabic wedding band.
Salem: I’m back in town!
Abdulla: I’m Left handed
Jassim: I used to live in Saudi.
Ali: I played with Tariq Khamis (Al Manga).

If you could cook any meal to impress a girlfriend/boyfriend, what would it be?
Salem: Beef Stroganoff
Adel: French Toast… girls dig everything French
Jassim: Stir Fry Noodles with beef .
Ali: Risotto
Abdulla: Instant Noodles.. I ran outta options.

Check out one of their live shows here:

The event will be held at JJs Irish Pub in Bahrain, entry is BD3 with a free drink, so get down there and SUPPORT these bands!

METALITY UAE IS PROUD TO BE A MEDIA PARTNER FOR THIS EVENT. IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS, PLEASE EMAIL US ON METALITYUAE@YAHOO.CO.UK

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Oct 19 2011

Lake Montgomery – blues/rock from Amsterdam hits UAE

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Band News, Gigs, Interviews, Uncategorized

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October 19, 2011

Lake Montgomery has flown into the UAE to perform at local gigs and events. She gave us her CD and we were blown away by her soulful and powerfully emotional vocal performance and we liked her slightly off-key acoustic guitar accompaniment.
She has bundles of talent and we sincerely think more venues should have welcomed her with open arms during her trip to the UAE.

We think you should all come down and have a listen, you may not have heard her name, but once you hear her, you will certainly remember it.

Can you describe your musical style and influences?
My style is a raw, bluesy, storytelling sort of folk influenced by roots in black America , at times intimate, at times harsh and emotional. It depends on how I feel at the time.
Nina Simone is my hero/musical Savior and then from there, I have what revered prophets in my midst like Odetta, Billie Holiday, Mahalia Jackson, and old blues stuff.

You are a singer/songwriter and your songs are very emotionally charged, which of the songs on your EP are your favourite, what are they about?
My favorite on the CD is honestly the only one I didn’t write. It’s called the Legend of John Henry. No one knows who wrote it.
In a way, everyone wrote it, one will hear innumerable versions of the song throughout blues and folk history. This is my version.
It’s what we call a ‘work song’, prisoners on the old chain gangs sung it, workers in the field sung it, and now folkies reminisce. It’s the ballad of an ex-slave, circa late 1800′s, who worked on the railroad line and challenged the newest technology, the steam drill, to a race because it threatened his job. He won the race and died doing so. This story is timeless in its pertinence to human struggle, that’s why I love it.

You are visiting the UAE from Amsterdam, how did you end up here and what do you think of the music scene her so far?
I am blessed to have support from people all over the world who love what I do. A woman who I met in the Netherlands kept me in mind for five years while living in Dubai training horses. We recently found each other on facebook and she offered me a ticket to come to Dubai and search for gigs.
She told me that she felt that Dubai was lacking in the music scene.
With all due respect to Dubai and its efforts, I have to agree. Great rock and metal bands is one welcome piece of the pie of music, but I believe that music is as diverse as culture and language. In this area, perhaps Dubai is still quite young.
I’ve searched pretty hard for a good acoustic scene and have come up with negligible results. Maybe it’s so underground that it takes a virtual Sherlock to get to it; maybe I’m too new to be accepted into the invisible guild.

This Friday will be your first gig in the UAE, what are you planning for us?
I will just be myself. That’s all I can do. I’m a pretty clumsy planner so I’d better stick to my intuition :)
That’s right, this will be my first show and I’m totally grateful to have a chance to prove myself to the city.

Where can people learn more about you and your music?
www.lakemontgomery.com is still pretty new but it will lead you to Facebook, MySpace, and Reverbnation options all in one go.

Metality UAE mini-rant: For an outside musician trying to find gigs in the UAE it is very hard and through Lake’s experience over the last few weeks, we have seen how closed the music scene is here to welcoming overseas bands and performers and even trying to put them on stage.
This is such a huge shame and a big disappointment for us here at Metality UAE to realise that the music scene here is so closed to new influences, ideas and performers.

Perhaps everyone is just waiting for the first venue/event to take the plunge before they dip their toes in the water?

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Sep 08 2011

Sinkin Still from Abu Dhabi – rocking a little differently

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Band News, Interviews

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September 8, 2011

Sinkin Still

Sinkin Still is a brand new shiny alternative style rock band based in Abu Dhabi. The guys are still at school and have just debuted their first ever song, called Humane.

Metality UAE really likes their debut song and thinks this band could be a name on the local rock scene soon (when those pesky permissions are granted for all ages gigs  in Dubai of course), but hopefully they will get to play in Abu Dhabi, fast becoming the hub for emerging bands.

We grabbed the bands first ever interview and are proud to introduce Sinkin Still, LIKE them on Facebook and listen in to Radio Metality UAE to catch their debut tune:

Sinkin Still is a brand new band, tell me when you got the line-up together and tell me a bit about each of the musicians in the band.
- Yahya, our kickass vocalist,  started singing after he heard LP’s first album, Hybrid Theory. He’s incredibly developed his voice and can sound just likeChesterwhen he wants to. You can hear it a bit in the verse of  ”Humane”.  Our friend Ali Sabra told us to look out for him, and we’ve been thanking him ever since.
- Sanjay, who’s the band’s drummer, got into the music scene when he was a kid taking piano lessons. The lessons were boring; but he loved PLAYING music so he took up drums and guitar, teaching himself through YouTube vids. Sanjay listens and follow bands such as foo fighters and soundgarden
- Pete, the band’s left-handed guitarist started off at the age of 14 and played classical guitar for a year. Soon he started playing electric with lessons for another year before ditching those as well, preferring to practice on his own. He follows with great devotion bands such as Nickelback, My Darkest Days, and Steel Panther.

We like your debut single Humane, we think it has a grunge-type edge to it that we have not heard in any other UAE band – was this your intention and tell us a bit about the song, what is it about?
Yes, that was our intention. NowAdays the music industry is really big, oversaturated and a lot of competition with bands that sound exactly alike. I guess our mian goal is to do something different, to push a different type of rock and roll, that doesn’t need to be restricted by, you know, having a loud screaming chorus or a soft verse, it can be anything you want.

When can we expect more songs from you guys?
If it was up to us, every week. But we’re school kids, and into a senior year, which pretty much means our lives are dictated and time is restricted. But we’re gonna try real hard to push out songs every month or so. During holidays you can expect a lot.

Tell me a bit about the writing process for the song, was it a collaborative effort or did one person do most of the work?
It’s a full-on collaborative work. Yahya usally has lyrics and a general sense of direction; as in, where to put a piano track, or to crash the drums, etc. Pete and Sanjay then come up with riffs while Yahya sings over them until it clicks. During the recording process, everyone pitches in the ideas and Sanjay fills in the spaces with a bass track, or extra vocals and so on.

What do you guys do as a day job/what do you study?
As we said before we are still in our senior year.

 Who are your favourite international bands and do you think their styles influence your music?
We’re all from different countries, I guess it all kinda shows up when we write, lyrically as well.

Which is more important for a band do you think – being true to yourselves and playing what you want, or giving in to fans wishes and playing what they want to hear?
 - Being true to yourselves, of course. Fans aren’t fans unless they understand what our music is about,and who we are. And stick to *being ourselves.

What would you do to improve the music scene in the UAE if you had the power to change whatever you wished?
- Definitely make it more open. In US and so on, music is so freely played, in coffee shops and bars, any public place. InAbu Dhabi, there aren’t a lot of recording studios, and especially no good recording equipment.
That should be changed, and it should make things easier for a lot of people who want to get noticed

Do any of you own a teddy bear?
Sanjay had a tebby bear which came to life at night and hid the remote.

Really sick shit ..

So he gave it away.

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Aug 31 2011

Flawed Logic – experimental metal lfrom the UAE

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Band News, Interviews

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August 31, 2011

 

Flawed Logic

Flawed Logic is the newest band on the UAE underground music scene, they have just released their debut single, The House of Lot and are already garnering attention from fans and other musicians. We took this opportunity to get to grips with the band and where they are going:

Tell me a bit about Flawed Logic, how did the band start and how long have you been together?
It all started when Shaheen Mohamadi asked Brenton Afonso to play session drums for some of his SAE projects – just a simple collaboration with no afterthought. It was only when Ahmad Al Sharif expressed interest in being a vocalist in a band, did the idea of a band begin to materialize. Roping in Omar Mansur for lead guitars and later Adnan Myrhij for bass, Flawed Logic began composing music. Eventually, due to personal reasons, Ahmad and Adnan had to part ways with the group, leaving the band with no vocalist or a bassist – which would end up as the main and current lineup.
Since it was more of a fun project than a serious band, the three musicians still continued to jam together and work on the tracks. It was only until Brenton needed to record some music for a project he was doing at SAE, did the band decide to step into the studio. With the combined efforts of all three and the help of a session bassist “Iron Ali” Moorad, for one of the tracks, did the songs actually get semi-finalized to the tracks you hear now.
After about 7 months since its inception, a hiatus had to be taken as Omar had to leave the country to pursue his higher education, and with Shaheen and Brenton working. About 3 months later, with Omar returning back to the UAE during a semester break, the band has decided to step back into the studio to work on new material and refurbish/complete the older songs.

You have just released your single The House of Lot – an instrumental piece and we were quite impressed, when can we hear more songs and will you be sticking with instrumental or adding vocals?
We’re currently working on some new material, so if everything works out well, the demos should be released sometime within the next month. As for vocals, we haven’t really come across anyone yet who can fit well with our style of music – whatever that might be. That being said, we remain a purely instrumental band for the foreseeable future.

You guys have said you are not sure of your genre yet, what kind of music are you looking to play or are you letting the creative process decide for you?
Brenton: With all of us coming from different musical backgrounds, we can never say for sure what direction our music will take with newer tracks. During the composition process, we jam and create riffs that might have an interesting groove while maintaining a solid melodic structure and just take it from there.
Omar: We just love playing whatever idea that comes into our head, you never know what might end up being a nice track.
Shaheen: It is mainly because of the fact that we do not want to limit ourselves to a particular genre that this question might seem a bit difficult to answer.

Where are you all based right now?
Brenton and Shaheen are currently based in Dubai, while Omar is currently based in Malaysia

If you could play alongside any band in the world, who would you like to share a stage with?
Brenton: Tough call, but I’d have to say The Mars Volta. Apart from their insanely creative tracks, they always seem to be totally immersed in the music and really enjoying themselves while playing live.
Omar: I’d have to say Steve Vai. His music is always so full of life, being able to mix gorgeous ballad-type solos along with shreds at ease
Shaheen: It’s a tie between Tool and Mastodon for me.

What is coming up next for the band, any gigs or albums planned?
Since we’re a band without really being a band, with the current state of things, we’re just looking to make listenable music for our own pleasure, hoping that other people might like it along the way. Once we have a few more songs recorded, we should be releasing an EP by the end of the year. As far as gigging is concerned, with our members being scattered, it seems a bit impossible at the moment, but who knows what the future could bring..

What is your dream for Flawed Logic?
Brenton: To engineer/produce something that I was involved in that is slightly technical but could be considered commercial viable, without “selling out”. And to have tons of fun while doing it!
Omar: I hope for it to be as fun as it lasts, i hope it remains as fun for us as it is for everyone else, sure id love to play a huge stage but as long as everyone has a good time.
Shaheen: My dream would be that the band remains fun for as long as it lasts, sure it’d be great to get up on stage and rock the world, but anything between jamming in a bedroom to playing the Superbowl is all good so long as everyone’s enjoying it.

Do any of you have a teddy bear? If yes tell me what it looks like!
Brenton and Omar: SHAHEEN!
Shaheen: I don’t own a teddy bear…

check out their music so far:

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