I've never really been much of a Heavy Metal music fan. To me, it always represented rage, rebellion, death and destruction. There wasn’t a single thing about it that I could relate to or found agreeable, as I have never felt the rage that always seems to accompany it.
Dismissed in my mind as ‘evil’, I never thought of giving it a second chance. It struck me as being unappealing and ‘foreign’. My interest only revived when I learned that in Jeddah there existed a Heavy Metal band with a strong Saudi influence that incorporated Arabic instruments such as the ‘Oud’ and ‘Tablah’ in its music and Arabic lyrics.
Driving out to Obhur at midnight to interview Panjiah’s members, I really didn’t know what to expect, but I was preparing myself for the worst. I anticipated six young men dressed in black, all sporting tattoos, standing in a dark candle lit room, hovering over a karaoke machine and a Sony Play Station gaming console, cutting and pasting pre-recorded sound bytes into bland tracks.
When Panjiah’s lead vocalist, Abdullah G. Kutbi, 23, greeted me at the door, I was almost surprised that he looked and dressed ‘normal’. There was not a trace of face paint on him nor did he even remotely resemble Marilyn Manson as I had expected. Neither did he appear to be ‘raging’ against anything; in fact he said, “Asalamu Alaikum,” smiled politely and offered a confident, solid, handshake, then warmly invited me in to meet the other five members of Panjiah.
On walking into the studio, it became immediately obvious, that this was a professional operation. All four walls and the ceiling were insulated for sound and an array of musical equipment was already set up ready to be played.
I saw nine electric, six acoustic, and five bass guitars, six guitar amps, six multi-guitar effects, two drum sets, five ‘ouds’, two ‘tablahs’, four studio-recording computers, three digital mixers, countless acoustic microphones and a 20 year-old baby grand piano.
There was no karaoke machine anywhere to be seen.
It became clear that these were mature, levelheaded individuals, who were not lacking in discipline or determination as I had erroneously predicted.
Yazeed Nazer is the leader of the band and Panjiah is his brainchild. He is 27 and is the band’s drummer and percussionist. He has seemingly always had a passion for Heavy Metal as the idea for Panjiah has been on his mind since he was 16 and has spent the last 11 years developing it.
In the US he studied marine biology, electronic engineering and information sciences and still found time to be in seven bands. He is currently devoting all his time to releasing the band’s first album which is now nearing completion.
The other members of the electric band are Khaled Abdulmannan who has been Panjiah’s lead guitarist for the past three years. He is 24 and married with a two and a half year old daughter. Recently graduated from KAAU, where he earned his degree in environmental science. Saleh Al-Zibn, 24, is a flight attendant and is the band’s rhythm and acoustic guitars player. Maan Shibani, 21, is the bass guitarist who was with a rock band for one year prior to joining Panjiah. Maan is a DHL customer service representative and is also studying business administration at the Arabian Open University. Ghazi Adel, 21, is the band’s technician and substitute guitarist. He is employed by AMICO as a biomedical technician, and is studying information technology, also at the Arabian Open University.
For the next couple of hours I sat with the band, learning more about what Panjiah is exactly about.
“’Pangaea’ was the geological formation or single landmass that began splitting almost 200 million years ago to form the continents we know today. It was when the world was truly one.
“When you go up in space and look down at planet Earth, you don’t see the international borders between the countries you just see one planet with seven continents that at one time was ‘Pangaea’.
“The world and everything in it has become so split up now, that we are trying to bring unity through our music. Music can be used as an international language that crosses borders and bridges cultures.
“We have incorporated traditional Arabic sounds into some of our songs so that they can appeal to listeners both in the West and the East. When the same song brings meaning to listeners of differing cultures and backgrounds, it becomes one more thing that those peoples have in common,” the band members explained.
“Music today doesn’t seem to mean anything anymore. Everyone is using sex nowadays to promote and sell albums. We ask you, what are they trying to sell? Prostitution or music?” Yazeed asked.
Until Panjiah gets their music and lyrics copyrighted, they are understandably keeping their album name, songs’ titles, lyrics and music secret. But Khaled did hint at the message behind one song which Panjiah has named ‘Hollow’.
“The song asks the question if living in a world void of hate and discrimination, is only a dream,” he said.
“We have a responsibility to change the world for the better and encourage people to think about the consequences of their actions. We want people to consider that you don’t have to compete to be good. People will help you if you help them.
“We want to spread the message that war doesn’t just waste money, it wastes generations. People need to understand that by going to war you kill off your country’s children. The money spent can be better used to improve one’s country. Spend the war budget on making your country’s children flourish by building schools and hospitals,” is just one of the messages the band members hope to one day have the opportunity to share with the world through Panjiah.
Yazeed, Khalid, Saleh, Maan, Abdullah and Ghazi practice, “As often as possible for as long as possible,” which according to them translates into over 20 hours per week.
With all my questions answered, it was time to see if I would be doing an article on Panjiah or not. Quite simply, if I wasn’t bowled over by their music, then quite honestly, I wasn’t going to do this story. At this point, to me, these were a bunch of guys with a great philosophy and message that they wanted to deliver to the world, but the most important question I had in my mind, which had yet to be answered was, “Can these guys play well enough to deliver their message of unity and earn themselves a place in the Review?”
Not being any kind of expert in music, and incapable of reading or writing a single note, I would literally play it by ear.
The energized sounds of the electric guitars and the throb of the drums that over the years I had never developed an appreciation for, suddenly started growing on me and within moments, I was tapping my feet.
Then when the ‘Tablah’ and ‘Oud’ were introduced, my ears were treated to a symphony of sounds that brought tears to my eyes.
I had considered Heavy Metal ‘evil’ and ‘foreign’ for so long, but in the hands of Yazeed, Khalid, Saleh, Maan, Abdullah and Ghazi, it was Heavy Metal like I had never heard before. I experienced the same rush of excitement and felt the same pride for being an Arab as I did when I first heard Sting and Cheb Mami sing ‘Desert Rose’ together.
Moments later, as Ghazi handed me a napkin, as someone had noticed that my eyes had welled-up with tears. I had come here tonight expecting a good laugh, but what Panjiah delivered is worthy of all my respect and admiration. They were not about rage, rebellion, death or destruction, they were not copying anyone, or trying to be someone else. They are a unique band with a unique sound — and when their first album hits the stores, it will be my very first Heavy Metal music purchase.
