Interview With UAE Death Metallers PERVERSION Prior To Their Upcoming Performance In Dubai

[By IRoar and Kareem Chehayeb]

UAE extreme metallers, PERVERSION, are currently gearing up to hit the stage on May 11th supporting death metal heavyweights HATE ETERNAL on their first performance in Dubai.
The band recently released their debut full length album "Pillars of the Enlightened" which we've reviewed (here) and are already working on its follow-up!

We got a chance to ask the band about their upcoming performance with HATE ETERNAL, their latest release "Pillars of the Enlightened" and find out how Steve Tucker, who was originally confirmed for mixing and mastering duties for "Pillars" ended up causing the album to be delayed for 6 months and ultimately bailing on the project. 

Here's how it went:

Thanks a lot for doing this, PERVERSION is currently gearing up for its upcoming show in Dubai with international heavyweights HATE ETERNAL. How has everything been leading up to the event? Are you guys excited to be supporting one of extreme metal’s biggest names on their first show in Dubai?

Thanks to you for the interest. Hell yeah! We are very excited to see Hate Eternal live in Dubai, let alone sharing the stage with them, it is a band that had a huge influence on our music, it’s an absolute honor to be supporting them.

What kind of set-list can fans expect for the show? Will you guys be belting out all originals from your latest album “Pillars of the Enlightened”?

Yes, we will be playing all the tracks from “Pillars” plus new material that we never played before.

Speaking of “Pillars…,” the album was released a couple of months ago, and was mixed/mastered by former Morbid Angel frontman Steve Tucker. How was working with him on the release? Did you get a chance to talk to him about Illud Divinum Insanus? *j/k*

We had few disagreements with Steve, the process wasn’t as smooth as we expected and the album was delayed for at least 6 months because of that. At the end we decided to do everything from scratch in terms of mixing and mastering , it was a tough job but had to be done.

I remember talking to him about Illud Divinum Insanus, he is not really a fan of that album!! 

[Ed note: according to the band, they have yet to be refunded for their mixing and mastering session originally scheduled with Steve Tucker.]

Can fans expect the release to be available in CD format down the line?

We are trying our best to have some CDs pressed before our next gig, but within few weeks time we will definitely have enough CDs for everyone to order. It’s REALLY tough doing this since we are all busy with our day jobs and of course we are not under any label yet. 

You’re also currently working on new material. Can we get an idea on how things have been sounding so far? Is it too early to compare things to ‘Pillars of the Enlightened’ yet?

The songs in “Pillars” were written at the time when we were forming the band and still trying to figure out our sound. The new material will be much more matured musically, slightly more technical and a whole lot heavier!  I have decided to switch to 7 strings guitars recently and all I can say is that its working pretty damn well!!

You’ve recently had a show in Cairo, Egypt with Jordanian metallers BILOCATE and Egyptian death metallers SCARAB at Brain Slash gig. How was it playing in Egypt for the first time? How did you find the scene there different than that of Dubai?

That show was simply awesome!! BILOCATE and SCARAB are both outstanding bands, and it was an honor sharing the stage with them. The best thing about the gig was the crowd, the turnout was great (about 1000), and we had really good reaction from the fans, I can’t explain how awesome the feeling was. Fans in Egypt are really hungry for metal, they don’t get much gigs compared to the fans in Dubai, also there are WAY more metal fans in Egypt than in Dubai, which makes playing gigs in Egypt much more fun.

Can fans in Egypt expect a second show in the near future?

We haven’t been asked to perform at any upcoming shows in Egypt, but if we ever get the chance again, we will surely do it.

Who are some other Middle Eastern (or international) bands that you’d like to play with?

We would love to do a tour around Europe alongside some Middle Eastern bands like: Scarab Bilocate, Nervecell, Smoldering in forgotten, Creative Waste to name few, I think it would be a great idea, and to let the European metal fans know what the middle eastern scene has to offer. The are many other middle eastern and international bands that we would love to share the stage, the list is huge !!

The UAE and Middle Eastern metal scene is seeing more bands appear on the regional circuit, is there any new acts that you like listening to?

There are some great new bands in Dubai and not only extreme metal, but our favorite would be Billy Bob Blood Drenched Brew, really fun to watch live.

Thanks again for taking the time to chat with us; we hope you crush it on May 11th with HATE ETERNAL and Saudi grinders CREATIVE WASTE! Would you like to add anything?

Thanks to you guys at Metality for the awesome work in promoting Middle Eastern talent.

And for anyone who’s interested in knowing more about Perversion, do visit out facebook page:

facebook.com/perversion.band and give our album a listen.

Cheers everyone!

Make sure to check out PERVERSION on Facebook; to find out more information on the band's upcoming show with HATE ETERNAL, visit the event's official page, here.