After a long period of work and time invested in making the demo, it was time for Oblivion to release it, so they decided to do so in an event featuring two of Lebanon’s top bands; Sphere and Metamorphism.
The first band that started the event was Sphere. These guys are known for playing classic rock covers, and they play them well. However, the great thing about them is how they play the songs with intensity and passion as if they were their own. Their set included songs like “Don’t Talk To Strangers” by Dio, and “Gates of Babylon” by Rainbow. The overall sound was great during the first song, however it lost some of its quality after one of the sound engineers started to fiddle with the mixer, but that wasn’t terrible. The vocals were great, and so were the guitar solos which combined both feelings and flawless technique. The band ended their set with an improvised instrumental, with nothing but the agreed-on chord progression, while the rest was “composed” on stage. Amadeus Awad, the band’s guitarist, proved that he’s one of the best around with his well-executed solos and tasteful riffs. This showed the band members’ chemistry and experience; so overall, Sphere put on a great show.
Next up was Oblivion, the main band of the event. The band split their set in two; the first half included the covers, which were classics such as “Electric Eye”, ‘Breaking the Law”, “Metal Gods”, and “Living After Midnight” by Judas Priest, “NIB” by Black Sabbath, and finally, “Rock You Like a Hurricane” by Scorpions. The band played the songs well with no mistakes whatsoever, but the people were there to hear the originals. Most of the attendees are familiar with Oblivion’s material, but the ones that watched them for the first time were left with a good impression about the band. The originals the band played included “Bring My Soul Tonight”, “Flying High”, “Misc”, and “Dollared Lady”. The high pitches, the fast bass lines, the flashy solos, and the intense drumming contributed to the band’s great performance. However, two little accidents occurred: both the bassist and the guitarist lost a string during the performance; still those were quickly taken care of. Overall, the band performed very well, and their sound was alright, but had a bit too much bass at times.
Last but not least, Metamorphism hit the stage. This was their last performance to mainly involve covers, so they decided to cover some of the best songs in heavy metal history including “War Pigs” and “Symptom Of The Universe” by Black Sabbath, “Fear of the Dark”, “Wicker Man”, and “Hallowed Be Thy Name” by Iron Maiden, “Holy Wars” by Megadeth, and ended their set with an original. The performance was great, and Rafi’s vocals were perfect; he nailed all the pitches accurately. The solos seemed clean, however they weren’t heard most of the time because all the other instruments were louder. In general, the band had a great performance.
To sum it all up, the event was a successful one for all three bands, especially Oblivion since they finally released their awaited demo EP, which was definitely an important milestone in the band’s career.
