Tyrant Throne
Wywiad przeprowadził Wouter Roemers
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. Let's say work on our next release has 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 I 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. It's 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 should'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 are 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 are 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 labelled 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 Groovie 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 endeavours. 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...
Booking: tyrant_throne@yahoo.co.uk
Site: www.tyrantthrone.com
