BLAST NIGHT III [REVIEW]

by Habib T

The last show of the season in Dubai before the relative silence of the hot summer months, JoScene’s Blast Night III at the Music Room on June 3rd proved to be a fantastic way to end the gig season. The show was well-organized, as is usual with JoScene, in addition to this time’s fruitful collaboration with Metal Bell Magazine. DJ WYNN also played a sweet combination of metal between the sets and before the show started.

While the show was dominated by the Lebanese thrashers Blaakyum and InnerGuilt, local bands Svengali and Pull Box effectively demonstrated the energy and talent of the local metal scene.

The female-fronted Pull Box provided the opening for the show with their nu-metal and punk-like metalcore original tunes, such as “Edge”, “Overdose”, and “Why”, in addition to their cover of “Tainted Love”. While the music of this band is not my particular cup of tea, I appreciate and love their dedication and energy on the stage. The band, as usual, played with great enthusiasm, and set the stage for the increasingly violent melodies that will progress through the night.

Svengali, photo credit: Manu Anand

The stage was then taken by UAE metal scene warriors Svengali, who again proved to be a crowd-moving favorite that got the moshpits going. They played a collection of their older and newer songs, including my personal favorite “Conquer” with its uplifting atmosphere and energizing synths. They also performed headbang-inducing tunes such as “Sink or Swim” to which the crowd sang along, “Laced in Sin”, “Blindfolds”, “Floodgates”, and “Free Fall”. As usual, they had great interactions with the crowd and really got them going with several rounds of moshpits. Svengali is definitely one of those bands whose live shows should not be missed, especially considering the fantastic experience they always give the audience.

After that, it was time for Lebanese band InnerGuilt to unleash chaos from the stage, and they did so beautifully despite some sound issues. They performed a riveting mix of thrash and death metal, which was received by headbanging and moshing from the crowd. Powerful vocals and brilliant yet brutal guitars were demonstrated in the songs they played such as “Terrorized by Silence”, “Burned of Guilt”, “Through Narrow Corridors” as well as their own killer takes on Sepultura’s “Troops of Doom” and Gojira’s “Lizard Skin”. It was my first time seeing them live, and they are definitely great representatives of the Lebanese metal scene with their unforgiving musical brutality and uplifting energy. You definitely do not want to miss out on any performance by these talented and dedicated musicians.

Blaakyum, photo credit: Metal Bell Magazine

Finally, Lebanese metal veterans Blaakyum brought their brand of thrash metal with classical Arabic music elements to the stage. Having seen them open for Epica in Lebanon’s Byblos International Music Festival back in August 2014, they proved to be yet again powerful ambassadors of Lebanese metal to the world. The crowd moshed and headbanged to a set of Blaakyum’s finest tunes, such as “Lord of the Night”, “Wicked Revelation”, and “Crossing”. They also played songs with powerful social messages, such as “Ceasefire”, “The Line of Fear”, and “Destined to Rise”. In addition, they performed their song  “Rip it Off”, which is dedicated to the late Dimebag Darrell of Pantera. “Baal-Adon” is another fantastic opus of theirs I look forward to hearing on their upcoming album. These guys put up a brilliant performance indeed.

All in all, it was one hell of a night and a memorable ending for this gig season before the summer break sets in. My thanks go to JoScene, Metal Bell Magazine, DJ WYNN, and to all the bands who performed and the people who helped organize the show and make it great. I am definitely looking forward to more events like this!  

Until next time, metalheads!