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View COMPLETE LIST of Rock releases added during July 11, 2008: 277 albums. ACROSS THE Arabian Peninsula, rock bands have had little public exposure and even less luck getting signed to a major label. But for metal veterans Barney Ribeiro and Rami Mustafa, the dream of success never died.

When their death metal band Nervecell was formed, few could predict the overwhelming public reaction and loyal underground following that came from this untapped market.

In a region that has traditionally ignored this genre of hardcore controversial rock, Ribeiro remained defiant in his belief that Middle East acceptance would come from raw unhindered passion.

Nervecell is a raw juggernaut of sound that has paved metal through the sands. Sitting down with City Times, the guys break down their struggle, their music, and their passion for everything hardcore.




Tell us about your beginnings. How did the band form, and did you struggle to find your sound?


Barney: It was back in 2000 when Nervecell was formed. I used to jam with anyone who could play an instrument and as soon as I found musicians who liked heavy metal I stuck with them. I remember when I formed Nervecell with our first drummer Hatem back when we were actually a 5-piece band. We started off just like any other local group playing all the battle-of-the-band competitions and any underground gigs. We found ourselves building a fan base instantly right from our very first gig. I believe when we went up and played live, we were like no one else. Our sets were always energetic and intense and the crowds absolutely loved us for that.

It was wild man, those were the glory days.

Some people call you one of the pioneers of heavy metal in the Middle East. Do you feel that this title is deserved, and how does it make you feel?

Rami: It’s great to hear that! Actually we do go back a long way in the music scene and Nervecell definitely kept metal alive and inspired many in Dubai and all around the region. We do what we love to do which is play metal music and we worked independently and passionately achieving many great things in our careers.

Death and thrash metal are all but rare in the Arab World. Did you ever expect to find success here when others doubted you?

Rami: Actually, death metal and any sort of extreme music is really underground in the region, simply because of the lack of media exposure and mainstream acceptance to metal music. But we never really thought of how hard it would be for a metal band or ever doubted our success.

We just did what we wanted to do regardless if metal was big in the region or not, and we played the style of music that we wanted to play... that’s what’s really important. We’ve got many metal fans from the Middle East and the rest of the world who enjoy our music and their support is what really motivates us to keep writing brutal music.

With a large growing fan base, does it surprise you that so many Middle Eastern youth, from Cairo to Dubai, have supported and followed you so loyally?

Barney: Well to be honest if asked this question two years ago I guess I would be surprised. However after touring and headlining festivals in Cairo and also as far as Australia we feel really proud of our accomplishments.

Obviously the music matters the most and that’s what got us to where we are today. I actually feel quite honoured when we get requests from other parts of the world asking us to play at their festivals, it only shows that if you believe in your music you can really take it places. That’s exactly what we do, we write this sort of music because we absolutely love it and we are more than thrilled that we get to share it with the many fans all over. It’s the best feeling ever knowing you got people from as far as Slovenia or Costa Rica banging their heads to something you composed in your bedroom here in Dubai.

What is it about your music that keeps you passionate to do what you do each day?

Barney: Well music is all about passion. Heavy Metal comes from a lot of struggle and sacrifice, because there is no room for posers in metal music. I’ve been listening to metal music since I was 12 years old and all I can say is that there is a lot of blood, sweat and tears in our music and that’s what keeps us going.

You have played alongside heavy hitters in the rock scene. Did you ever imagine the success?What do you think set your band apart from the rest?

Rami: When we first played with Sepultura and Machine Head, both being the two metal bands Barney and I grew up listening to, that was a dream come true for us! We never thought of seeing them play live in our lives, let alone sharing the same stage with them! It was definitely a sign of success for Nervecell, for all the hard work that paid off for us. It wasn’t easy at all to just go there and open up for these bands, we go back a long way in the scene playing tons of live shows.

All that brought us the first chance to play the biggest festival in the Middle East alongside the big names in metal. What really set us apart is the hard work we went through, being passionate and professional in what we do. We did everything on our own and didn’t really wait for anybody to do it for us... from playing shows, travelling for tours, recording albums, promoting ourselves and everything in between. Of course we reached to the stage where we wanted a push to the next level and that’s when we got selected by big festival promoters CSM that gave us the opportunity to play the biggest festival in the region.

In the music industry, it is so easy for others to define you and your sound. How would you describe your music and what do you want fans to ultimately take away from your tunes?

Rami: We play a mixture of metal styles; it is really hard to have one title or name for it. We are definitely a death metal band, simply because of the guttural growling vocals and blast beats in the music.

But we also incorporate many thrash metal, melodic death metal and progressive metal elements in our music, which gives a wider spectrum to our sound. We add hints of oriental/ Arabic music especially in the guitar solos, but again without overdoing it. We tend to write groovy and catchy riffs, the sort that gets stuck in the listener’s heads forever.

Do you feel there is an element of rebellion in heavy metal music? Do you think this inherent rebellious nature is what Middle Eastern fans flock to?

Barney: Yeah sure there definitely is an element of rebellion in metal music, it may not be due to any particular reason though.

Everyone is rebellious in his/her own way so it really depends from person to person. Metal heads generally like this sort of music because they can relate to it more easily when bands sing about pain, suffering and torture. It’s not necessarily promoting vulgar acts, its more like alerting them of what’s out there and helps them relate to something they experienced in their lives. It could be anything from losing a friend to being bullied at school. For most people heavy metal helps them take out their frustration or anger positively.

The whole stereotypical thought that all metal heads are satanic and into drugs is so lame. Middle Eastern fans of heavy metal are actually no different from metal heads in other parts of the world.

We are all in it for the love of enjoying true and honest music and to me heavy metal kids are the most loyal around, after all it is a genre of music that is built mainly on support. Heavy metal unites people from all walks of life regardless of race, colour or your status in this world because in metal none of that ever matters.

Can you tell us about your latest album, Preaching Venom? Do you feel like you are following in the footsteps of the greats that came before you, or would you rather carve your own path?

Rami: We started recording the album towards the end of 2007 and released it in April 2008 in the Middle East and North Africa. The whole process was pretty much done from Dubai and all around the globe.

Coordinating and working with every person was really challenging but a lot of fun too. The reason why we wanted to work with so many people is because we really liked what they each did in their previous works and we wanted to achieve a professionally produced album. We definitely did something unique that no other band actually did in the region, but that was our intention; to bring all the great expertise to achieve our goal in this album.

When you play gigs outside the UAE, what kind of reaction do you get from foreign fans when they realise you’ve cultivated your sound in the middle of the Arabian Desert?

Barney: Well it’s more of a shock to them because they probably expect something exotic since we are based in Dubai, but we go out there and release our dosage of riffs and pretty much do our own thing... which to them is shocking because they really don’t expect us to play as brutal and extreme.

I guess in a couple of our songs there is a certain Nervecell sound that we maintain but in general they do get pretty impressed by our presence and charisma on stage. For us it’s an awesome feeling knowing that we are putting Dubai on the map for metal music rather than the usual seven-star hotel.