It is with a very sad heart, that we finally have to announce the departure of Mr. Rany Battikh from Blaakyum. This is what Rany had to say:
"All good things must come to an end. I am saddened to announce my departure from Blaakyum after almost 10 years of service. Bassem and I reformed the band back in 2007 and we went through so many line-up changes but our strong belief in Blaakyum kept us going. I clearly remember when we were composing and arranging songs for our debut album, we would rehearse relentlessly, almost every day, then we would sit and envision the band “making it” out there. Since 2007, we had to re-build the band a few times, from the ground up. That slowed us down quite a bit, but didn’t stop us from fulfilling our ultimate goal of taking Blaakyum to the next level, playing abroad, releasing albums, keep on doing what we’re passionate about the most in life.
Now that I’m leaving Blaakyum, I can look back to the past couple of years and safely say that the band is accomplishing the vision that we had in 2007-2008. We toured Europe & the Middle-East more than once, met some of our idols, shared stages with them and most importantly delivered our music across the world.
To Blaakyum friends and fans in Lebanon, you guys are the best. You know, whenever I heard bands saying they couldn’t make it without the support of their fan-base, I always thought that’s bullcrap. I was totally wrong. Just seeing everybody enjoying themselves at our concerts drove us to outdo ourselves every single time. The energy that we have on stage is as real as it can get and it’s directly related to our crazy audience.
The “Journey to Eternity” has to stop for me now. It has been one hell of an adventure. Due to time conflict, I can’t commit to the band anymore. The last thing I would want is to drag the band down. I wish my brothers in Blaakyum the best of luck in their future endeavours and it has been a pleasure to perform and compose with past and current members of the band.
I’ll be working on some new music for the moment so be on the lookout for that."
We wish Rany the best in his life choices, may he know success always.
This is what our Forntman had to say:
"Rany has been my brother in arms ever since I decided to reform Blaakyum in 2007. In fact I can safely say that Blaakyum was in reality born in 2007. He has been there for the band and me all along, other than his incredible musicianship and unbelievable composition skills, he was a beast on stage, but also, a very very dear and close friend. I will surely miss his presence on stage next to me, and wish him success in whatever enterprise he will take. But the show must go on. And we are very excited about the new possibilities and fresh ideas and thrust that we are having with our new bassist Mr. Pierre Le port. Pierre saved Blaakyum at its darkest hour, and his dedication and sacrifice has been paramount for our success in our Europe tour with Onslaught. We are now composing our new album and we can't wait to feel the impact of this new change in the band sound and direction."
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