Interview By Blackdiamond Progressive death metallers VOICE OF THE SOUL started life in Kuwait in 2007, now based in Lebanon and Dubai. Their first EP “Winds Of Apprehension” was released in 2009, followed by “Eyes Of Deceit” in 2010, before going on to release their most successful EP “Into Oblivion” in 2011.
VOICE OF THE SOUL recorded their debut full length album “Catacombs” in April 2014 at Haven Studios with Hadi Sarieddine from BENEVOLENT. The album was released last September in the UAE and at the end of March 2015 in Europe.
Blackdiamond caught up with vocalist and guitarist Kareem Chehayeb to discuss the new release and other topics, including the metal scene in the Middle East. On this subject Kareem stated:
“I think it’s getting better overall. Dubai is having a lot of club shows and a lot of bands are starting to look at Dubai as a place to hit before continuing on to Asia. So we’ve seen bands like Obscura and Krisiun. I think in terms of pulling off these big fest shows it has to be the legendary bands, like the Big Four kind of bands, Sabbath and so on. Lebanon has a big history with the scene and local shows with hundreds of people. But there’s a bit of government corruption despite it being a semi-democracy – the police break into clubs and cause some problems. It’s easy to mess around with such a small group like metal fans, as opposed to the electronic scene which is funded by big nightclubs and sponsors. But bands still play here, there was a bit of a slump but I think it’s going up right now. But I think it depends on the political climate.” You can listen to the full interview on the audio player below:
For more information on VOICE OF THE SOUL, visit their official Facebook page at this location and Bandcamp here.
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