Back in 2006 and 2007, there was a thriving metal scene here in Kuwait. There were around 6 live concerts full of local metal bands playing covers, and they were usually sold out, and it was pretty awesome. But, it’s all dead and gone now.

One of the main sites that used to be the information hub for all things metal going on in kuwait, the q8 metal forum, is dead. There hasn’t been a post since last year, and there are posts in sections dating back 2 years back!!!

One day, someone came onto the forum and asked, “why is the scene dead like this?” Well, I answered him.

This is my own perspective based on facts and events that occurred back in 06/07. If you’d like to know a little history about the metal scene, or in fact why most music scenes don’t survive here in Kuwait, then take a read:

Let’s be honest here.

There is absolutely no denying that the scene is dead. There is no support and I fully agree with you there. More support is needed and more fans of metal music need to help out with all the q8metal and live stuff and everything! 

But let’s not kid ourselves.

People are controlling. People are selfish. People will do what they want to benefit themselves before they try to benefit you. Who are the people who organized the metal shows back in 06/07 and how did they know and get the bands that played in those concerts? Friends. They were all pretty much close friends. When there’s a tight network of friends it’s extremely hard to get into that friend circle. These friends of the organizers were the bands that played in the concerts and that’s why a lot of the same bands played in the concerts that went on. 

So these bands who were friends with the organizers got into the concerts without a second thought by the organizers. What about other bands? They were rejected from getting into the concerts over stupid reasons just because the bill was already full with the bands that the organizers already promised would get them into the shows. Ever wonder why half the bands who played in the shows didn’t even play metal music??? Gee, wonder why?!

Now you may be thinking.. wtf? Bullshit, “You’re telling lies”. Well, I’m not cause I was a part of one of the bands that tried to get into the shows. You may remember a certain band on the old site called “Diminuendo.” I was the lead guitarist and vocalist in that band. We had a playlist of over 10 covers and 4 original songs that we were ready to play. Practiced for over a year and all of us were masters of our instruments. We were completely ready and confident with ourselves that we could perform in the shows. 

I talked with one of the organizers of a summer show that happened in 2007 and he said we won’t be put into the show. I asked why, he said because we only have 3 members. Yep, that was the reason lol…I was pissed. Just a stupid reason because their friends we’re already promised into the shows. He promised me to get us into the next show and he never called me back. Every time I called he never answered.

Anyways, these same bands play the same songs over and over and over. 1 concert… 2 concerts… 3 concerts… without much variation. It got really old really quickly. Why do the kuwaiti people want to listen to the same bands play the same covers without much differences over and over and on top of all of that paying out of their own pocket? People got bored of it. Plus to be honest some of the bands were pretty horrible/changed members constantly and had little practice so their performances sucked. 

So people lost interest. Most of the band members were in High School and decided to go to the states/abroad to study so a lot of bands just dissolved. The organizers of the shows lost their friends and then decided to just stop doing the shows as often as they were happening back in 06/07. 

Q8metal was left dry. New guys came in to take control of Q8Metal. A bunch of the guys who ran the original Q8metal left for other countries because of their frustration with the apparent situation and stupid shit going on with the metal scene here. 

The new owners that came in tried to revitalize the community by interviewing local bands (of which me and my band mates were interviewed). The guy who was doing that even hosted a q8metal acoustic show at his own house (of which I went to). But after that it kind of all went downhill. I traveled to the states to study myself, but constantly checked out the q8metal forums and realized how dead it was. For the past 3 years it’s been dead and still to this day it’s dead. No one wants to go through the bullshit with the ministry and bullshit with the where the stage is going to be and talking to the vendors. Hey, that’s probably why a lot of the organizers of the shows back in 06/07 only let their friends into the shows. Why after they slaved so hard to get the ministry approval and stage would they let unknown bands play in the concerts? 

There’s no confidence and support for local talent not only from the fans, but also from the organizers of the shows. And hell how can you complain? Why would you trust a band you don’t know when instead you could trust your friends to give a predictable show and get a decent audience size. Sad thing is people got sick of it and a lot less people started showing up which meant all stuff they had to go through to get the show to run wasn’t even being worth it anymore. Then people started leaving to study abroad etc. etc. 

Anyways that’s how I feel about the whole situation. Overall, for the Kuwait metal scene to be re-sparked we not only need fans and support, but we also need organizers that care about the music scene in Kuwait instead of the amount of money in their pockets.