After the absence of Rany Battikh from most of Blaakyum’s shows in 2016, speculations about Rany’s situation with the band emerged. Recently, Blaakyum parted ways with bassist Rany Battikh in an official statement on their official website, announcing tour bassist Pierre Le Port to become a permanent member. This announcement came 9 months after the departure of drummer Jad Feitrouni that was done in a public transition live during Concrete Metal last February.
Rebirth of Blaakyum With Rany in 2007
In 2007, Blaakyum was reformed by Bassem Deaibess and Rany Battikh, after 5 years of hiatus. According to Vocalist and Guitarist Bassem, Blaakyum was actually born in 2007: “In fact I can safely say that Blaakyum was in reality born in 2007″. Blaakyum, originally formed in 1995, was a band that covered a variety of radio rock/metal songs. Two years later, their style shifted to Heavy/Doom Metal, releasing their first single “Am I Black” in 1998 that included the instrumental “Perpetually Selfish Entity”. The Lebanese Metallers broke up in 2001 and Bassem was involved in many projects ever since, until 2007 when Bassem and Rany met and decided to reform the band, but this time as a Heavy/Thrash metal band. Since then, Rany became the figure of a heavy metal bassist in Lebanon with his high technicalities and his aggressive presence on stage.
Rany Battikh the Multi-band Bassist
We can safely call Rany one of the most active and busiest musicians. He was seen performing with many high profile bands and musicians like BANDAGE, Jack Haddad, The Mob, and Elias El-Rahbani, among many others. It is a rarity to see a high profile band performing at any venue or event without Rany on bass, and sometimes he performs with 2 bands in the same night. Other than Blaakyum, Rany had his own Power Metal band, “Phoenikia”, and also The Mob, which is a Black Sabbath tribute band. From weddings to lounge bands, Rany has it all. Recently, he was seen performing with Amy Smack Daddy, Lil’P, Paula Ibrahim, and with Tabasco Entertainment group. It is quite hard to follow up on all the acts which Battikh controlled the beats.
Other than performing, Rany Battikh is a bass teacher who teaches bass at Mozart Chahine.
Departure Announcement
“All good things must come to an end. I am saddened to announce my departure from Blaakyum after almost 10 years of service.” Rany started his statement. In Battikh’s statement, he mentioned how he and front-man Bassem used to dream about making it big into international stages and how this dream came true today. And he wished his band mates all the luck, while explaining that he is leaving the band due to time conflict that will not let him commit to the band. Rany ended his statement urging his fans to keep a lookout on some new musical projects he is working on, leaving the page open for another musical journey.
You Can Read Full Statement >here<.
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