• Welcome guys, your band has had quite the journey since 1990 but for readers who are just discovering Ramses now, how do you describe what this band is and what it’s always been about?

The group’s founder, Stefaan Lambrecht, has always been passionate about ancient Egypt and named the group Ramses (in reference to the great King Ramses II) with the aim of combining a concept with melodic heavy rock.

• Why the name Ramses? It’s a bold choice for a band from Belgium with no direct cultural connection to Egypt. Where did that come from?

The name Ramses was chosen in reference to the great King Ramses II, and although we have only our passion for Ancient Egypt, it serves as a source of inspiration for lyrics and Eastern melodies.

• Following on from that – Egyptian mythology is a very specific lane. What drew you to it as a thematic foundation? There are plenty of Belgian bands who have never once thought about the pharaohs.

Founder and guitarist Stefaan became interested in Ancient Egypt after watching a documentary on TV. He made his first trip to Egypt in May 1994 and was captivated; his passion for Ancient Egypt grew. He read books on mythology and immersed himself in Egyptology. He also met an Egyptian, Mohamed Holail, who lives in Belgium and works as a guide and Egyptologist, and has travelled to Egypt with him more than 20 times. He loves not only Ancient Egypt but also modern-day Egypt and its people. With Mohamed Holail, he travelled from Abu Simbel to Alexandria, visiting sites and monuments that ordinary tourists never see, and explored the four main deserts: the Eastern Desert, the Sinai Desert, the Western Desert and the Great Sand Sea. Egyptian nature is also a source of inspiration, such as Wadi El Hitan, Wadi El Ryan and Wadi El Natron. He stayed with local people in Diyu Al Wusta (Delta), visited mosques and the monasteries in Wadi Natroen.

• The band split in 1997 and only came back in 2019. What was the moment or conversation that made the reunion feel real rather than just a possibility?

The seed for a reunion was planted when “Lost Realm Records” released the first album + the 4 tracks from the mini-cd on the “The Secrets Of Faith In Rebirth” reissue-cd in 2016 and a new interest for Ramses was born. Still it lasted until 2019 before Ramses 2.0 was born, original guitar player Stefaan Lambrecht and the singer from the “Faith In Rebirth” CD Kurt Verschelden reunited and soon a new line-up was formed.

Guitarplayer Frank Deroubaix (ex-Axel / ex-Runaway), bass player Michel Hautier (ex-Hands Of Mercy) and drummer Kris Poelman joined the band. Later on Kris was replaced by Quinten Van Den Abbeele on drums and Kurt Verschelden left the band in April 2024. The new high priest as frontman returned with Marc De Veirman.

• The new lineup has seen a few changes since the reunion, with Marc De Veirman stepping in as frontman in 2024. How has the band’s sound or dynamic shifted with him at the helm?

Marc is our new high priest, and his return has given the group an extra boost with his powerful voice. He also believes in the Egypt concept and has become more interested in mythology and songwriting.

The new album features a track, ‘Our King is a Warrior’, which is about the Battle of Kadesh (1274 BC), a major battle between Egypt under Ramses II and the Hittites under Muwatalli II, which ended without a clear winner but led to the first known peace treaty.

• The new album was recorded at Rockstar Recording Studios and features a choir, which is not something you hear about every day. How did such elements end up on a heavy metal record?

Ramses is a concept band that incorporates Eastern melodies and features a choir and an instrument such as the xaphoon. The album contains 12 tracks, and every effort has been made to make it sound as colourful as possible, even featuring a choir and a xaphoon.We wanted to make it sound as colorful as possible.

• “Desert Storm” is the first single. What made that the right song to lead with, and how representative is it of the full album?

The track ‘Desert Storm’ was deliberately chosen as a single because it is the title track of the album and is intended to stand out amongst the many albums being released these days. What’s more, it’s a catchy track around which we were also able to create an engaging music video. The video was viewed more than 5,300 times in just a few weeks

• The album is set for 2026. Are there plans for live shows to support it, or is the focus right now on getting the record out?

The album has now been released on CD and will also be available on vinyl by the end of this month. We are, of course, promoting the album ‘Desert Storm’ with live performances in Belgium and neighbouring countries, but our dream is, naturally, to play a live show in Cairo, preferably in front of the pyramids. We are, by the way, very honoured that an Egyptian rock magazine such as yours is giving our band and the album ‘Desert Storm’ the attention they deserve.

Thank you for taking the time to speak with us. It’s a good moment for Ramses, and “Desert Storm” is a solid first look at what’s coming. Keep an eye on their socials and check out the music video on YouTube. The full album lands in 2026.

The EP begins with “Vow of the Sphinx (Abo El-Houl)”, a powerful declaration of the solemn duty of the immortal guard of the pyramids. The song itself starts with a chant in ancient Egyptian, which immediately grabs your attention and lets you know you’re about to be taken on a journey inside Egyptian mythology and/or the band’s interpretation of it. The main vocalist, I believe, is meant to embody the sphinx itself as he shifts from English to Arabic lyrics and follows up with “By the vow of the sphinx I speak in countless tongues” while the ancient Egyptian lines are uttered by the “priests” or back-up vocals, which become a recurring element across the EP that establishes the ritualistic atmosphere.

Next is “Hands from the Sun (Amon)”, which solidifies the alchemical themes of the EP as Amon himself delivers a monologue referencing “As Above So Below” and the transmutation process of light emerging from darkness. The connection between the spiritual and physical realm was a lot more prominent in ancient mythologies than it is in our current modern times, and though we pretend we are now superior for shedding it, we have lost a great deal alongside those ties with the spiritual.

In “Epistle of Secrets (Creators of III)” and “Monarch of Violence (Oriasirius)”, the riffs become more ominous and aggressive to reflect the authoritarian tyranny of the monarch of violence. Blast beats and dissonant chords aplenty while the lyrics approach cosmic horror territory as they describe this immortal vessel’s plans to take apart the world and transmutate it into a different world entirely, wholly unknown to us.

• Your earlier work was rooted in electronic and house music, and “Those Days” is a pretty dramatic departure into 60s rock territory. What triggered that shift?

As a composer, I have always believed that music shouldn’t be confined to a single genre or a fixed digital template. My earlier electronic and house tracks were an exploration of rhythm and modern ambient soundscapes. Still, I felt a deep, artistic calling to explore something more organic, raw, and emotionally grounded.

The shift to 1960s rock territory wasn’t planned; it was triggered by a profound nostalgia for the warmth of analog sound. The 60s era was the golden age of sonic storytelling, where every instrument felt alive and breathed with character. I wanted to challenge myself to capture that specific, vintage essence—blending live orchestral arrangements, guitars, and atmospheric elements like the theremin. This shift allowed me to break away from the repetitive nature of commercial electronic beats and create a cinematic journey that speaks directly to the soul, much like the timeless instrumental works of masters who inspired me.

⇒ Check out our album review here.

• The album is entirely instrumental. Was that a deliberate decision from the start, or did it evolve that way during the recording process?

It was a 100% deliberate and non-negotiable decision from the very first spark of the album. For me, instrumental music isn’t just songs missing lyrics; it is a supreme, universal language that speaks directly to the human subconscious without the limitations or boundaries of spoken words.

When you add a vocalist, the listener’s mind is automatically guided by the specific story the lyrics are telling. But with a purely instrumental track, the listener becomes the co-author of the story. The music creates a cinematic canvas, and the listener paints their own emotions, memories, and visuals onto it. During the recording and arranging process, my focus was entirely on making the instruments—the guitars, the strings, and the vintage synths—act as the “voices.” I wanted the arrangements to rise, fall, and emote so powerfully that words became completely unnecessary.

• You’re working out of a home studio in Alexandria. How do you get an analog, vintage sound in that kind of setup – what’s the process actually look like?

Achieving that authentic, warm 1960s analog vibe in a modern home studio setup is a fascinating challenge, but it is entirely about understanding the physics of vintage sound. The process is a careful marriage between hardware textures and meticulous digital emulation.

In my Alexandria studio, the process begins right at the source. Instead of relying purely on clean, sterile digital instruments, I route signals through analog preamps and hardware saturation units to inject harmonic distortion and warmth into the tracks. When recording guitars or layering orchestral elements, I avoid the modern “perfectly polished” sound.

The real magic happens during the arrangement and mixing stages: Tape Emulation & Saturation: The 1960s sound is defined by magnetic tape. I use high-end tape machine emulations (like Studer and Ampex models) on individual tracks and the master bus to introduce subtle tape hiss, wow-and-flutter, and natural compression. Vintage Reverbs & Delays: I heavily utilize spring reverbs and plate reverbs, which were the staples of 60s rock and cinematic scores. This gives the instruments a haunting, physical space rather than a generic digital echo. The Theremin and Vintage Synths: Integrating rare, atmospheric instruments like the Theremin adds that distinct, eerie retro-futuristic texture that pulls the entire mix into the past.Imperfection by Design: Modern digital audio workstations (DAWs) make everything perfectly on-beat and pitch-perfect. To counter this, I leave slight human timing variations and microtonal imperfections in the performances. Ultimately, the setup in Alexandria proves that you don’t need a massive commercial studio from the 1970s to capture that soul; you just need to know how to manipulate harmonics, air, and space to give digital tracks an analog heart.

• Egypt’s mainstream music scene is a long way from 1960s rock. Do you feel like you’re making music in isolation from your immediate surroundings, or does the local context feed into the work somehow?

It is true that the mainstream Egyptian music scene today is heavily dominated by commercial pop and electronic street genres, which are worlds apart from 1960s rock or cinematic instrumental music. On the surface, it might look like I am creating music in total isolation, but the truth is quite the opposite. My immediate surroundings feed into my work in a very deep, subconscious way.

Living and working in Alexandria plays a massive role in shaping my sonic identity. Alexandria is not just a city; it is a mood. It has a unique, melancholic, and deeply nostalgic atmosphere, especially during the winter. The architecture, the old cosmopolitan history, and the vastness of the Mediterranean Sea all naturally evoke a sense of cinematic storytelling.

So, while I may not be influenced by the current mainstream trends of Egypt’s music market, I am deeply fed by the timeless spirit of my surroundings. The isolation is actually a creative choice—it acts as a filter that shields my art from commercial noise, allowing me to translate the deep nostalgia of Alexandrian streets and the cinematic vastness of the sea into a universal 1960s analog rock canvas. I am not escaping my environment; I am simply scoring its hidden, wordless emotions.

• The album has apparently found listeners in Chicago, Los Angeles, and Germany. Did that surprise you, and do you think about audience geography when you’re making music?

It was a beautiful and deeply validating surprise, but at the same time, it felt like the natural destiny of this project. Seeing listeners tune in from places like Chicago, Los Angeles, and Germany is incredibly rewarding because it proves exactly what I set out to demonstrate: instrumental music carries no passport.

When I am in my studio composing, I absolutely never think about audience geography, borders, or specific demographics. If you start composing with a specific geographic market or target audience in mind, the music loses its honesty and becomes a commercial product. I focus entirely on the emotional truth of the melody and the texture of the sound.

Because my music has no lyrics, it doesn’t get stuck behind language barriers. A listener in Los Angeles or Germany doesn’t need to speak Arabic to understand the nostalgia or the cinematic weight of Those Days. They instantly feel it. The global response proves that human emotions—like nostalgia, longing, and wonder—are identical worldwide. My music is made in Alexandria, but it is built to live anywhere in the universe.

• “Those Days” has fifteen tracks, which is a substantial body of work. Were all of these written in the same period, or did some come from earlier sessions?

Delivering a 15-track instrumental album was a conscious effort to offer a complete, uninterrupted cinematic narrative, but the music itself actually bridges different timelines in my creative journey.

About 60% of the album was written and recorded in intense, continuous sessions over the last year. During this recent period, the specific vision for the 1960s analog rock aesthetic became very clear, and I wrote new material to form the core backbone of the album’s concept.

However, the remaining 40% came from my personal creative archives—earlier sessions and raw melodic sketches that I had been keeping in the dark for years. Some of these melodies were originally conceived as ambient or electronic ideas, but they never felt entirely complete. When I decided to dive into the warm, vintage instrumentation of Those Days, I went back to those older archives. Re-imagining those earlier sessions with live guitars, orchestral arrangements, and analog tape saturation felt like finding the missing puzzle pieces. Combining the freshness of the new tracks with the mature depth of the older sessions is exactly what gives the album its rich, multi-layered emotional weight.

• Looking at the tracklist, there’s a lot of tonal variety – “Hey Duck” feels very Zeppelin-adjacent, while something like “Cannaregio” goes into jazz and bossa nova territory. How do you think about sequencing an album that covers that much ground?

Sequencing a 15-track instrumental album with this much tonal variety is like editing a feature-length film; if the pacing is wrong, you lose the audience, but if it is right, the variety becomes an immersive experience.

When dealing with genres ranging from Zeppelin-adjacent rock riffs to the smooth, late-night jazz and bossa nova textures of “Cannaregio,” I don’t look at the tracks as separate genres. Instead, I treat them as different emotional scenes within a single movie. My goal with the sequence was to create a fluid sonic journey with natural highs and lows.

I think of the tracklist in terms of energy and lighting. A heavy, driving rock track builds adrenaline and sets a powerful mood, but the human ear needs a break from that intensity. Transitioning into something like “Cannaregio” acts as a sophisticated cooldown—it shifts the light from a bright, energetic stage to a smoky, nostalgic Mediterranean lounge. The sequencing is designed so that each track prepares the listener for the next one, ensuring that the leaps between rock, jazz, and ambient soundscapes feel like natural, fluid chapters of the exact same story.

• What’s next after “Those Days”? Is this a permanent direction, or do you see yourself moving between the electronic and rock worlds?

For me, “Those Days” is not a permanent destination, but a beautiful door that I have unlocked. I never want to be a composer who finds a successful formula and gets comfortable replicating it. The moment an artist settles into a single permanent direction, the sense of exploration dies.

What comes next will definitely be a continuous movement between worlds. I don’t see the electronic and rock universes as opposites; instead, I see them as two powerful colors on the same palette. My ultimate goal moving forward is to bridge these worlds even closer together—fusing the raw, emotional energy of vintage analog rock instrumentation with the hypnotic, infinite soundscapes of modern electronic music.

I am already sketching new ideas that experiment with these hybrids. Whether my next project leans heavily on guitars or synthesizer waves, it will always remain completely true to my core philosophy: pure, uncompromising instrumental storytelling. The journey is about constant evolution, and I want my listeners to always expect the unexpected.

• Thanks for taking the time to speak with us. “Those Days” is an ambitious record and a genuinely unusual thing to find coming out of Egypt’s independent scene right now. Keep up with SHELNZ on Spotify and YouTube – links below.

“Hey Duck” sounds like an extended musical interlude off Physical Graffiti by Led Zeppelin – it really evokes that era of analog sounds, while “Cannaregio” is rooted in jazz and bossa nova textures, though it’s more like an ambient loop with some spacey melodies floating on top. It’s like jazz for studying, so the harmonic simplicity on display isn’t what you’d expect when hearing those textures, but that’s where SHELNZ’s identity comes through. He is an EDM artist at heart, so the creative approach of loop then adding melodies is very much present here across the board.

Some tracks that stand out more than the rest are “Reasons Unknown”, “Golden Daze of Summer”, and “Deep As The Ocean”. The first two, because rhythmically they are dynamic, as opposed to some other tracks where the drums were kind of static, which negatively impacts the momentum of a song. While the last one offers some very interesting sound design choices to reflect the oceanic soundscape in audio form.

The tension in “Those Days” is ultimately the tension of a producer working in a new vocabulary while thinking in his native one. The 60s rock references are genuinely felt rather than decorative, but the underlying logic of how the music is constructed still belongs to someone who came up in loops and layers. For some tracks, that creates friction. For others, it produces something genuinely interesting – a hybrid that neither a purist classic rock listener nor a standard EDM listener would arrive at on their own. The album has reportedly found an audience in Chicago and Los Angeles underground scenes, which makes sense. That’s exactly the kind of listener who would appreciate the experiment on its own terms.

• “Prelude to War” was written on the night of October 10th, 2023, just days after October 7th. Can you walk us through that night – what you were feeling, how the song came together so fast, and what it was like sending it to the rest of the band the next morning?

Eslam: We were hanging out at Samer’s house (our bass player and one of the band co-founders) I remember that we had the news channel muted at the background and the coverage of what was happening in Gaza, as you know it isn’t something new to us I mean we all grew up watching what has been happening there! But this was on another level, horrific scenes of destruction and bodies under the rubble and each few minutes the screen would show the estimated number of causalities among civilians, it was surreal just to know that within a few kilometers away there are people sitting in their houses awaiting to turn into a number, all of their hopes, dreams and memories are seconds away to be as it’s never existed. I was angry, it felt horrible, all I was thinking about was how can I channel this feeling and how to get this weight off my chest. I went back home, it was 2 AM or something around that and I was home alone, In my mind I was hearing the main riff echoing in my ears, I set up a session, press record and within 30 minutes later I recorded the basic draft of the song, of course it didn’t change things for those people who were suffering but for sure I had a momentary escape. Also, it started that stream of ideas that later completed the rest of the song.

The band really liked it, They have too, who else will write their music then 😊  since we also where adopting a new direction in our sound that started by the earlier releases (Hatred and EOT) we transferred from heavy metal to a sound closer to finish and Swedish metal, bands that me and khaled have been listening to since forever like (Amorphis, Inflames, and many more! So they were very excited about it they started throwing in ideas and it really pushed us forward to continue writing, Three days later I wrote the title track of the EP but that’s another story.

⇒ Read our full review for “Prelude to War” here.

• The chorus – “If you want peace, prepare for war” – is a line that could be read a lot of different ways depending on who’s listening. When you were writing the lyrics with Khaled, how conscious were you of that? Was there a line you were trying to walk between the personal and the political?

Khaled: That line was definitely something we were very conscious of when we wrote it. “If you want peace, prepare for war” is one of those phrases that’s been repeated so many times it almost feels unquestioned—but when you really sit with it, it’s kind of disturbing.

For us, the song is pushing back on that idea. The line isn’t meant as an endorsement, it’s almost ironic. Because right after that, we hit “nobody is counting the bodies no more,” which is where the real meaning lands. It’s about how easily people can become desensitized, how war gets framed as something necessary or even noble, while the actual human cost just fades into the background.

When were were writing, we were very aware of that tension between personal and political. On one level, it can be heard as an internal struggle—gearing yourself up for conflict just to survive mentally or emotionally. But on another level, it’s absolutely a commentary on how systems and leaders can justify violence by packaging it as a path to peace.

We didn’t want to be overly direct or preachy, but the underlying feeling is pretty clear war, in a lot of cases, is sold as a solution when it’s really just a different form of control… almost like a kind of large-scale bullying. And the people who pay the price are rarely the ones making the decisions.

So yeah, the ambiguity is intentional—but the emotion behind it isn’t.

• The music video was shot in a rage room over eight hours. Whose idea was that, and what was it actually like on the day?

Eslam: It was beyond exciting and exhausting at the same time, especially when you have three members of the band that are passed their 40’s 😊, but at the same time very exciting to work on something from scratch and watch it grow into a full production, we had on mind that we need to do this different that time, we decided to actually start hiring people with fresh ideas and to stop trying to do everything ourselves, that’s when Malek our Rhythm guitar suggested that we hire Sayed Ragai front man of the band “Erasing Mankind” who needs no introduction, We met in a coffee place in Zamalek, Sayed listened to the song and from the get go he was very excited to join that project and started giving us some ideas on where we can shot the video, then he threw in the suggestion of filming the video at one of those rage room places, then it took us around two weeks to find the suitable place to do so. We had another difficulty also because me and Ahmed (drummer) we work outside of Egypt and we get to get back on vacations every two to three months but at that time I was at Egypt and I had a few days left to go back to work, so the pressure was on, so as soon as we found the place and booked it Ahmed got himself a flight ticket from Dubai arrived on the day of the shooting actually and we started the logistic part of the process, which was transporting his drum set, Samer transporting the amps, and me just arranging the schedule and going through the process with Sayed and the venue, Khaled as all singers do just had to show up 😊. Then Sayed took over and we basically just did what he sayed. We took four direct wide angles shoots, then we repeated the process for close up and some dynamic shot focusing on Khaled, then by the time we’re taking the last few shots we had only one hour left, so we basically compressed what would take three more hours into an hour and a half. By that time we basically played the song like 13 times.

you would think the day was over but then I tell you that we’d gotten locked out of the car, It was me driving with Khaled, King (our drummer)  and Sayed, we stopped to fill gas and buy some snacks, I left the car running, we got out of the market, I try to open the car door to find out that somehow the car got locked and the keys were inside 😀 😀 so we had to hang out for 2 hours at the gas station’s market until my wife sent us an uber with the spare key all the way from tagmo3 to Sahrawi 😀 :D. So yeah, a day to remember or forget :D.

• You rerecorded the song four times and tried two overseas mixing engineers before landing on Amr Hefny at Ganoub Studio. What kept not working, and how did you know when you finally had it right?

Eslam: to answer this question I’ll have to walk you through our production process, normally the first drafts will contain a plot of the song that would be focused on the song structure, tempo , tuning key etc… so it is definetly would have some changes in that sense, then I basically re-record the song starting with two main Rhythm guitars, this is time I make sure that the Ryhthm section is fixed and will not change in the future, then I send it to Ahmed, who also repeats my same process again drafting the drums, then samer with bass line, Then I get to listen to the song again and start adding Leads, fills, solos, keys etc. then khaled repeats the same process again with the lyrics, vocal lines and melodies. By this time each instrument                  including vocals would be recorded/rerecorded twice, then comes the part where we hire an engineer for the mixing and mastering, we hired one who was very good actually, but it wouldn’t sound right! We wanted to sound right! All the way that time in between engineers and different mixes, I was setting up all my guitars and after that I decided to rerecord all the guitars again with my guitars sounding better after the setup 😊 It was to that extent we were keen to make it right! Then we decided to work with one and only Amr Hefny, with his talent and experience and guidance we felt we were at the right place, he liked the song so much that he kept pushing us further, we recorded vocals and some bass parts again, it only made sense then. A few mixes in we landed on the final version.

• It’s been a few years since your last release. Was that gap intentional, or just the reality of getting this one done properly?

Eslam: The gap wasn’t intentional we actually have around 7 more songs in our pocket you can say the gap was because we were focusing on writing, we were obligated to divide them on two releases, given the production timeline we had we decided we release the first4 on the form of an EP and then complete 3 to 4 more songs and then release our full length album, for now our focus is to land as much gigs as we can, and with us having around 10 songs now we are ready to perform full sets which is something we are working on now, so to sum it up it took us two years to write 11 songs four of them will be on this EP and the rest will be on the album, we are expecting to start working on them starting this summer.

• The EP has four tracks and they sound pretty different from each other – an instrumental, a nearly seven-minute title track, an acoustic closer, and this single. Was there a concept tying them together, or did it just end up that way?

Khaled: It wasn’t really a concept album, to be honest. We didn’t sit down and say, “Let’s build a cohesive narrative across four tracks.” It actually came together much more organically than that.

We’ve always leaned into being a versatile band, and that’s something we’re quite intentional about. Each song was written at a completely different time, in a different headspace, and often under different circumstances. So naturally, they ended up sounding quite distinct from each other.

When it was time to put the EP together, we didn’t try to force a connection or tie everything into one central theme. It was more about capturing those moments as they were and letting each track stand on its own.

In a way, the common thread is our sound, our influences, our way of writing—but beyond that, we actually liked the idea of not drawing a direct correlation between the songs. It gives listeners the space to interpret each track on its own terms rather than being guided too heavily by a concept.

• “Devil in Disguise” as a title – what’s the story there? Is that one of the tracks or is it something broader about the EP as a whole?

Khaled: “Devil in Disguise” actually works on two levels for us.
Yes, it’s one of the tracks on the EP—but it also became the emotional anchor for the whole project.

The song itself was written as a kind of homage to people living with ADHD and Borderline personality. We weren’t trying to diagnose anything or label it in a clinical way—it was more about capturing that internal experience. The idea that sometimes your own mind can feel like something you can’t fully trust… like it’s working with you one minute, then completely turning against you the next.

That’s where the title comes from— “Devil in Disguise” isn’t about an external villain, it’s about that hidden struggle. Something that looks like strength, creativity, or intensity from the outside, but internally can feel chaotic or overwhelming. It’s that duality.

As we were building the EP, we realized that theme actually runs through everything—identity, control, emotional extremes, the fight to stay grounded. So the title kind of grew beyond the track itself and started to represent the whole body of work.

In a way, the EP is about learning to live with that “devil,” not necessarily defeating it.

• You’ve built the band from Cairo, but you’ve been competing and getting noticed internationally for a while now. How do you think about the local scene versus the wider metal community you’re trying to reach?

Khaled: The local scene has changed massively if you compare it to the late ’90s or early 2000s. Back then, everything was a lot more limited—recording, distributing, even just getting your music heard was a challenge. Now with technology and social media, bands have way more control. You can write, record, and release music much more easily, and at the same time listeners can discover new artists from anywhere in the world.

So in that sense, the gap between the local scene and the international metal community isn’t what it used to be. It feels a lot more connected now.

That said, for us, the local scene has always been a priority. It’s where we started, it’s where our core audience is, and it’s a big part of our identity as a band. At the same time, we’ve always had the ambition to reach beyond that and be part of the wider metal community.

So, it’s not really one versus the other—it’s about staying rooted locally while pushing outward globally.

Thanks for taking the time. “Prelude to War” is out now along with the music video, and the “Devil in Disguise” EP follows soon after – keep an eye on Soundsmudge‘s socials and give the single a listen when it drops.

⇒ PRE-SAVE “PRELUDE TO WAR” HERE! ⇐

The song was written in a single session on the night of October 10th, 2023, three days after the events of October 7th. Guitarist and songwriter Eslam came home from a late hangout, sat down with his guitar, set the tempo to 200 BPM, hit record, and had most of it drafted within minutes. The rest of the band heard it and immediately shelved what they’d been working on. That origin is worth knowing because it explains the energy – this isn’t a song that was labored over in a vacuum. It came out of something real, and the track carries that weight. The chorus – “If you want peace, prepare for war” – frames the song not as a political statement but as an observation about a cycle that keeps repeating, from Gaza to Ukraine to Myanmar to Bosnia, and everyone in between who ends up paying the price while the powerful argue the terms.

Production-wise, “Prelude to War” went through multiple rounds before landing where it is. The band tried two overseas mixing engineers before eventually bringing it home to Amr Hefny at Ganoub Studio, who pushed for certain parts to be rerecorded and was strict enough about the performances to get the rawness the song needed. It shows – the final mix is heavy without being muddy, and the melodic death metal influences (think In Flames, Arch Enemy, Children of Bodom) are present without the song feeling like a reference exercise. The 200 BPM foundation gives it a relentless forward motion, and the band clearly knows how to lock in at that tempo with enough clarity in the riff writing so that it doesn’t turn into a blur.

For a band that’s been releasing music in pieces since 2021, “Prelude to War” feels like a step up in focus and intent. The “Devil in Disguise” EP – which also includes an instrumental, a nearly seven-minute title track, and an acoustic-led closer – is worth watching for when it drops. As a first look at where Soundsmudge is heading, this single makes a strong enough case to keep paying attention.

“Desert Storm” has a classic heavy metal feel to it, the kind that draws an obvious line back to Dio-era bombast. Big, clean guitar riffs, a vocalist going for drama and mostly landing it, and a sense that the song is trying to feel larger than it is. The Egyptian mythology angle gives the whole thing a bit of flair and thematic consistency, even if that territory has been well-trodden in metal going back decades. Worth noting: the music video is AI-generated visually, but the music itself is fully real, performed and recorded by the band.

For a band that’s been dormant for the better part of two decades and is now navigating a third-era lineup, “Desert Storm” is a reasonable statement of intent. It doesn’t reinvent anything, but it’s competently done and fits squarely into what Ramses has always been about. The album should give a clearer picture of how far they’ve pushed this direction, but as a first look, this one does its job.

The feature arrives at a pivotal moment for the band, with two major releases on the horizon through their US label, .

Scarab formed in Cairo in 2006, growing out of roots that stretch back to 2001, and quickly established themselves as a force unlike anything else coming out of the Arab world. Their sound fuses the full weight of technical death metal with the ancient mysticism of the land they come from — themes of spirituality, Kemetic mythology, and the deep philosophical questions of human existence, rendered in some of the heaviest music the region has ever produced.

Their music combines traditional death metal with elements of oriental music, creating a unique blend of cultural and extreme sounds. That duality — rooted in Egypt’s ancient heritage while operating at the cutting edge of an international genre — is precisely what has earned them a following that stretches far beyond their home country, and now, the attention of one of the world’s most prominent broadcasters.

The BBC News Arabic documentary film is a rare and significant acknowledgment of Scarab’s place not only in extreme metal, but in the broader cultural landscape of the Arab world. The band has confirmed they will work to provide translations of the documentary for their global fanbase — a community that has followed them across continents and supported them through every chapter of their journey.

“Thank you for walking this path with us and for your life force and support,” the band wrote in announcing the feature. “The best is yet to unfold.”

Scarab enter this moment of recognition with serious momentum in the studio as well as the press. Two major releases are confirmed through Brutal Records (US):

“” — out April 24th on all digital platforms.

“” — arriving May 8th, with pre-orders open now.

Both titles signal a band drawing deeper than ever from the well of Egyptian mythology and mystery — the Sphinx, fate, transmutation — filtered through the sonic ferocity that has defined Scarab since their earliest recordings.

In addition, Metal Blast is bringing back its educational musical workshops, reaffirming its commitment to giving back to the community and supporting the growth of the metal and alternative music scene.

The 15-year anniversary also marks the beginning of a new branding phase for Metal Blast. Updated visuals, anniversary identity, event dates, and lineup announcements will be revealed gradually later this year.

More details and further announcements will follow soon.

Muhammad El-Hassanein originally wrote “Calling You” in 2019 while sitting alone on the grass in Hyde Park, London, feeling homesick and watching crowds of people while longing for his loved one. The line “They’re all around, but you left me all alone” captures that scene. At the time, Elhassanein was growing up listening to Viza, led by K’noup, who had collaborated with Serj Tankian from System Of A Down and Evanescence. Two years later, Elhassanein reached out to K’noup on social media to express his love for K’noup’s art and asked if they could collaborate. K’noup agreed, and “Calling You” was reborn as an Egyptian/Greek collaboration inspired by both cultures. The song was recorded at Spin Studio in New York City and Distortion Studio in Mansoura, Egypt. It’s been played on London Greek Radio, Middle East Radio in Canada, and Mount Carlo radio in France, with reaction videos from people in different countries.

The song fuses elements from both styles to create a unique sound that is simply mesmerizing. The tear-jerking melodies of the accordion and violin express the feeling of being homesick and envelop the vocals in a melodic shawl of nostalgia. The rhythm section grounds the song in modernity with the classic rock ballad drum groove. The song builds to a guitar solo that symbolizes the peak of the angst expressed in the song and crashes down to a final explosive chorus.

For Muhammad El-Hassanein, who grew up listening to K’noup since he was 16, this collaboration was a dream coming true. That was almost 4 years ago now. Mutayam‘s working on a new album called “Bard El Sheta”, there’s a new music video that came out only a few days ago, and the full album is coming out very soon, so stayed tuned!