Syrian Metallers THE HOURGLASS just posted on their Facebook Page (Find Full Statement Below) that the band will disband after a glorious run of 13 years. We receive this sad news in great disappointment as they are and will always be a pioneer band from Syria.
The band clarified that the disbanding is a result of the destructive ongoing war in their homeland.

The band also announced that they will be releasing a last single of the band very soon.
“A Glorious Suicide (Phoenician Queen of Carthage)” is a single that will feature once more the legendary Zak Stevens (Savatage, Circle II Circle, Trans-Siberian Orchestra) and Marcela Bovio ( Stream of Passion , The Gentle Storm). So stay tuned to their page.

The Hourglass recently featured 2 legendary vocalists, Zak Stevens and John Oliva (both from Savatage), in their latest single “Play The Pawn”. (You can watch the video below).

Play The Pawn

You can find the full Statement from the band’s founder and main composer Rawad Abdel Massih below:

Soon I will be releasing the final song of The Hourglass. The Hourglass is officially disbanded.

A Glorious Suicide (Phoenician Queen of Carthage), again with Zak Stevens Circle II Circle ( Savatage ,CIrcleIICircle , Trans-Siberian Orchestra ) and Marcela Bovio ( Stream of Passion , The Gentle Storm) will be the last single the band will release.

Despite all the disappointments and effort, time and money I personally and the members put on the band, the 13 years of The Hourglass are still in my eyes a great journey. We reached where a lot of other Middle East bands still seek to reach. The Hourglass will be always the first Syrian heavy metal band to have achieved 3 albums, singles with international artists and opened for international bands. I hope that the metalheads of the Middle East will remember The Hourglass as one of the early bands to release albums and originals.

I want to thank all of the people and players who have contributed to The Hourglass along the years, Omar Harb, Munsef Turkmani, Bahij Ghata, Abdulatif Almalouhi, Rafi Faks, Sharbel Kanoun, Yamen Yamani, Sameh Haddad, Zaher Ajlani, Salim Zahra, Nareg Abajian, Yeghia Daghelian, Saad Fanari, Khaled Barakeh, Shant Hagopian (forgive me if I forgot anyone), and I want to thank my band mates Aram Kalousdian of Nu.Clear.Dawn and Bassem Deaibess of Blaakyum for putting all of their talents and efforts in the band.

I guess it is sad to think about all the projects and dreams I was preparing for The Hourglass, but hey…Zak Stevens and Jon Oliva sang my lyrics and my music!! It couldn’t be more rewarding!! The end of The Hourglass is just a very tiny part of the disastrous consequences of the war that is happening in our homeland Syria, which hopefully will be over in the coming few years.

The project of Gods and Warriors of the Fertile Crescent will never be over; I will revive it in other forms in my solo project. I will be releasing songs and albums in my own name from this time on, and they will be of many genres of music, Orchestrated, Electronic, Ambient, Oriental, Rock and Metal. I guess it is the time for a new beginning.

Regarding A Glorious Suicide, I recorded this song 8 months ago and it was supposed to be a single for the new album. It is about Elissa (aka Dido) the Canaanite Phoenician queen who ran away from Tyre and established Carthage, the city that will later invade Rome and establish an empire. It has a completely different style of the previous The Hourglass songs, with Zak and Marcella the song is really amazing. It will be released at the end of August. I want to thank Adel Saflou of Ambrotype for contributing to the song writing and Tarek Shehabe of Wasaya for doing the Synth solos.

I will keep this page to share the old and new songs of the band from time to time to keep the legacy of The Hourglass alive.

Farewell fellows,
Rawad Abdel Massih.

The Hourglass Links:

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THE HOURGLASS Disbanded After 13 Years