Metal from Egypt still has an enormous exotic status. When you look at the problems metal bands face in this country, you understand why. Despite adverse circumstances, MASSIVE SCAR ERA are releasing their sixth EP these days. We talked to singer and guitarist Cherine Amr about problems with the Egyptian government, the new EP and plans for the band’s future.
Hi and thanks a lot for taking time for this interview! How are you doing?
Hi, I’m little bit sick, fighting a cold actually!
I suppose that most of our readers haven`t heard much about you yet, please introduce yourself.
We are MASSIVE SCAR ERA. We have been playing music since 2005. Nancy and I started the band in Alexandria, Egypt. We play alternative metal with Egyptian music influences and we are releasing a new EP on October 5th.
Whats the meaning of the bands name?
The name means so much to us: It has many layers and the more the years go by the more we relate to it. We wanted a name that reflects how traumatic and aggressive the world is, that we are living in right now. I was thinking about a good name for a long time, and a good friend of mine in Egypt suggested it to us. Since the band started as an all-girl band at its beginning, Massive Scar Era was also the long name for its abbreviation Mascara however, we stopped using Mascara a long time ago.
How would you describe your music in brief (just for those who haven`t ever listened to your music)?
It’s very melodic and heavy with a mix of clean singing and screaming and lot of violins. I also think what’s different about our sound is, that you usually expect clean vocals in metal music to sound classical but ours is little bit poppy. We also introduce lots of egyptian music and arrangements in our mix.
Your new EP „Color Blind“ is about to be released, how do you feel about it, are you satisfied?
We feel excited and everytime we listen to it, we feel that have we have grown up so much. We put our heart into it and we think it shows! Of course we can never be satisfied enough, I personally feel that I could have sang better. My band mates think I’m overjudging myself.
Something about the songwriting; is any member involved or only one or two of you?
The main song idea – in terms of melody and lyrics – comes from me but I don’t get too attached to the arrangement. The whole band contributes in the production of the songs and writing their parts. Nancy comes in at the end, she brings in her brilliant arrangement ideas that push the melody and the violins to the front.
„Color Blind“ is your sixth EP. Do you have any plans on recording a full album or are you fine with just releasing EPs?
Honestly we can’t afford producing a full record at the moment. The sales of „Color Blind“ will indicate if our next release will be an EP or an album.
When you founded the band in 2005, you were called Satanists in Egypt. How did you deal with it? Did it encourage you to continue with the music?
Let’s be honest and put things in a realistic perspective; news outlets romanticize insurgency, but when you are in the situation and you know that your life can be taken away, you can literally pee your pants. We were scared! We are still afraid. I moved to Canada because of this, but Nancy still lives in Egypt and any content that we produce that might sound/look a little bit off can cost us our freedom! We didn’t necessarily „stop“ but we had to fix this as soon as possible, we couldn’t afford to go on with the public and the government thinking that we are spreading a culture that is against our traditions. If I haven’t left Egypt, I would have probably toned it a little bit down. Currently, the government is on edge and arresting anyone that looks suspicious to them, and our case wouldn’t get the public support. We are still very mindful of what we are producting knowing that Nancy is still over there, so we still got to be careful on what we post on the web.
Can you tell us a few more words about your lyrics? What are your main topics?
I’m the main songwriter of the band. Music is my frustration outlet so whatever experience I face I let it out in the music. I’m politically active, not by choice, I think anyone that grew up in Egypt has to be, especially if you are a woman. Moving to Canada also influenced the topics I write about because I moved into a minority category and was subjected to harassment and discrimination.
What are your plans for MASSIVE SCAR ERA in the future? Maybe a tour to Germany?
WE LOVE GERMANY! We played a bunch of shows in Germany, and the audience was always fantastic! We want to play again, but it seems that the music scene is becoming more saturated. We are an independent band and we book our shows without a booking agent, so things are becoming harder. If you are a booking agent and you are currently reading this and digging our music please get in touch with us, we’d love to work with you!
Thank you for the interview! Please let us do a short brainstorming in the end of this interview. What comes in your mind first reading the following terms:
Festival: WACKEN
Comics: arts
Favorite Food: Molokheya (you need to google this, it’s an Egyptian green soup)
Bavaria: Munich
Once again thank you for your time. The last words are yours:
If you like our music, please support us by pre-ordering our EP from our bandcamp: www.massivescarera.bandcamp.com
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