The Total Sound Of The Undergound

Lelahel Metal

Welcome back! It’s been quite a journey since our last interview with Esodic on our old site 20 years ago. Today, they share their evolution and upcoming EP.

1. Can you tell us about the origins of Esodic and how the band formed in the underground music scene of Amman, Jordan?

The band was formed before my time in 2003. Back then, the only way for metal heads in Jordan to meet up was either at one of the very few local shows or online chat rooms on MIRC. At that time, I was playing in a cover band with Mohammed Sharkasi. He was the one who introduced me to Esodic’s original guitarist, Marwan Kayyali. Shortly after we met, Marwan asked me to joi the band when their original drummer moved to Switzerland in 2004.

2. What were some of the challenges and obstacles the band faced while establishing itself in a region where playing metal was counter-cultural and often met with opposition from authorities?

There are an array of obstacles and challenges of just being a metal fan in Jordan. Even just walking down the street you are harassed, searched, and detained by cops for wearing a shirt with a metal band or logo on it. Playing a show or being an active member of the metal scene in Jordan would get you in way more trouble, by getting the attention of authorities who deemed us a national security threat to the moral fabric of the culture.

In the early 2000’s, both Esodic and other members of the metal scene were detained, questioned, and locked up for days (and sometimes weeks) just for being associated with the scene, especially for those with no government connections to ask for leniency. The authorities would even confiscate our personal belongings including tee shirts, cd’s, magazines, posters, and anything else that defined us as metal heads. I won’t even go into further detail about the physical, mental, and psychological torture that we had to endure at the hands of these superstitious zealots in charge of trying to eliminate our type in the public.

3. How did living in the socio-political climate of the Middle East influence Esodic's music and lyrical themes?

Just by living in Jordan, being exposed to the social norms, witnessing the general political agenda of the region, and seeing how brainwashed people are was a rich resource for lyrical inspiration. Referring back to my answer in the above question, we often drew on these types of experiences when writing our lyrics.


4. Could you share with us the story behind the band's name, "Esodic," and its significance to your music and message?

“Esodic” is a medical term that means ‘conducting impulses towards the brain and the spinal cord from the surface of the body’. This is a metaphor that perfectly encapsulates how a revolution happens in a system or country where people would unite and attack the leader or a king: the center; as our band’s theme surrounds mainly politics and political themes in the Middle East.

5. You mentioned the Global Battle of The Bands in 2005 as a pivotal moment for Esodic. How did that experience impact the band's trajectory and confidence in pursuing music on a larger scale?

In Amman during the early 2000s, the intelligence department was cracking down on activities in the metal scene, forcing it to shut down. In 2005, a friend told me that there was going to be a chapter of a global ‘battle of the bands’ competition happening in Jordan and I immediately signed up the band to compete. During the battles, I found out that the metal scene was actually still very much alive and people were hungrier than ever for metal music. Sadly, Esodic was not able to advance to the international battle in the UK due to corrupt organizers of the event, who chose to send a non-metal duet to represent Jordan (it was also cheaper to send 2 people rather than a whole band). However, this didn’t discourage us one bit and only fueled us to continue working and finalize our first EP, “Mirrors of Disgrace”.

6. With members disbanded and scattered across the world in 2010, what led to the decision to release the EP "Mirrors of Disgrace" in 2018?

After tracking the “Mirrors of Disgrace” EP at the School of Audio Engineering of Amman in 2010, we tried to find someone to mix and master the tracks, but were unsuccessful. Mixing metal requires a special kind of expertise, patience, and attention to detail to make a metal record sound good. Since it’s not a popular genre in the region, we couldn’t find anyone in Jordan who could help us, so the tracks stayed with me as raw files on a harddrive. In 2015, I moved to Los Angeles. I was at a metal show in L.A. sometime in 2018 when by chance, I met and befriended Damien Rainaud, a music producer who had produced albums for Fear Factory and DragonForce. I commissioned him to finalize the mix and master the tracks and I could finally self-release the EP. This was a decision that I took upon myself since the rest of the band had abandoned the project and decided to take different paths in life.


7. What inspired the themes and songs on "Mirrors of Disgrace," considering they were written and recorded over a span of 6-8 years during tumultuous times like the Arab Spring?

These songs were mainly inspired by the conflicts happening in Israel, Palestine, Iraq, and Syria, and what was driving the mentality of the suicide bombers and the brainwashing that goes into militias raising babies to be dead soldiers. The Arab Spring took place towards the end of 2010 when the songs and the themes of “Mirrors” were already formed. However, the ideas and the lyrical themes were driven from the conflicts leading up to it and the general political and social conspiracy theories in the region. The event that ignited the Arab Spring was when street vendor Mohammed Bouazizi set himself on fire in Sidi Bouzid, Tunisia in response to the confiscation of his wares and continued harassment and humiliation inflicted upon him by the government.

8. Esodic reunited for MetalDays Festival in 2019. How did it feel to come together again as a band, and did this experience influence your decision to work on a new EP set for release in 2024?

After the release of “Mirrors of Disgrace” in 2018, dear friends of mine, Rok and Nina, who I had met attending prior Metal Days festivals, took notice of the release and contacted me with an offer for Esodic to perform at Metal Days in 2019. The only original member who was able to join was Marwan, so he and another friend of mine from Los Angeles made it to Slovenia for the festival and delivered a fiery performance of the EP. The reception we received at the festival reignited my hunger to write and perform metal, and I was inspired more than I had been in a long time. Due to the COVID pandemic in early 2020, no one toured for a long time so I took that opportunity to choose a new line-up for the band based in my new home of Los Angeles, and we spent a lot of time during lockdown furiously writing new music.

9. Tell us about the creative process behind your upcoming sophomore EP, "DE FACTO DE JURE." How does it compare to your previous work, and what can fans expect from this release?

Most of the riffs for “De Facto De Jure” were improvised in the jam room and later refined and finalized in the studio. For our first EP, the song structures were written by one of the band members and then brought to the rest of us and we would finalize it together. For this record, we wanted to write the material live and make it more raw. We entered the writing process with an emotion before conveying that idea in our instruments. Since I am the only member of the current line-up originally from the Middle East, I would conceptualize the ideas for each song, and my bandmates, Michael, Kevin, and Brenno, would then help morph these concepts into lyrics to go with the musical structures we sketched out. Fans can expect a completely different sound on this EP; we have incorporated much more than the typical metal line-up of instruments. I am very proud that we were able to track live instruments that give more of a traditional Middle Eastern sound to the record.

10. Could you share any insights into the meaning and inspiration behind your recent single, "UNDOING," which was self-released in October 2021?

“Undoing” marks the realization of a new age for the band. It talks about my experience with self-growth, and when recreating yourself, there are always old versions that try to come back and haunt you, hence the opening line of the song: “Still alive, I can’t find a knife that will flay your life in two”

11. How has the addition of new members, Michael Nolasco and Kevin McCombs, contributed to Esodic's revitalization and evolution of sound?

Having Michael and Kevin on my side, and later Brenno, has equipped the band with the right artillery for better execution and to force our unique sound onto the metal scene. These guys are focused and bring valuable individual tools to the table to create richer and stronger material for the near and far future.

12. Looking ahead, what are Esodic's goals and aspirations for the future, both musically and in terms of reaching a wider audience with your music and message?

Our main goal is to get out and perform our music live on tour and in festivals. We want to not only showcase our new format and sound, but also really bring attention to the plights of the Middle East. Hope to see you all from the stage soon.

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