EO: Welcome Back!
Barney: It’s a great feeling man, we’ve been told this is the biggest music festival to happen in India and for us to be a part of this diverse yet impressive line-up is really awesome. It will be our 3rd coming back to perform in India but our first time in Delhi, so we look forward to putting on a killer show for all the extreme metal fans out there at the festival.
EO: Tell us how it all started. What made you choose to be professional musicians?
Barney: It all started in 2000 when I graduated from high school and wanted to move on from playing cover songs to writing original music. After being in a band in school already I wanted to start something new, so joining a university and meeting new people definitely did help. You gotta bear in mind the fact that metal music was always very underground not just in the UAE but in the Middle East in general. So the point here being, when you came across another fellow metalhead you immediately connect, change contacts and stay in touch.
However it was more than just socializing with others who preferred the same style of music I liked, that was only the first step. The second step was hoping they had the same passion to play music as well, it didn’t matter if they couldn’t at the time, as long as they had an interest in starting a band that was good enough. So as time went by I ended up meeting a few guys who came together either through friends spreading the word that I was looking for musicians or people I had come across directly. So after a good year of auditions and jams by 2001 the first ever Nervecell line-up formed. The approach in the band was simple back then – play anywhere and everywhere and try to build a fan base.
We had a very different line-up in the band during these first 2 years and it wasn’t too long when members started to walk in and out of the band due to various reasons. I only ended up meeting James and Rami at one of the earlier Nervecell gigs we played at the American University in Dubai during that initial stage. Both James and Rami had moved to Dubai from Doha, Qatar to study. It was after chatting to them at that gig where we instantly become friends, changed numbers and stayed in touch with each other. About a year later they eventually ended up joining the band. It was kind of inevitable as they shared the same interest and passion for music that I had myself, ever since then (2003) onwards here we are 13 years later still putting out albums and touring the world. Of course none of what we’ve been able to achieve happened overnight, its always been a struggle being musicians but we’ve always managed to pull through and are very much still as passionate towards the band as we’ve always been.
EO: Tell us a little but about your last album Psychogenocide. What are the things that inspire you during song writing?
Barney: As for the things that inspire us its just the basic simple things we go through and see around us take place that tend to inspire us when we write our music. Not all of it has to be personal but just observing the ways in which the world is run and by who is ruling it or ruining it makes us want to have our say on things via our music. We’ve always had songs that cover humanitarian, and social unrest subject matters but on the last album “Psychogenocide” we’ve experiemented on writing more on a more global / social awareness so to speak.
The last 2 years in the band has been a rollercoaster of accomplishments for us with the release of “Psychogenocide” playing a major factor in it. Regionally, in 2012 Virgin Megastores (MENA) awarded us for being the “All Time Best Selling Metal Band” in the Middle East region. We also received the award for “Musicians of the year” at the Esquire Man at his Best Awards too. Internationally we had gone on tours with US Death Metal legends Morbid Angel all through Europe and the UK in 2011 as well as completed an Asian tour supporting Decapitated in support of “Psychogenocide” last year. The album was also sited as one of the “Top 10 Death metal Albums of 2011” by many webzines, magazines and critics around the world. Metal Hammer (UK) had also included Nervecell as one of the “DEFENDERS OF THE FAITH” – listing the band as one of the “50 Heroes Of The New Metal Revolution” in 2011.
EO: Is there another album under works?
Barney: There most definitely is, we will be spending most of these next few months writing a new album in addition to touring as well. So it’s certainly is a busy year ahead for us.
EO: You have a collaboration with Karl Sanders of Nile for your song Shunq. Tell us how that fell into place.
Barney: The idea to work with Karl actually came about when our singer James decided to write Arabic lyrics for the song “Shunq”. So since the lyrics were written in a story telling form we decided that it would be cool to have someone guest on the track and have him sing in English to compliment the Arabic lyrics on the track. So after a few days of discussing who would be the right person for the job we all agreed that Karl Sanders would be the best match, not only cause we were all fans of Nile but also considering his style and theme’s he uses in Nile’s music too. It just made perfect sense to reach out to him and so we had our management reach out to his management and make it happen. It wasn’t too long after that then when Karl came to Dubai and even ended up recording the video for “Shunq” with us in the U.A.E. It was an amazing experience working with Karl and he has become a good friend to us today.
EO: Have you heard of any Indian Metal bands? Any favorites? Would you consider doing any collaborations?
Barney: I’ve heard of loads of Indian Metal bands and I’m more familiar with bands such as Devoid, Scepter, Zygnema, Demonic Resurrection and Skyharbor today to name a few. I was always aware of the fact that India had a strong metal scene as I remember being younger and visiting relatives back in India who would always take me to the Independence Rock Festival whenever I was down there for a holiday in the late 90’s. So really it doesn’t surprise me that there are some of those older bands like Millennium, Brahma, Agni and Pentagram still kicking around, even though some of those bands may have changed their style slightly. I think it’s really admirable that the scene there is so vibrant and that the bands there old or new are still keeping metal alive all over the country. As for collaborations, its always fun to do – so why not!
EO: What can the fans in India expect from Nervecell at the upcoming Fly Music Festival?
Barney: We’re the only extreme metal band on the bill so the fans will surely know what’s the deal when we hit that stage. India has always been great to us and the crowds have always been intense every time we’ve performed there in the past, so we look forward to tearing it up, getting those pits started and putting on an energetic set for you all.
EO: What message would you like to give to all upcoming bands around the world?
Barney: Follow your dreams no matter what people say, practice relentlessly and have fun playing music. Impossible is Nothing!
