Meet our Doha local Metal band - Shogun - playing live 1st Feb 2018

26 Jan Meet our Doha local Metal band – Shogun – playing live 1st Feb 2018

Posted at 09:01h in Going Out In Qatar, Life in Qatar, Sports and Leisure, Upcoming Events by WadminX

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As an avid music fan (especially Rock and Metal) I was excited to hear that we have a local Metal band here in Qatar so I reached out to Ahmed Nabeel of Shogun to find out more!

What is Heavy Metal Music – Wiki
Heavy metal (or simply metal) is a genre of rock music^[1] that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, largely in the United Kingdom.^[2] With roots in blues rock and psychedelic/acid rock,the bands that created heavy metal developed a thick, massive sound, characterized by highly amplified distortion, extended guitar solos, emphatic beats, and overall loudness. Heavy metal fans tend to have a close bond over their music.

Question: How did you get together?
SHOGUN formed in early January 2017. A few weeks prior I was pondering how in 6 years spent in Doha, I hadn’t met any Metalheads or found any communities or scene. I posted on WWHiDoha Facebook Page asking Metalheads to show up, and found 30 interested people in a single day. I set up a Facebook group (Qatar Metalheads United) with promises of meeting soon.

A couple of weeks later, a British tribute band to AC/DC performed in Qatar (Hell’s Bells) and I met Carter (lead guitars) and discussed the idea of creating a heavy metal cover band in Doha. The idea was to “play anything, as long as it’s from the heart… as long as it’s metal”

A call to arms was made and immediately Sam (rhythm guitars) and Kaaz (bass) jumped aboard. The band started slowly with a couple of simple songs and over the coming months mastered them and started moving to more challenging ones. Determined to see the metal scene grow, many friends supported them and pushed them forward through the rougher times when performances were unstable or ropey.

When we had grown confident enough with the songs we knew it was time to step up the game with more players, and so Safin (keyboards) –the youngest entry to the band- jumped in with his synth magic, opening a new world of possibilities in choosing the songs to cover.

The band went through a rough stage when Kaaz announced he was leaving Qatar soon and with heavy hearts we started the search for someone with the skill and passion to fill in. It was through WWHiDoha (again!) when one of the members responded to a post asking for a vocalist to try a single song as a guest and – upon meeting the band and knowing of the situation with Kaaz – she introduced SHOGUN to her brother Ammar (bass). The band was happy to find a new player that fit in smoothly with new ideas to add.

Practice and patience

Tell us more about the band and your philosophy
SHOGUN are from different cultures, varying ages and unique individual differences. We come from Egypt, Bangladesh, Syria and the UK – all united by our love of music, and here in Doha, we have proved that in a cosmopolitan environment, music can flourish without boundaries set by people. Our friends have even turned technical and now do roadie works, backing vocals and photoshoots.

SHOGUN currently are

Ahmed Nabeel Vocals
Carters Dawn Lead Guitar
Samaa Salah Rhythm Guitar
Ammar Nofel Bass
Safin Arnoub Keyboards
Hossam Eissa Drums
Mariam Nofel / Seifeldin Hashem / Alyaa Salah / Khaldoun (Kaaz) Techies and Logistics

What bands do you cover?
SHOGUN now play a ton of songs, covering a wide range of heavy metal acts from both Europe and the USA and show casing different metal eras throughout the 40 years that graced the genre; including legends such as Ozzy Osbourne, Black Sabbath, Iron Maiden, Metallica, Dio, SOAD and more.

Where can we see you play?
SHOGUN will play their first gig (THE METAL: A Journey Through Time and Space) in DOHA on Thursday the 1^st of February at the Horizon Manor Hotel, 9pm at the Wonderbuzz Bar.