First In Line" Lebanon Tour "Tripoli" Diary

As the tour goes one, here are some pics taken by the fans, from our Tripoli show:

Click on the picture to enlarge

"First In Line" Lebanon Tour "Beirut" Diary

We usually post a bit about each gig we are playing within this tour, so far we covered Egypt, Zahel and Der El Qamar (Lebanon), but as we were about to put our thoughts into the Beirut gig diary we saw this clip on Elias Njeim's facebook page, and we thought, this would be our diary, so we hope you enjoy it:

This Clip was created by Mr. Julien Srour, Elias Njeim's personal photographer 

Blaakyum would like to thank Julien Srour for this lovely clip.

(Footage from Blaakyum "First In Line" Tour - Beirut.
Music: Awakened Dreams (Studio Version)

A New United Dawn for Lebanese Metal

It was worth mentioning that the Middle Eastern Scene has become a major point of attraction and that it has established itself as a main contributor to the new talents in the International Metal scene and Metal music under all it's sub-genres. It is more than obvious that MENA will play a major role in the New Age of Metal and will carry on the flame. So when Blaakyum and Cenotaph were announced to perform in Metal Heads' Mission Festival 2012, it was a great thing to see two bands from the Middle East preparing to assault Ukraine with Heavy, Thrash and Death Metal.

But then came the greatest news I have ever heard since I ever became a Lebanese Metalhead; Kimaera will join the set, so we can all add Doom to the list above \m/. There are no words that can describe my joy and enthusiasm, if I was so looking forward for our show in Ukraine (the second show we give in Europe after London in 2007, and the first in Eastern Europe) now I am looking forward for it a hundred folds. Having Kimaera with us in MHM Fest in Ukraine just boosted the band and my personal feeling of pride. There is nothing greater than sharing the stage with our Brothers... Kimaera and Blaakyum will be hitting the stage in Ukraine and we cannot wait to show everyone some good skull crushing head banging Lebanese Metal.

Here is for a United Lebanese Scene \m/

Bassem Deaibess

"First In Line" Lebanon Tour Diary

After Egypt, we came back right into the "First In Line" tour of Lebanon. Our first Stop was Zahle, the Bride of the Beqaa. The event was great, the band had a blast, and so did the fans, we enjoyed the good sound system (Better than most Beirut sounds we had to deal with). The night was smooth and we were welcomed by the Beqaa Metal fans with enthusiasm. (Beqaa Promoter 4 U 2 Feel)

Next stop was Der El Qamar the capital of the Shouf mountains... What can we say, the city is a beauty that is beyond description and to be playing there in a glorious pub made of stone... We really had a blast... And we loved seeing some really old timers, great spirited Metalheads from the elder generation. (Shouf Promoter Mark Azzi)

Our next stop is Beirut at Nova club this Saturday, and we can't wait to be back to the place that gave us Birth, to our hometown... Beirut, get ready to make the world feel the earth shake \m/

The Land of the Sphinx and the golden Pyramids has been conquered

Blaakyum would like to Thank Metal Blast crew, friends and fans who made this concert a possibility, The band gave one of its best shows, and we were blown away by the enthusiasm of the fans, and we loved witnessing the Egyptian Moshpit \m/ - As we said on our facebook fan page:

"...We can't wait to tell Lebanon about the Egyptian Metal scene, you guys keep it together, and we will Rise.

We would like also to say that the Egyptian bands, Karma and Wyvern are really great... Karma with its groove metal will definitely blow the minds of our Lebanese NuMetal fans, a very tight and ambitious band.
Wyvern, is a mirror of Blaakyum in Egypt, play a very similar style, being the oldest and having pass through the similar obstacles...

And last but not least Metal Blast crew, you guys are the Heroes of the Nile... And we will always be ready to cooperate with you, such high standard organization and professionalism... You kick some serious big fat fucking ass \m/

Egypt, we can say one thing: You Rock \m/

Keep Metal Alive... For We Shall Rise \m/"

Blaakyum album is on Sale at Vibe's studio in dokki - Cairo and at Bikya Book Store.

Blaakyum Playing At "Metal Heads' Mission" Ukraine

Blaakyum has been confirmed to play at Metal Heads' Mission Festival Ukraine 2012 on August the 4th.
This event is part of the "Night Lords" tour in support of our debut album "Lord of The Night" we are looking forward to this new step in the history of the band, and will bring Middle Eastern Heavy and Thrash Metal to Europe. Stay tuned for more dates to be added.

We Shall Rise \m/

Click here for the confirmation video on MHM website

Blaakyum announce "Night Lords" Tour

While Blaakyum is being currently booked in many countries around our area, After booking most Lebanese dates for their "First In Line" tour, and having Egypt on the tour list, Blaakyum is being currently booked in Europe and Asia, dates and venues and countries will be announced once they are announced officially by the promoters. For this end, Blaakyum is announcing the name of it's Tour: Night Lords Tour, in support of it's debut album, the tour so far holds 4 countries:

Egypt: Metal Blast event
Lebanon: "First In Line Lebanon Tour"
Europe: Metal Heads' Mission Festival Ukraine 2012
Asia: TBA

New Dates posted

Blaakyum Will be going on Tour to support it's Debut release "Lord Of The Night". The tour will be divided in two parts. Egypt Concert, and the "First In Line" Tour that will take place, for the first time in Lebanon's History, across Lebanon.

It is to be noted that never in the history of Rock and Metal did a Lebanese band tour the whole of Lebanon, as in the past big concerts were being held strictly in Greater Beirut and Mount Lebanon, and to a lesser extent in Tripoli, while other areas in Lebanon were left neglected or had only it's local bands performing.

Blaakyum hope that this tour will open the gate for a wider national Rock music movement, and hope to encourage other bands to perform all over the Lebanese territories.
Confirmed Dates:

Egypt Metal Blast's Metal: The Heavy Dose
06.04.2012 El Sawy Culturewheel  Cairo, Eygpt

The First In Line
13.04.2012  Zahle Boulevard (60's Pub) Zahle, Lebanon
15.04.2012  Blind Bar Lounge   Der El Qamar, Lebanon
21.04.2012  Nova Club,  Beirut, Lebanon
05.05.2012  Solitaire Music School  Tripoli, Lebanon
12.05.2012  Maarouf Saad Cultual Center Saida, Lebanon

*More Dates will be added as soon as venues are booked in EUROPE, ASIA and around Lebanon: Bshare, Marjeyoun, Ain Ibil and definitely Beirut are among the places being booked

Beirut Date Added

Blaakyum will be performing it's Beirut Date in the "First In Line" Tour at Nova Sin El Fil on the 21st of April, It is to be noted that after a few months of being away from Rock and Metal, the pub is now BACK in Black and Blaakyum will inauguration the re-initiation of Nova to Metal.

Blaakyum "First In Line" Tour

Blaakyum Will be going on Tour to support it's Debut release "Lord Of The Night". The tour will be divided in two parts. Egypt Concert, and the "First In Line" Tour that will take place, for the first time in Lebanon's History, across Lebanon.

It is to be noted that never in the history of Rock and Metal did a Lebanese band tour the whole of Lebanon, as in the past big concerts were being held strictly in Greater Beirut and Mount Lebanon, and to a lesser extent in Tripoli, while other areas in Lebanon were left neglected or had only it's local bands performing.

Blaakyum hope that this tour will open the gate for a wider national Rock music movement, and hope to encourage other bands to perform all over the Lebanese territories.

Confirmed Dates:

Egypt Metal Blast's Metal: The Heavy Dose
06.04.2012 El Sawy Culturewheel Cairo, Eygpt

The First In Line

13.04.2012 Zahle Boulevard (60's Pub) Zahle, Lebanon

15.04.2012 Blind Bar Lounge Der El Qamar, Lebanon

05.05.2012 Solitaire Music School Tripoli, Lebanon

12.05.2012 Maarouf Saad Cultual Center Saida, Lebanon

*More Dates will be added as soon as venues are booked, Bshare, Marjeyoun, Ain Ibil and definitely Beirut are among the places being booked

Blaakyum Topping the Charts again, interviews and radio play

Blaakyum, a Lebanese thrash act, were at the top of the Metal chart last week, and they're still there this week. Good job, guys!

 http://signmeto.roadrunnerrecords.com/blogs/2012-2-7-who-charted-february-7-2012

Blaakyum have been on the top of the Roadrunner Records' Sing Me To Metal charts for the past two weeks and has received the attention of some well known Metal Blogs and onlline radios around the globe,

Blaakyum has been aired on   Metal Messiah Radio http://www.metalmessiahradio.com
Renegade Radio http://www.renegaderadio.net
Metality Radio http://www.metality.net

As well as reviewed on Metality Jorzine,

Our latest addition:

Blaakyum, the Lebanese act currently topping the SignMeTo metal chart, have been interviewed over at InvisibleOranges.com, one of the most intelligent metal sites around! It's an in-depth conversation that goes into the cultural background that informs their music, and much more - so head over there and check it out! Congratulations, guys!

 http://signmeto.roadrunnerrecords.com/blogs/2012-2-9-blaakyum-interviewed-on-invisibleoranges

Blaakyum peaking at #1 on Roadrunner Records' Sing Me To Daily Metal Top 100 Chart on the 25th of January 2012 and remained in the top 3 for  a week fluctuating between #1 and #3

Blaakyum Peaked at #1 in Roadrunner Records' Sign Me To Weekly Metal Top 100 Chart on the 31st of January 2012 and rating 8.3 out of 40 votes.

Blaakyum had registered to Sign Me To on the 14th of January 2012, in less than 10 days it peaked at number #1 in the Daily Metal Chart and in two weeks peaked at #1 in the Weekly Chart, This is another badge of honour added to the band's list of achievements, Blaakyum would like to thank our fans who made it possible.
Keep Metal Alive \m/



http://signmeto.roadrunnerrecords.com/charts

A letter from Lady Moon

On the night of "Lord Of The Night" release, Lady Moon sent this letter:

"My Lord... Sir Black.   

    Try as I may, I'm finding it difficult to put my thoughts and feelings into words. Pride, awe, Love... but most of all reverence before a Genius.

    'Lord Of The Night' is not a musical album. It's a piece of divinity - a Masterpiece, at that. So much so we fear it may be beyond humans' capacity to comprehend and appreciate. But to the goDs and Dark Creatures whose souls are attuned to divinity, It is Art supreme. And today, It takes its place among them, in the High Spheres, where it belongs.

All our Love, devotion and immense appreciation to a Mighty Artist.

Lady Moon

Friday 13 Jan 2012"

Album Picture

Blaakyum 2012

Lord Of The Night in Lebanon

The Album Lord Of The Night is available in Lebanon at the following places:

Online:
At LebMetal www.lebmetal.com (Album and T-shirts available)

Beirut:

Kamelot Pub         Gemmayzeh -    03 094574 (+9613094574) call after 3 pm
N-Jam Music Store Sin El Fil -      03 933155 (+9613933155)

Jounieh:

Shadow Metallica Jounieh (Centre Versailles)
Mr. Jad Feitrouni 03 687621 (+9613687621) Call after 1 pm (Album and T-shirts Available)


The Special First Print Limited Edition is half way sold out, so grab your copy as soon as you can.

The next print will be out in a month more details about new selling points will be out soon

Friday the 13th has passed, and no bad luck!

I would like to commomerate the release of our debute album "Lord Of The Night" by posting a Blog Post from our Bassist Blogsite, while only adding these words:

It is an honour, and a most satisfying thought, that Blaakyum is:

Rany Battikh on Bass
Jad Feitrouni on Drums
Elias Njeim on Lead Guitar
and Bassem Deaibess on vocals and Rhythm Guitar

Blaakyum: A journey to eternity.

Just a couple of hours before Blaakyum's debut album "Lord of the Night" release party, I thought that this would be the right time to write some of the memories I've had being in the band. It's been almost 5 years now and we are just getting started.

It's a warm day in May 2007, I'm at home going through my daily practice routine then I got a call from a dear friend, Anthony Saab, he asked me if I can get to Cherry's (Lebanon's only Metal pub/venue back then) because Bassem Deaibess wanted to talk to me about a new project. I never met Bassem in person before but I've been a huge fan throughout the years. I've seen him perform with so many bands (Communion, Solitaire, Davinci (I'm not sure about the name) ) and I always told my friends that he is the best Metal vocalist in Lebanon by far. So I called my friend Jad Feitrouni (Blaakyum's future drummer) and asked him if he could drive me to Cherry's.

Once we got to Cherry's, I met Bassem and he told me that he was reforming Blaakyum, a legendary Metal band. So far, everything I knew about the band was their infamous 1998 single  "Am I Black". At first, I wasn't so excited about the idea since I'm not into this kind of music (you might want to call it Doom) which was pretty popular in the 90s in Lebanon. Then Bassem picked the guitar up and said: "well I've been composing some Metal songs lately, when I was still with Communion and here's one of them called 'Twisted Evil' ". Believe me I had very low expectations. 19 minutes later Bassem stopped and looked at me and said: "yes, that's an entire song". And what a song! 19 minutes of Thrash riffing, odd time signatures, technical passages...brilliant and just the type of music I was looking for.

We set a rehearsal date and Bassem told me: "this will be a rehearsal and an audition since I've never heard you play before". Blaakyum at that time was: Bassem Deaibess on vocals and rhythm guitar, Ralph Khoury on lead guitar and Georges Nadjarian on drums. I have never met the guys before but I've seen them performing live and they're just top notch musicians. After a week of preparations, the rehearsal day arrived and I actually learned 2 songs (Lord of the Night and Ship of No Return) that Bassem passed to me earlier. The rehearsal went great, I was a bit stressed about the whole idea but when we started jamming I felt right at home. The guys are very professional and some of the nicest people one could meet in the Lebanese music scene.

A couple of days later Bassem called me and informed that I got the gig and we set a schedule for rehearsals, just myself and him so I would learn all the songs he has completed so far. Ralph eventually left the band due to his work. A couple of days later, Anthony told me that Bassem talked to Elias El-Rehbani from the band "Red" to join Blaakyum. I was thrilled to meet this guy since he was one of the best guitarists around (still is). So while Bassem and I finished up a couple of songs Elias joined the line-up and Blaakyum was ready to unleash its fury. We rehearsed twice a week (Sundays and Mondays) at Cherry's and sometimes we would have a whole crowd watching us going through our practice time. I remember very well during rehearsals, Bassem would leave for a few minutes and the 3 of us (Georges, Elias and myself) would start a non-metal jam ranging from jazz/fusion to reggae or some straight-forward Hard Rock. Musically we were getting along so very well. Our first official appearance was at 2007 GBOB's Metal heat at Cherry's. We qualified to the national finals and won. That performance we did in the finals was unforgettable, we were very tight on stage, the crowd was so aggressive so that led us to represent Lebanon in the Worldwide GBOB finals which took place in London, England in December 2007.

Meanwhile, Blaakyum played a couple of gigs at Cherry's and the band was getting much tighter. We've reached a point where the band was divided into 2 camps: Bassem and I defending Metal & Elias and Georges defending Rock and Hard Rock. Georges was already into Metal but he related himself musically to bands such as Led Zepplin and Deep Purple. Shortly after, Bassem and I were blown away by Georges's new Metal techniques, he was all over the place with his beats and rolls and the adaptation of the double-bass technique. Georges is simply a phenomenal drummer.

Traveling to England in December of 2007 was very exciting for me, it was my first airplane experience. The gigs there went fantastically well. Our first gig at "Underground" was the semi-finals of GBOB worldwide. We met so many great people from all over the world and the bands were all great. It is worth mentioning that we were the only Metal band to participate that year. We played our set then went backstage and I told Bassem: "listen, I just had the greatest time ever but I don't think we have a chance against all these bands so let's just enjoy our stay here from the moment". Bassem completely agreed that he even left the venue along with Elias and Georges. I stayed and watched the rest of the show and when the results came in, one of the jury went on stage with a paper in his hand and announced the winning bands in order of appearance. Our order was skipped so I thought that it's over. As I turned my back to leave I heard the jury saying: "...and finally from Lebanon, BLAAKYUM!" I was jumping and cheering like a typical Lebanese guy then I ran outside and informed the guys that we won, we qualified to the finals!

Most of the bands who qualified to the finals agreed to play the same set they did in the semi-finals. But no, not us, we decided to go with new material to showcase our musical diversity. We played our second gig at "Electric Ballroom" where we unfortunately had some sound problems on stage but we had a good time and the audience reacted positively to our music. We ranked 7th out of 32 bands...well we couldn't ask for more, we were Metal, other bands were mainstream Pop/Rock.

Back to Lebanon, Bassem and I spent sleepless nights playing music then having long discussions about Metal. We put together all of our songs into 2 different concept albums (The Land & The Gate) and we were dreaming of recording them. We were so proud of that material back then. Blaakyum played at "Back to the Roots 3" (the biggest Metal event in Lebanon) in March 2008 and it was our last show with Elias who had lost interest in the style and decided to leave the band shortly after. Bassem and I shared this common vision about Metal and Blaakyum, we wanted to take this band so high, we would sacrifice anything to make it out there, in the tough Metal world. Sacrifice came harder than we expected. Bassem who ran Cherry's for 3 years had to shut the place down due to financial reasons and I had to join a big commercial Jazz/Lounge group just to be able to go on...

The Summer of 2008 was a very hard period for Blaakyum. But we played the final edition RockNation (a yearly music festival) as a 3-piece band and released our anger on stage and this performance is voted to be one of our greatest to date. My brother Hady joined the band on lead guitar replacing Elias. Hady added a new element to the band; we weren't used to such guitar playing. He is a shred master. Influenced by Rusty Cooley and Chris Broderick he came into Blaakyum and brought this new technical approach with him. The solos sounded completely different. We did one gig with Hady and we barely had time to prepare for it. Hady felt that he should rehearse more with the band or he would leave Blaakyum for good. Bassem still preferred old-school Hard Rock solos so there was clearly a musical difference in here. Hady eventually left the band 2 months later. We also lost during that time our drummer Georges since he had to leave the band due to his new job.

The only members left in the band were Bassem and myself. The good part is that we never stopped rehearsing as Bassem kept on revealing old songs to me such as "The Gate". During that time I met Elias Njeim, undeniably one of the biggest names among Lebanese musicians. Just like I was a fan of Bassem, I always admired Elias and when I got to talk to him I found out that he is a great guy and an outstanding musician so I immediately asked him to join Blaakyum and he gladly accepted. The very next day I asked a dear friend of mine and a long time co-worker Marc Bassila to join the band and he surprisingly accepted with enthusiasm. We had a couple of rehearsals with this new line-up and the music was so intense, that was a powerful Metal machine. Marc left the band 2 months later due to musical differences and that happened just a week before we had to open for "Lake of Tears" in Kaslik - Lebanon. I talked to my dearest friend Jad Feitrouni whom in my opinion is not just a great drummer but one of the best musicians in this country.  Jad learned our playlist in 5 days and did a great gig. He eventually remained as a permanent member in the band.

Jad revived Blaakyum, he brought us back from the dead. When he first joined the band he wasn't much into Thrash but quickly caught up with the rest of us. Bassem just couldn't believe how fast Jad could adapt to our material and he made us feel like he has been our drummer since day 1. With the band all set we decided it was about time to record our album properly as we already attempted to do so when Georges was still in the band but failed due to wrong recording techniques.

We've been trying to record our album "Lord of the Night" (which is a 'best of' of our 2 previously mentioned concept albums) since late 2008. We've recorded it 4 times in its entirety.

In early 2011, Jad and I founded Phoenikia Studios and we wanted to help all the Lebanese Metal bands to record their music since we have so many lost potential in here. So in Summer of 2011 we decided that it was Blaakyum's time to go again into the studio but this time it's our studio. My bass parts were left from a recording session done in 2010 at Karim Njeim's studios. I wanted to leave them the way they are because they represent the right sound I used for all these years in Blaakyum, the sound that Bassem and I rehearsed for hours while defining our sound together. I do sound different now and I'm using different gear.

With Karim Njeim behind the mixing board we successfully completed our long awaited debut album, I am currently listening to it and can't wait for the release party tonight so people would enjoy it as well. Bassem has practically done nothing, for the past few months, other than working to finalize the albums in every aspect. Jad showed amazing cooperation and Elias would always sneak into the studio to check the progress.

It's great to be in a band with your dearest friends playing your favorite kind of music and living in such a retarded society that keeps on inspiring us. Without our rotten society (a word often used by Bassem) we wouldn't be fueled with anger. We deliver a message of change and respect. I've been in Blaakyum since 2007  and today Friday the 13th of January marks history for the band as we've just started to spread our message to a wider audience. I'm glad to be part of this on-going adventure and no I won't wait for what the future holds, we will hopefully make the future, we shall rise!

Blaakyum is:
Bassem Deaibess - Vocals/Rhythm guitars
Elias Nejim - Lead guitars
Jad Feitrouni - Drums
Rany Battikh - Bass

http://www.blaakyum.com

http://www.reverbnation.com/blaakyum

Lord Of The Night -artwork-

The final cover of Lord Of The Night revealed:

The Final Stage

Mastering is complete, Blaakyum would like to thank Cutting Room Studios and Mr. Björn Engelmann has done a great job.


Next step, Pressing!! The Debut is ready for the printing and information about the release night will be on by midnight... Stay Tuned \m/

All Rise for the Lord Of The Night

Dear fans, friends, partners, haters and enemies,

Cutting Room Studios Sweden

 Lord Of The Night will soon be born, we are off to the final stage: The Mastering.
Blaakyum is proud to announce that it is mastering its album at Cutting Room Studios Sweden, and that its Master Mastering Engineer Mr. Björn Engelmann will be mastering the album in the few upcoming days.

Mr. Engelmann owner of Cutting Room Studios has mastered endless bands such as: Adagio, Behemoth, Bloodoath, Hypocrisy, In Flames, Meshuggah, Rammstein, Salem, Gorgoroth, Samael, Sonata Arictica, and Lake of Tears among others...

About Mr. Björn Engelmann:

Owner & Chief Mastering Engineer, he has been mastering audio since 1980 and took over from the original owners who started the company in 1978. Beginning with vinyl mastering, Björn has never left his first love of the analog mastering equipment. A long discography through the years and the confidence from the major record labels, Björn has lead the way for Scandinavian music in the realm of mastering.

We Shall Rise \m/

Studio Camp

This is Bassem Deaibess reporting to you live from the Alchemist Studios, where Blaakyum has deployed a temporary camp, working 24/24 around the clock to get the album mixing done before the 21st of this month so that it can find its way to the final mastering stage.

The Mastering Engineer name and Studio will be announced soon... But before that, we need to get the mix as good as possible. Now with the limited resources we have, we are doing a good job, opting to record everything in an analog like manner, not using any VSTs or Drum samples but rather recording the drums guitars and bass live was not an easy task, and it is true, you have to aim extremely high to get as close as possible to what you want. Sometimes I wondered why can't we get a killer sound like the ones in Master of Puppets, Black Album, Foundation of Damnation, and the likes... the answer is obvious though it has escaped me for too long, well, we do not have strong amps like for example the mighty Mesa/Boogie, for example: James Hetfield "discovered that utilizing the midrange frequencies straight from a modified Marshall amplifier, layered over guitar tracks of his trusty Mesa/Boogie MarkIIC+ as well as the Mesa/Boogie MarkIV, plus an ADA MP-1 preamp and a Mesa/Boogie Strategy 400 poweramp, he would get a much thicker and richer tone. He enhanced the frequencies by enclosing his four Marshall 1960B speaker cabinets with foam walls and U-Haul blankets, and carefully phase-canceled particular frequencies with eight closely-positioned microphones and two ambient condenser microphones." Ok so this is advanced alchemy... Nor do we have the all mighty Warhead Randall amps to use, add to it the fact that in the good old days overdubbing was required to achieve that heavy crunch, something digital recording has fucked up quite a bit in small studios...

So we had to be content with the few not bad equipments we have, specially the lovely little

Randall RH50T Half Stack that was used to record all the rhythm parts. One little amp for the whole sound we want, almost was an impossible mission, so there we are, I have moved to the studio, spending all my time here, our engineer Mr. Karim Noujaim consecrating all his time and energy for the mixdown, band members join every now and then, work around the clock, this is so exciting, fun and exhausting... And we hope you will enjoy listening to our album as much as we enjoyed creating it, blending it, and bring it alive with the best we can... Hail to Heavy Metal, the mighty Iron Fist of the Gods

Bassem Deaibess,
Blaakyum

The Alchemist

Definitely mixing a song is like preparing a magic potion, yes yes the likes of Getafix's potions (From Asterix, in French known as Panoramix)!! It is such an art, really sound and mix engineers are as artistic as any musician, and the action of mixing a song, is subjective, with endless possibilities and variables, and a Mix Engineer like any other musician can be an amateur, a professional or a virtuoso!! And we are lucky to have someone as pro and as artistic as Mr. Noujaim.
What can I say about the mixing process? Hectic, time consuming, and totally unhealthy when you have a deadline and squeezing months worth of work into not weeks but days... BUT it is such a pleasure, that you'd really feel like an alchemist of old; Welcome apprentice, to modern days Alchemist Scholarly Wizard practices \m/
The work is going great, and with every fine tuning of new sound in a song, the thrill goes up, you'd never know what to expect when you tweak -0.08 db in the mix, or when you slightly lower that noisy fat 80Kh frequency!!! Thrilling is all that... Magic at it's best... And the results are getting better and better... What is being cooked IS delicious. And the results are on their way to the final stage.

One more thing to add, is the orchestration, specially of the first and last tracks,  these two tracks are being heavily orchestrated (the last track actually is simply a symphonic tune that does not include any band instrument, purely Orchestra), and it sounds to us as much as we hope it would sound to you, majestic, royal, classical and very soundtrack like... We cannot wait to release our wrath and unleash our worst fears, love, pain, anger, and aggression upon the world... The day of Judgement is nigh, and the Judge of all times, the Lord Of The Night shall enter, and as they say in court: ALL RISE \m/

Bassem Deaibess,
Blaakyum

Blaakyum's Blogsite is up

Our blog has turned into a fresh looking website, this Blog/website have all the information you need about up-coming events, videos, pictues, and Album details, and thus we call it a Blogsite.

Have no mistake this blogsite IS the official Blaakyum's website. A more professional website will be up after our album release, but for now all our time is being spent in the studio and on the road to get everything ready and done with, before January Friday the 13th.

We hope you enjoy it.


BLAAKYUM

A word From our Mix Engineer and Co-Producer

Soldier of Fortune, Karim Noujaim

Finally I’m done pushing the record button for the drums, bass, guitars, keyboards and vocals, and I believe we have it all. We really enjoyed these moments that developed a solid friendship and that will most likely be unforgettable for me and the band.

For the last 5 days I’ve been working on “Battle Roar” with Blaakyum, trying different processes for their instruments figuring out how all will be mixed together, compromising on how each band member likes the sound of his instrument, the way the production and me like the sound of the instruments, and the way they came all together. I can say that these last days were really constructive and we finally have a sound we like.

I hope you’ll enjoy “Battle Roar” while we’re polishing it and adding the final touches to it and while we’re working hard to finish Blaakyum’s album that will soon be released as scheduled and mentioned earlier.

The wait is over, it’s happening.
Karim Noujaim

You can listen to the un-mastered version of Battle Roar here


Battle Roar (First Edition, Un-mastered version)





12:55 AM 4th of December 2011

Final Recording Track Laid and Mixing Started

Yesterday Thursday the 1st of December is marked as the day I have finished recording my vocal takes and the end of the long process of recording (that took us three years to get the line up fixed, the gear right and the studio and engineer right).

Enter the Mixdown realm of magic, subjectivity and adventure... This is the first time I actually produce a full length album, and the first time I realise how enjoyable, annoying, and artistic is the work of a Audio Mix Engineer.
The results are satisfying and we have picked up the pace... We are going to attack soon... so be ware of the beast... \m/




Bassem Deaibess,
Blaakyum

Blaakyum's Blog upgraded to website

Good day fans and friends. Blaakyum is about to lunch it's Debut album and just like any hard working band, internet has become a major part of a band's life, for other young bands out there, let us give you few tips:

Many young bands today say: "we have facebook, myspace, reverbnation, and all these endless social network sites, a web page is not really important" Well, True that most fans and promoters, talent scouts and business industry representatives, check social networks for new talents, but when a band catch a label's eyes and/or ears, the first thing they do is go to their website, and see how serious the band is, your website reflects a certain amount of dedication and seriousness, the more interesting it looks the more it reflects what the band is. Now this is definitely not a black and white issue, many great bands don't even have websites, and many fancy websites belong to bands who are not really original, talented or interesting, but let us put it this way, a fancy website for a mediocre band might not even be a target and won't receive traffic from talent scouts and label representatives, while a good band would miss a chance of giving a more positive image of itself if those people decided to check their website.
So a better website is always a plus in your band's promotion packages, sometimes it might be the small feather that tip the balance to your band's side.

So since this is the case, and since Blaakyum was way to busy with it's individual members lives and music scene that it had not had enough time to work on a proper site. We kept the minimum required by having a blog as our official website. This is about to change.

Just like a full length album a, "full length" website is due, but because of our album release deadline and so much pressure and so little budget, we will keep a "full length" website for later, but we will upgrade this blog to a blog/site within few days.

Cheers,

Bassem Deaibess,
Blaakyum

Blaakyum's Bassist and Co-reformer Rany Battikh review

I've passed by the studio yesterday to listen to Bassem's takes and he sounds better than ever. I thought he couldn't hit those high pitched screams anymore, I was dead wrong plus he's using new techniques that I've never heard him do before. (I'm a bad influence I know!)

The drums sounds great the way it is right now and it's still raw, nothing has been processed yet. I'm starting to wonder how great will it turn out to be when the mixing is done. For those who haven't heard Jad yet, you will be extremely pleased.

Elias' solos are amazing as usual and the rest of the guitars sound just like "Blaakyum", just like when we were setting our different sounds definitions back in 2007. (You'll know what I mean when you'll listen to the album)

Rany.

The Road is Paved, The Thunder Roars, and the Tracks are Laid

Finally the vocal recording process has kicked off, we have laid the foundation for four songs... All in all we have 11 (out of 13) tracks on our debut that has lyrics, 10 of them are full songs and one is an instrumental with a small vocal section. So now we have 4 out of these 11 recorded... And the results are satisfactory taking into consideration that I wasn't at all happy with my voice lately and it's very slow recovery pace... But we have finally reached the minimum accepted.
The growling parts are particularly great, by being forced to sing in a different way due to the fact that I cannot use my full vocal range yet (under treatment) I was able to mess around with my growling Technic and use a more "angry" approach, maybe because I am so angry of the fact that I cannot use my voice to it's full potential as I use to.
I know that bands usually do not go into delicate details with their fans, but as the frontman of Blaakyum and a person who is rarely satisfied with anything less than 90% perfect, it does make me feel a bit better getting this whole frustration off my chest... The Vocal recording is going very well, finishing 4 songs in less than 24 hours is actually a very positive thing and I cannot wait till we start the mixing process, then the mastering, and the deadline is getting close...

Because of my vocals problem setback, we were debating the possibility of delaying our release deadline. That is something we do not want to do. With the determination of our Co-producer and audio/sound/mix engineer Mr. Karim Noujaim, we will be ready before our deadline, if the gods of the Thunder and the Rain allows it, and they WILL \m/

Thank you all for the support.

Bassem Deaibess

Update on our Recording Process

Since our last recording status update was over a month and a half, you're definitely expecting an explanation, well here it is:

We have been recording the orchestral parts of the album, as some of you might have noticed through the Youtube clip we have uploaded for Am I Black Orchestration in studio... As for the vocals recording, that had to wait because of my vocals recovery problem, I know a lot of you are sick of hearing excuses, this is no excuse. I had a set back, I almost lost my voice completely for few weeks, and I am under heavy treatment, although I am not engaging in my full treatment before I finish recording the album and perform my two dates with Communion who are about to announce their comeback, usually bands do not share so much information with their fans, but who the fuck set the rules?!?! :)

To cut it short, after recording few songs, the band and I were not satisfied of the outcome, so we stopped the vocal recording and I started my vocal treatment, and in the mean time we continued recording the orchestration, which is not done yet due to the complexity of the process, but it is going out well and we will have a different thread on that. On Sunday (today) I will be entering the studio again to lay the vocal tracks finally after my voice has recovered a little bit, I am still not even at half my potential voice, but I am allowed to exhaust my voice a bit for the record, so... here we go...

Keep Metal Alive \m/

Bassem Deaibess

Vocals On The Tracks

Today I have started laying the vocal tracks down... I have just come to realise the amount of damage I have caused to my voice through smoking. I have only smoked during three years and a bit of my life, I started at the age of 30 and quit around three months ago (the not a long time but during these years I reach up to 5 packs a day!), and although the doctor did tell me that I'll recover at least 80% of my voice, I still need around 6 to 9 more months to get there, and I cannot simply delay the album that much, so we are doing our best with what we got. The results…. Well, are for you to judge once the album is out. It is a bliss, though, that I do not have to do high pitched vocals like those I do with The Hourglass, and thus this record will be out smoothly… I hope. Still I am so mad at myself for being so foolish and throwing my voice away like that, no vocalist would probably admit it the way I am doing now, but for all those vocalists out there, please do not take your voices for granted, it's a gem and it is easily destroyed.
Anyway at least I was able to record two main songs today:"Lord Of The Night" and "Am I Black" Though I am not satisfied with my voice (compared to the voice I had few years back) I did actual sound much better than I thought I will.

In the end, we are metalheads, and we are unbreakable, and I will deliver the best I can, so be read for this album when it's out, for we have put our souls into it \m/

We shall for ever...

Keep Metal Alive \m/

Bassem Deaibess

6:13 AM Tuesday 4th of October 2011

Lead Guitar tracks SLAYED \m/

Alright all you shreader addicts... Time to update you on what has been going on with your lead parts.
We just finished laying down all the lead guitar tracks and they sound fucking GOOD. Since we re-recorded our Rhythm guitars and they sound more live and more real, we had to re-record some of the solo tracks to give the same fresh sound, and the result was very outstanding.

So here is the gear sir Elias Njeim used:

Line 6 Vetta II Combo 2x12 amp and it's user settings for Distorsion and effects
For the E turned songs Njeim used a Parker Fly Mojo guitar.
As for the D Tuned songs he used a Schekter Diamond series-Hell raiser.

As well in some of the solos he used his an old but killer Digitech 2101 Studio tube rack.

Enjoy and we will be putting our gear pictures soon.

Shredder on the loose

Sir Elias Njeim is in the studio recording his solo parts, for the second time, only this time we are using live Line 6 Vetta II amp and real micing instead of relaying on Digital processors... More details soon.

KEEP METAL ALIVE \m/

All acoustic guitars recorded and done !!

Finally all guitars are recorded once and for all... The last duty in this regards were the acoustic guitars (if you exclude the solos that we might need to re-record since we change the distortion guitars sound completely)

So for all you fanatic quality seekers, here is what we used, and let me tell you, the result was really... GOOD:

I used two acoustic guitars, one for our 10 minutes long progressive song (that includes an oriental/flamenco part) and one for the rest of acoustic parts.

for the oriental parts I used a Stagg Handmade Classic Guitar C546TCE-N semi acoustic. Although the guitar sounds very clean and neat if recorded through it's built in balanced and unbalanced inputs, there was a noise that couldn't be silenced, so we micked the little thing and it all went well. Stagg are not the best guitars to use at all, but this one did the job pretty well, especially when combined with the best classical guitar strings I have ever used: the D'addario EJ45LP Pro.Arté Composites. To anyone who wants to record using nylon strings, THIS IS THE set to use for studio recording, not only that it has a perfect balance between the bass and treble strings, and that the strings life is at least twice as long, it has a greatly reduced figure noise... Just try it.

But the main baby was the gorgeous (and very cheap) Fender CD-60... I am not a Fender fan when it comes to electric guitars for obvious reasons: I play Metal! And somehow I can't see Metal and Fender mix although they did endless times (Iron Maiden anyone?) But when it comes to acoustic guitars, I bet very few can top Fender... This guitar has extremely rich resonance, and depth in it's sound. And combined with Earnie Ball Slinky acoustic strings... I could never get enough of playing on it and hearing the gorgeous sound of coated titanium strings...

Definitely these are not the ultimate combinations, specially that if the Stagg was replaced by a bit better guitar it would have given much better results... Still the Fender just made a new fan of me today, after all these years :)

That is about it for today and finally all Rhythm Guitars and acoustic Guitars have been recorded...

Keyboards are next \m/

Keep Metal Alive Cheers,

Bassem Deaibess.

Blaakyum debute release date

Blaakyum's debute album "Lord Of The Night" will be released in Lebanon on

Friday the 13th of January 2012

More information soon

KEEP METAL ALIVE

\m/

Blaakyum Performance TOMORROW (August 13th 2011)

GBOB Lebanese National Finals 2011

Place: Roman Amphitheatre

Date: August 13th 2011

Time: event start at 7pm, first band at 8pm, Blaakyum appearance between 11 and midnight

Blaakyum, winners of GBOB Lebanese National Finals 2007, and positioned 7th in GBOB World Finals, London 2007 will be performing a set form their debut album scheduled to be release before the end of this year.

Finally We got the Sound... We got the Roaring thunder of Crunchy Thrash Metal \m/

After trying, time and time again, after being not satisfied to half satisfied, to "what the fuck is missing? Those damn palm mutes are not roaring enough" To "it sounds very clean but not heavy enough" then "it sounds so heavy but too dirty..." WE FINALLY got as close as possible to the sound we were looking for... As a bit old of a metalhead, I always loved fat bottomed, vintage sounds, the old dirty tube distortion that is so clean that you can hear the crank of every single string, yet it still sounds heavy as fuck and most importantly THRASHY... How can I describe the sound my little Randall RH50T Half Stack gave me today? Maybe if you think of Metallica's first album the Kill 'em All guitar sounds but added to it a bit of edge and modern micking techniques... Well I can finally say we got Blaakyum's rhythm guitar sound... If any of you ever heard of the Band Warrior (Specially the album War of Gods and Men), then our rhythm guitars sound a lot similar... and that is satisfying as their sound struck me the first time I heard it as extremely authentic... So yes if I want to sum it up, it's Kill 'em All sound mixed with Warriors… and definitely added Blaakyum's own flavor… can't wait to hear the final product.

We will post some rhythm samples soon to have your opinion...

CHEERS MATES... and Keep Metal Alive \m/

Guitars: To Roar or not to Roar

I have been spending over 10 hours daily in the studio, working on laying down the guitar tracks (FOR THE 4TH TIME) using my 50 watt Randall RH50T Full Tubes half stack this time. Creating a distortion out of an amp that only have a heavy overdrive, can be tricky... Now don't get me wrong the RH50T is a killer amp with a wide range, from Blues to Thrash Metal sounds, but not when it is as fucked up as mine... Yet, the fact that it is fucked up gave a unique sound... Now the trick is to keep getting a heavy fat bottomed sound out of it, without much gain!!! Probably an expert guitarist would say this is not quite possible, since you need a lot of gain on overdrive to get a good distortion... But and I donno why, with my amp it is possible.

We reached a very satisfying, vintage yet Thrashy sound for the E tuned songs... but now things look less clear with the D turned songs... although the guitar sound is clear, it is not as powerful as we would like it to be.

I do not know why I am sharing these technical details on Blaakyum's website... probably out of frustration, but spending 10 hours everyday pounding your ears on distortion... you'd get a distortion overdose...

CHEERS MATES \m/

Follow Blaakyum on Facebook

Although as a band we do have a lot of reservations against Facebook, it is evident that it has grown to be the biggest social network channel online... And until that change (maybe when Google+ takes over) this will remain so. Thus, and since Blaakyum almost finished laying down the Tracks for it's first Debut and a lot will start happening from now on, please follow us onBlaakyum's page on Facebook or Click Here and we promise you'll always be updated to what is going on as this fan page has been linked to our MySpace.com page and will soon have more applications to keep you interacting with the band.

Cheers, And Keep metal Alive \m/

Blaakyum's facebook Page: http://www.facebook.com/blaakyum

Album Recording status so far

Good day fans and friends,

We have been through a lot the past three years to get this damn debut out... Let us say the circumstances were not on our side. Starting by the fact that Blaakyum has a long history and endless originals that lead to the first idea of having a double debut album consisting in total of 22 songs 11 from the early days of Blaakuym before 2007 and 11 tracks written after the late reformation of the band... Financially this was not possible. It was more practical and more logical to combine the two debuts in one album of 11 tracks that holds the best of both, and this is what happened and Lord Of The Night debut is on it's way to see the light.

Later in 2008 we were faced with a major lineup change: our beloved drummer Georgie Nadjarian (Communion/Blaakyum) whom I personally had been in a very pleasant music relationship for over 6 years had to leave the band because of his work contract in Music Hall. Mr. Elias El Rahbany (Ouchi) our guitarist left because of musical and personal differences... that left us without a drummer and lead guitarist for over a year and a half, many joined the band for some time and helped us keep going, and we would like to thank them, namely Hady Battikh (Guitars), Chris (from Element 26) and Marc Bassila (Drums), Blaakyum finally found it's best drummer Mr. Jad Faitrouni... but it wasn't till summer 2010 till we finally had Mr. Elias Njaim one of the most renown guitar virtuoso in the Lebanese Scene, joined the band. From then the recording process kicked off with speed and perseverance thanks to the patience of our production house New Waves Productions and it's lovely staff and mastermind Mr. Walid Al Massih.

We have already finished recording all drum tracks, guitars, bass and solos, few vocal parts, and we still have to lay the Keyboards and the final vocals and the record will be ready for the mix down, we hope our first debut will see the light by the New Year.

The Album is receiving a high level of production, and it sounds heavy as fuck, and we are so excited to share it with you, after all these years where Blaakyum showed a devastatingly aggressive and divers live shows, this record will be a parallel image of these frenzy live shows taken into the studio. It will be, just like Blaakyum is live, Aggressive Thrashy, and revolve around the term I love the most HEAVIOSITY without neglecting the soft part of Rock and the emotional slow rock tunes.

This record sums up Blaakyum's previous era, filled with diversity from Heavy Metal, Thrash Metal, Progressive Metal, Hard Rock and Soft Rock.

All of the above happened because of you, our fans... and for that we will be for ever grateful.

Cheers mates, and as ever we will... KEEP METAL ALIVE \m/

Bassem Deaibess from Blaakyum

Supporting a United Scene

This post will be dedicated to the Lebanese Metal Scene. But anyone is welcome to give us feed back:

Dear Lebanese Metalheads, Rockers and Free Thinkers,

We have been witnessing a rise in our scene lately, ironically by having much less gigs and concerts than before, but having them on a very good standard, and always rising up with the standard. As well we have witnessed many more international acts that have been brought by more than one promoter/organiser. These big names are:

Hail brought by RockRing
AnathemA brought by 2U2C (Mr. Jyhad El Murr)
Vinnie Moor brought to you by the old timer Eclipse Group

Add to this the many high quality events happening every now and then.

Now that we did mention the good parts, how about we try to look at two major problems:

1. The lack of a proper mid-sized venue
2. The bad (I insist on bad) competition and the rivalry.

I will name things out right, for it is time to stop the "politically correct" behaviour and get things fucking MOVING.

1. We DO NOT HAVE A VENUE. Namely the only indoor venue available is Tantra-Kaslik, and that proved not too good for hosting international bands since it's capacity is limited to 1000 attendant max and if more came it will become not always a pleasant experience. I can't see a good solution for this except keeping our big events in summer, which would result in a rush of events and eventually having many not able to attend all of them due to the fact that most metalheads can't pay such an amount of money in such a period of time, that already is a spend frenzy time.
My suggestion as an individual to this, is calling upon RockRing specially since they are the most active, and on all metalheads to put a collaborated effort to raise funds and build our own damn venue... Sounds impossible? maybe, but I know this, NOTHING is impossible.

2. And the most important issue. It is a shame to see the Lebanese USUAL fighting for prestige and recognition affect the Metal scene. Yes we are Lebanese, but we are the critical eye (supposedly) of this country. So it is sad to see that Mr. Jyhad El Murr whom I see as the big brother of Rock and Metal in Lebanon, being not too pleased because a competitor radio station supported RockRing event. I can understand that he has been among the first to support Rock, in his stations way before Radio One ever accepted Rock, but fact is, till now Rock market is not big enough to fight over. This is one field that doesn't have to nor need nor should it be taken in a competitive way. My hope is that when a rock event happens, competitive Media will unite there as well, as sister Radio and TV stations not as competitors.

This is my cry out to all Metalheads and Metal supporter, this scene has a future, let us not throw it away this time. Later on we should, when the time is suitable, have some civil action towards the ban of some bands and towards our right of freedom to listen to whatever we chose to listen to away from the social and specially the venomous RELIGIOUS influences.

And finally, a huge Hail to all Lebanese Metalheads... we have been fought and unjustly prejudged and Judged... now is the time to rise, and now is the time to claim our rights as humans and more importantly as appreciative of one of the most artistic and expressive forms of Art.

Long live Rock and Roll

Bassem Deaibess

Untile we are up

Have no mistakes this IS the official Blaakyum website till now. But we are working on a proper website that is a bit more than a blog :P

Until then, we have decided to include some adds on this blog to generate more income for the band, since we all know that being in a Metal band means you might never become rich. Not that the aim is to become rich, we simply thought this could boost a bit our already little income generated from shows, to support us in recoding our album and buying new equipment.

But if some of you feels this is being a bit too much of a "commercialisation" of our band, we would like you to voice that out. To many complains WILL result in removing the adds.

Thank you for supporting Blaakyum.

Into the Shadows

Blaakyum, after performing a couple of gigs (Rock Nation 2008, Summer Fusion 2008) will now disappear for a while, the band is currently in the Studio recording (New Wave DMS - Lebanon) their Debut EP: Lord Of The Night, which will have songs from both originally planned records (The Land, and The Gate) but for financial reasons the double debut will be postponed for now.

Samples will be posted as soon as they are available.

CEASE FIRE

Blaakyum - Cease Fire (Live in London)


Taken form Blaakyum's performance at GBOB - London, Electric Ballroom.
Blaakyum was the only Metal band to qualify to the finals

The Roots @ Back to the Roots

Blaakyum would like to thank all those who showed up at the concert... was nice Metalling with you all... We are sorry for the delay in the demo, but we all know how things are in this country more update soon.

here are some of the night's moments:

New Metal Order

Blaakyum will be performing in Back To The Roots II in Hektic Kaslik, Jounieh, Lebanon.

We will see you all there for a blast... Expect the New Metal Order to come your way.. an inauguration will take place.

\m/
Metal to the Bones

The Battle is Over

Blaakyum ended the GBOB in 7th position. Although that means that practically they did not end within the top 3, still for a band from Lebanon and for a METAL band (the only metal band that made it through to the finals in UK) this is a very good achievement.

All in all 3000 bands participated in the GBOB Challenge this year and for Blaakyum to end up 7th is actually a good start.

We can proudly say, Blaakyum did vanquish London.

And until the next Battle... we will forsake ye not.

Lord Of The Night - out in the new year

Blaakyum are in the process of recording their first Demo. This will be a pre-phase before the band release their debut album, and will give their fans an opportunity to listen to what the band is all about.

Blaakyum will be releasing a double Debut in Lebanon entitled "The Gate" and "The Land" the first being a collection of their 90's Era songs and the second the more recent materials. The Demo will feature 7 songs. Six of which are from the "The Land" album and one from the 90's Era.

The Demo will be released sometimes after the new year and will be entitled:

Lord Of the Night - Demo 2008

So be on he look out.

Picture: Blaakyum at Camden Underworld, London.

And the Battle rages on... Blaakyum qualifies to the finals

This is the GBOB official statement on the first day of the Challenge that took place at Camden Underworld in London:

"The first evening of the three-day, two venue GBOB Challenge World Final, which took place at the Underworld in Camden was a fantastic success. All the 11 bands who played deserve credit for a very entertaining evening but in the end only seven bands could go through to the Superfinal at the Electric Ballroom on Thursday December 6.

The bands that went through, in no particular order are:Cliff Clavin from Iceland; Moja from Japan; The Dirty Words from Wales; Gurzuf from Belarus; Most Wanted from Thailand; Y2K from Malaysia and Blaakyum from Lebanon."

The Lebanese flag will carry on to the next Battle... Another stage conquered.

\m/

Blaakyum in Action

Blaakyum will be performing in the following dates:

20th October - Vini Vidi Vomui - Cherry's Pub - Antelias, Beirut Lebanon

2nd November - El Arz Metal Fest - Cherry's Pub - Antelias, Beirut Lebanon

1st December - Warm-up for London - Cherry's Pub - Antelias, Beirut Lebanon

4th December - GBOB World Finals - Camden Underworld - London, United Kingdom

6th December - GBOB World Super Finals - Electric Ball Room - London, United Kingdom

Keep checking here for more events.