BLAST NIGHT II [REVIEW]

by Habib T

Dubai witnessed another fantastic metal night hosted by JoScene at the Music Room, with the talents of Greece's Dimlight and local bands Verdict, Pullbox, and Angmar. It was a great show, to say the least.

The night began with DJ WYN's metal tunes, covering all metal subgenres, that set the atmosphere for the entertainment of the night to come.

Angmar, credit: George Durzi

The venue descended into a trance of gloom and doom when newcomers Angmar brought their own take on death-doom metal to the stage. I think the scene has been missing a band that plays doom metal in the vein of My Dying Bride, Paradise Lost, and early Anathema, and these guys did just that. Covers of Anathema's "A Dying Wish" and My Dying Bride's "She is the Dark" almost brought tears to my eyes as I heard these songs live for the first time, executed with great vocals and professionalism. I also witnessed them perform a solid death-doom original, titled "Chaos". This band has done a great job in entering the scene and playing live for the first time!

Following Angmar were UAE nu-metal group Pull Box, who, even though out of place among the performing bands genre-wise, performed with great enthusiasm to a crowd who reciprocated that. Honestly speaking, I am not a big fan of Nu-Metal, but they delivered a solid show with songs like "Thy Monster", "Scream", and "War for Peace". Not to mention that they are one of the few female-fronted metal bands in the local scene, and that adds an extra edge to their uniqueness in it. It is definitely something we should see more of.

Pullbox, credit: George Durzi

Verdict, credit: George Durzi

Then, death metallers Verdict ascended the stage, with their usual crowd-pleasing songs such as "Systematic Slaughter" and "Headstab". Naturally, the crowd moshed with the relentless fury of Verdict's riffs, especially when playing "War Head" and "Defiance". One of the most fun bands to see live in the scene with all their energy and brutality!

Afterwards, with a haunting overture, Dimlight brought definitive, beautiful chaos to The Music Room. Playing their own blend of Symphonic Death Metal with operatic female vocals, they definitely brought a unique experience to the local scene. With songs like "Invoking the Hunter" and "Dark Emotion", Dimlight exhibited the beautiful contrast between the harshness of Death Metal and the serenity of operatic female vocals done by the wonderful Eva Forlanou. They also played many of their older and more recent songs such as "Shattered Idols" and "Fear the Heavens". Their guitarist and vocalist Invoker also called for a Wall of Death, and it happened! The first time I see a Wall of Death in a bar show. Absolutely fantastic! I would love to see them again.

Dimlight, credit: George Durzi

All in all, it was a well-organized show with great bands, great people, and great music. Looking forward to more shows like this in the scene!

More photos from the show below!