Interview Dune

Delve into the inspirations behind 'Years of Chains' with Dune. From Saudi urban legends to personal struggles, explore the EP's dark journey in our exclusive interview.

1. Your EP "Years of Chains" is set to release soon. Can you give us some insight into the themes and inspirations behind the music and lyrics on this album?
Years of chains covers multiple aspects of our culture and life matters, as we explore some of the Saudi urban legends and dive deep into personal issues that inspire our writing and music feel.
2. Dune has been through various phases since its formation in 2004, including a hiatus. How has the band evolved musically and personally over the years leading up to this EP?
When the band first started we were exploring the style of our music since though were all metal heads and each of us had certain metal genres that influenced each member, we were at our peak musically till we had to go through hiatus, There has been lots of phases during the hiatus period as each member been through different paths, some of us got married and got kids, some left music at that period, while some have been on a musical journey joining other bands and different genres exploration
After the cultural changes in Saudi and the revival of the music scene and Metal during the period of the Saudi vision, we made our comeback in 2020 with some new members in the band ( the guitarist and drummer ) since our ex-drummer moved to the States and ex-guitarist moved to another city, since our come back we have never stopped from that time and been like fright train burning everything on our path.
3. "Sieve" serves as the introductory track on the EP. What message or atmosphere were you aiming to create with this song?
The song starts with a very ominous and dreadful  bass line along with guitar effects to introduce the journey of the EP and gives the feel of something bad is about to happen which exactly introduces the song's subject being the antichrist's arrival and the horrifying things that he will do ( the song speaks in his tongue )
4. "Reject" is described as a groovy song with a dark story. Could you elaborate on the narrative or message conveyed in this track?
Though Reject name and feel at the first parts of the song would give you a feel that the song is about being a reject or a relationship reject , it actually speaks about an urban legend in saudi particularly in Riyadh , there is a small graveyard with only 7 graves and the there is no door to enter and it is letterally in the middle of city towers , sky scrapers and advanced buildings, the story goes that there was an apartments building at that location and at one of the apartments found 7 dead bodies with unknown cause of death ( guys and girls ) , when they were buried for some reasons their bodies were found  thrown out of the graves  , and it happened every time they get buried, the case was taken to a religious shaikh for advise and mentioned that great evil was upon these souls and they died while something really bad and evil was being practiced, he advised that the land is rejecting them and only way is to bury them at the same spot they were found , based on this  the building was demolished and they were buried at that spot .
We have gone to that graveyard and actually jumped over the wall to look at it and get a feel of the story ( around 2004 )
Truth or just urban legend, its a very interesting story and we felt to speak about what they saw in their last moments and looking at the face of death taking their souls

5. "Insidious" delves into deep personal matters. Can you share a bit about the emotions and experiences that influenced the creation of this song?
Insidious is a journey that presents personal struggles in relation to toxic people and the pain caused
6. "Refuge" is highlighted as a song with punching music and demonic verses. What inspired the aggressive tone and lyrical content of this track?
Refuge is basically a story of a guy who’s dying, stuck in a hospital on a death bed. The truth is he is dealing with demonic possession and everyone thinks that he is sick and no one knows this truth but him, the demon takes over at the final part of the song and ends his life
7. The EP artwork is quite striking, representing struggles and a spiral into darkness. How does this visual representation tie into the overall themes of "Years of Chains"?
The artwork which was made by our Bassist shows how all of the issues and stories are pouring into someone's head till it’s overdosed and overflowing from the eyes and mouth.
8. Could you share a memorable moment or experience from the recording process of this EP?
The recording was fun and so many funny moments we were having, also there was the stress of the process, for example, we recorded refuge and after all of the work was done we have lost the files due to a technical issue and we had to redo the whole song all over again.
9. Dune's sound is described as a fusion of thrash metal with influences like Djent, Nu-Metal, Oriental, and Groove metal. How do these diverse influences come together to create your unique sound?
Dune is a Thrash metal band with a different flavor, While we can say that all of the band members are thrash metal fans, each one likes and is influenced by other metal styles, for example, our guitars are into djent and our bassist is more of nu metal guy, each member is adding spices to the thrashcore of the songs

10. What are some challenges you've faced as a band, and how have you overcome them, particularly during the years leading up to the release of "Years of Chains"?
Time has always been the biggest problem juggling between our day jobs, family, and the band.
Also, recording was a struggle years ago looking for a capable studio to produce such kind of music
11. Looking ahead, what are your goals and aspirations for Dune, both in terms of musical growth and live performances?
As the EP is planned release on  31st May,  We are planning on multiple gigs in different cities and might tour to other GCC countries and venues, also the EP completion is only the beginning as we have so much more to come and already working on multiple new originals and some are already completed and in the recording phase.

We have the passion and we do enjoy playing music so much and there is so much in our chaotic baggage to let out.

DUNE | Instagram | Linktree