PHEXATAAN - by
Masterful Magazine (Poland)
Interview by:
Wouter
Roemers,
September 4th, 2007
Masterful Magazine:
Tyrant Throne, Jordan's and possibly the Middle East's primary death
metal export product, released their promising "Abominations" EP
upon the world some months ago. Despite its thorough DIY nature the
band was able to present an impressive piece of US death metal
savagery, clearly inspired by the wildly influential Suffocation.
When the chance arose to talk to one of the members of this
promising young outfit an interview was immediately scheduled.
Talking to us is vocalist/bassist Muhannad "Phexataan" Bursheh about
the reception of their EP, the trials faced by an extreme metal band
in the Middle East and how he sees his band evolve in the years to
come...
Hi. Thanks for taking
the time to answer our questions. How is everything in the Tyrant
Throne camp? Any noteworthy developments people should be aware of?
Hello, no worries it is my pleasure. Well there haven't been any
major developments in the last period. Lets say work on our next
release have started, yet it is still in the early stages.
Please tell us
about how Tyrant Throne came to life and about progress since the
formation in 2004.
The band started due to the fact that Zaher Siryani and I are
cousins, so we used to jam and play together in different bands
since childhood. We have grown up together on Metal music, so in
2004 we finally decided to create Tyrant Throne. We struggled to
find a drummer for 3 years, because the music is very fast and
technical, and excellent drummers are hard to find in Jordan, but we
were finally able to find a good drummer in 2007; Hanna Marzouqa,
our current blaster. In this short period Tyrant Throne was able to
become one of the most important and leading bands in Jordan and the
Middle East.
The music is
unbelievably aggressive and militant – were you in a particularly
pissed-off mood when recording this EP?
We are always in a pissed off mood, because life is tough, haha.
What's the concept
of “Abominations” and the accompanying cover artwork?
The concept is basically about inner hate, wrath, anger,
spiritualism, rebellion, ancient ethics and so - all demonstrated in
a philosophical and brutal atmosphere. The cover shows a skull of a
dead goat. It represents the disgust and hate we feel inside. Each
track on the EP is an Abomination, so the EP is called
"Abominations"!
The lyrics all are
linked to the band’s name in one way or the other. Who or what are
the “tyrants” you are regularly referring to?
Well actually the word "Tyrants" wasn't mentioned in the lyrics at
all, but yes somehow the band name has its own influence on the
lyrics mentally. The Tyrants in my point of view are us, the band
members. The "Tyrant Throne" is the power that the band members
emit; the band's music. The better and more aggressive the music,
the mightier the Throne is! For me, when a person reaches a level of
high exposure to the sick and twisted society, tyranny becomes a
heroic act! Slaughter for Salvation to end a chapter of
irrationality. Slaughter the symbols of this corrupted society,
slaughter the idols of blind fools.
The “Abominations”
EP is an exhibit of unbelievable supremacy and development. The
recording sounds very tight and succinct - how was this achieved?
It is great to know that you describe the EP that way. Well yes, the
EP shows supremacy am not going to ditch that fact! Although this is
Tyrant Throne's first release, but we are experienced players; I
have releases with my other bands Augury and Phex, so that gave me
lots of experience in performing and recording. Learning how to
promote from my experience with the other projects helped a lot as
well! Also, Zaher is a very technical guitar player and has
magnificent composing capabilities. Lets not forget the hate and
malice in our black hearts which helped in creating such epically
hateful music.. The recording of the EP was done at the "Sirenwave
Studio" and the production works were done at my personal studio
"The Phexagon" - I also work as a producer and shit besides the
band, so, that's about the recording.
The EP was
originally to be mastered at Sirenwave Studios, but due to
unforeseen circumstances you ended up mastering it at your home
studio. What led to the producer taking off so suddenly?
Yes, the Sirenwave Studio is our dear friend's studio. Its the place
where I also recorded my latest releases with Augury and Phex, then
Tyrant Throne. The producer informed us that he is leaving to the
States before we started recording the EP, he had only 2 more weeks
in Jordan, so the next day we started recording the EP directly, the
problem is that I also have a Symphonic Black Metal project with the
producer called "Apokalyte" and we had an unrecorded album, so we
had to start recording it as well, so I was basically recording 2
releases at the same time; Tyrant Throne's EP and Apokalyte's album,
both I had to finish in 2 weeks, it was a damn tough time. But
luckily the recording was finished for both projects in the right
time, but due to the fact the M. Masri; the producer left the
country, I had to relocate all the equipment from his studio to our
jamming room and convert it into the Phexagon Studio, and I did the
production for the EP there.
Tyrant Throne
recently enlisted a real drummer in Hanna Marzouqa. He’s an old
friend of the band, if I’m informed correctly?
Correct indeed...
Are there any
tracks left from “Abominations” sessions? How many songs did you
prepare in your rehearsal room before going to the recording studio?
None are left; we don't like to compose music then trash it, we
spend a lot of time in the composing process to make sure that every
track sounds perfect then we go to the studio.
The feedback the EP
is getting is generally all very praiseworthy, our magazine being no
exception. What are your hopes for this EP, is there a full length
waiting to be completed to follow up this success?
Yes it is getting a good feedback indeed. Our main aim is to make
this EP our path finder to sign a contract with one of our desired
record labels. The follow up will surely be a full-length album;
that is what we are working on right now.
Having received
many good reviews in magazines and webzines from across the globe,
do you feel that judging by what people have said about your new
material it has achieved the impact you thought it would?
Generally yes, most reviews I've read about the EP were generally
fair except for a few exceptions. But as I said, generally, the
impact it gave on people was almost as we expected. We were glad to
see that many people were really interested in the band from around
the globe, actually the international support we received was much
better that the one we received from Jordan.
The “Abominations”
EP is a very strong debut for a young band like yourselves. Have
there been any substantial offers made by labels at this point?
Thanks!!! Well, yep, we did receive quite a good number of offers
from labels here and there, but for the label issue we are working
on it with a certain plan. First we'll try to see if the labels we
desire are interested, then if nothing works out we'll turn to one
of those offers we received. But I have high hopes about this. Wish
us luck.
Is Death Metal a
form of escapism for both the musician and the listener?
It is indeed a form of escapism for both, but yet not just that; it
is a statement, brutal art where there are no boundaries. There is
no law that says music shouldn't be aggressive and dark!
What does Death
Metal mean, or stand for, to you?
Quoting from my answer in the previous question: it is a statement,
brutal art where there are no boundaries. It is a fist in the face
of ignorants and society, and it feeds the soul! Death Metal is
great neck breaking music...
Can you tell us
something about the extreme metal scene in Jordan. Is there any
scene to speak of, how many bands/venues are there, are they well
organized, are there more fans than there are bands, etc?
Even though most bands in Jordan play extreme Metal, but still the
biggest majority of them tend to be melodic extreme bands. Few live
up to the ultimate ugly (beautiful) extreme. Jordan is a small
country, and the Metal scene is still growing and developing little
by little. There is a good number of active, creative and talented
bands, but there's no support at all, it is somehow a neglected
area. There are no real venues to make Metal gigs, we usually play
in bars, restaurants or such places. There's also a good number of
fans - all genres of Metal are well spread in Jordan, but the more
aggressive and extreme the band gets the less fans it'll have; we
have more extreme Metal bands, but less extreme Metal fans! Also,
sadly, almost half of the local fans aren't really supportive to
local bands.
How difficult is it
for an extreme metal band to operate and live in Jordan with its
Islamic authorities and the resulting censorship that brings in
everyday life?
Well, Metal music in general isn't yet much accepted in the
Jordanian and Arabian societies in general; although Amman; capital
of Jordan is a modern city, and most people here are open-minded,
but still there is something about Metal that makes it unaccepted.
We do have problems with the authorities from time to time, since
they recognize us a Devil Worshippers, but as long as the person
doesn't do anything illegal and doesn't harm the country or people
around him, he'll definitely face no problems at all, because there
would be no reason to accuse him of anything. Metal isn't something
illegal in Jordan, it is just not so accepted and supported. The
biggest problems bands face here are finding places to play gigs, or
finding distributors for their music.
Heavy Metal is
often labeled as the devil's work by religious authorities (of any
kind). Has the genre you're playing ever gotten the band into
trouble? I mean, police and government aren't known to be
open-minded on that subject and/or the music you play in that part
of the world. How's your experience with that as an individual and
as a band?
We as a band and individuals never faced any problems, because we
are no trouble makers, but many people faced a lot of problems and
were thrown in jail, especially in the past when the government was
officially fighting Metal. Currently the government is busy with
loads of other important stuff, so for the time being we're living
in peace.
Any Death Metal
bands from Jordan that we should be aware of - that might make it
big in years to come?
There are no pure Death Metal bands except for Tyrant Throne that
are really active right now. But I can recommend excellent bands
that mix Death Metal with other styles: Ajdath (Death/Thrash Metal),
Bilocate (Doom/Death Metal), Infested Mind (Atmospheric Death/Black
Metal (before), Melodic Death Metal (now)). Also check out my
one-man band "Phex", the latest album "Transfixion" has a strange
Groovy Death Metal style with some touches from here and there, but
the project's genre is going to change to Black Metal on the next
album, anyways...
What would you
consider to be notable differences between the Jordanian metal scene
and its European and American counterparts?
Media, support, chances...
Has writing for the
follow up to “Abominations” begun? If so, how is it going and what
can we expect?
Yes, still in the beginnings though. This time it'll be faster, more
technical and heavier. And it'll be more old school Brutal Death
Metal oriented than Abominations.
Thanks for the
interview, and good luck with all your future endeavors. Feel free
to add anything you want...
Thanks for this interview, and the review before! Thanks for the
support, it is much appreciated. Stay fucking true...
Phexataan (a.k.a.
Muhannad Bursheh) - Bass & Vocals
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