Where to begin? To describe one of the most amazing and effort putting events, given that there was a few mishaps but the work that everyone did pulled through.

People were really excited to see ZIX perform that night, however we were really sad to know that they had to cancel at the last minute due to some personal matters regarding one of the members, but it’s never over cause they say the end is the beginning. Well this isn’t the end, but if we know ZIX, then we do know that what we’ve seen from them in the past, is only the beginning to what they have in mind for the future. Same goes for Into The Void, we were informed after stage preparation that they painfully had to excuse themselves from performing due to some difficulties. We hope all the problems be solved, and we will be waiting for your next show, hopefully soon.

Now that we got that covered, let us begin by introducing the first band in the lineup and how “Reigen” fired it up with their Heavy Metal smack and their goal at making the scene wanting to come back for more.

Now before we do that, I myself was a little concerned regarding the attendance that day, before the band started, the place was almost empty, until “Reigen” started the show and the place was packed, the band started off with their very own original “Behind The Curtains”. Presence wise, these guys ain’t no joke, they pulled of one hell of a performance.

As the show went on, the crowd’s cheers got bigger, and louder. Fast forwarding to the middle of the show, the band performed their 4th original “Fall Of An Empire” which left the crowd almost voiceless, but not yet cause Reigen wasn’t even close to being finished. In between sets, the band took a little time to bring the fucking house down by performing the always crowd pleasing “wherever I may roam”, driving everybody nuts and stoked about the rest of the set. As time passed and vocal cords were being spit all over the crowd, the guys sealed the deal with their final original for the night “Rivers Run Red” leaving the crowd hyped and excited with an adrenaline rush.

Nice job guys, keep the good work, looking forward to seeing you kick ass very soon.

Next up for a Loud n’ Heavy night was new commers “Black Maiden”.

Stage presence, authentic, the guys did an awesome job being alive at 1.21 gigawatts. It’s not every day you see a Heavy Metal band with a thirst for a proper guitar shred and a decent bloodshed with an acoustic touch, in just the right places.

I mostly felt respect towards these guys for asking the crowd for a moment of silence in loving memory and respect for our beloved members from the metal scene who parted from us far sooner than they should have (thank you for reminding us of the people that we love and carry in our hearts and will till the end of time) may they forever rest in peace. In conclusion, the band was nothing less than impressive and touching & heartwarming. Thank you for a night to remember and thank you for your message, rock on my brothers.

In between acts, the event organizers and gig saviours, Rabih and Bassem Deaibess, who jumed into the line up at the last moment to cover up for both bands who couldn’t make it. Rabih and Bassem are the lead and rhythm guitarists from the phenomenal “Blaakyum” didn’t like the idea of the attendees being let down due to ZIX and Into The Void not being able to perform that night, so Rabih picked up his guitar and Bassem picked up his mic and destruction had begun.

They kicked off by starting with a couple Led Zeppelin classics, my personal favorite was “Whole Lotta Love” and the way Bassem added his personal touch actually made the song sound even better than it actually does. The guys closed up by performing “Rapture Of The Deep” by Deep Purple, resulting in a full house standing ovation.

That performance was one of the best thing I’ve seen from the Deaibess brothers and that’s saying a lot given the fact that I’ve been to almost every show they’ve performed at for the past 5 years. Thank you for an unforgettable performance and the generosity of constantly thinking about the scene.

Last and certainly not nor will they ever be the least, is the one and only Sound Of Degeneration (S.O.D) formerly known as Rebellion. Stage presence, on a scale of one to ten, 87.

As the band started with their own original “Sorry”, we could hear the vocalist but we just couldn’t see him, then we looked up and there he was, standing one story above and behind the band (nice touch brother).

As the set list went on, so did the screams for an epic performance, I personally enjoyed the vocalist’s touch of having a different costume on in almost every song, other than the fact that S.O.D. stole the show with their great music and choice of lyrics, I particularly liked the idea that their 3rd song was named after them, just like how their 7th song was named after their former band name “Rebellion”, talk about a tongue twister.

We also enjoyed how the members would vacate the stage and join the crowd as they play their instruments, one of which that the vocalist jumped off stage twice and at the second time when he almost fell back first to the ground, I caught him and placed him on my shoulder where he sang most the song before I placed him back on stage. Finally the band sealed the deal with their final song “looks that kill”, and as the song reached it’s final chorus, the vocalist did his signature move of standing on the kick drums as the drummer delivered a destructive drum solo to wrapping up the show (nicely done guys).

In conclusion, the concert was a huge success and a huge inspiration thanks to Skull Session’s Rabih Deaibess and Bassem Deaibess for making it a night of perfection and for not letting the audience down with ZIX and Into The Void being absent that night, thank you Reigen, Black Maiden and Sound Of Degeneration (S.O.D.) for one hell of a night, and thank you for all of who were there and supporting the Metal scene and making it what it is today.

 

Reviewed by Tarek Sekkar.