Interview: ANOMIC

I had the pleasure to conduct an interview with Raaf Atasi, the man behind Anomic, which recently signed with Wormholedeath Records for the release of Anomic’s debut EP Opacity, and talked about the EP theme, upcoming new album, and other plans ahead of Anomic. More, Raaf discussed his involvement with other metal bands (Pitchfork, Onkt, Paindemonium), also, he opened up about the Middle East metal scene topic, explaining the actual situation from there.

Welcome to Antichrist, Raaf, it’s my pleasure having you here. At first, let’s begin with Anomic, where your first EP Ocapity has been released, and you have also signed with Wormholedeath Records in order to release this. A ”short” EP, with a strong sound, what’s the EP about?
Hello Carla, thanks for having me, it’s a pleasure. Yes, we are very happy with the release of the EP Opacity and for singing to Wormholedeath Records for the re-issuing of it later this month. The EP is a thrash-death metal assault that deals with different themes. I wanted to tackle various topics from societal and political issues to internal problems such as insanity and morbidity. But generally speaking, the themes are dark and they reflect a negative outlook I personally hold towards humanity. And I try to zoom in on the consequences of our negative behavior and how that impacts everything on the planet, including our own fate as a species.

When was Anomic actually born?
It was in August 2023 right after I left the German thrash metal band War Agenda, and I wanted to form my own thrash metal band, but I added the death metal factor to add more variety to the sound.

And for Anomic, you teamed up with studio engineer, Fadi Massamiri.
Yes, Fadi is an old friend of mine from the Syrian metal scene. He’s a multi-instrumentalist and he also produces, mixes, and masters. I originally contacted him to mix and master the EP, and I told him there was a vacancy for a bassist and a second vocalist in the band if he would be interested, and he was. So he joined in and was the perfect match for the band, and his production is top-notch as well.

Since you have signed the record deal with Wormholedeath, what was Opacity‘s response from the media, fans, and the ones who just discovered the Anomic?
The response has been really great. We started getting good feedback since we started releasing the singles. And we felt we were doing something right. And after singing with WHD, more people in the metal scene and the media started taking notice and, so far, all the feedback we got was pretty positive. So we’re very satisfied with the process.

Is there a new Anomic album on the way?
Yes, there is, and it’d also be distributed with WHD in 2025 physically and digitally.

Can you briefly explain the story of the upcoming album, and how’s the recording process of it going?
The album has a theme, it’s not a story per se, but the songs are indeed connected via a thematic thread. The album tackles the system under which we live and how our behavior is affected by it. I described the system to be the spider’s web that spreads in various directions in order to increase the chances for the spider to catch the prey. The system we live under is also diffused in every area of our lives. It permeates everything. Every song on the album shows an area where the system has its long arms far deep. The pharma industry, the media, the weapons industry, etc. And consequently, what this constant systematic bombardment transforms people into. After the system is done feeding, we basically become hollow shells.

Touring-wise, what plans do you have with Anomic? Will you keep this band as a studio project?
No, we definitely want to play live. We are discussing with a Dutch booking agency Creappp to play at their Noordschock festival in May, which will feature God Dethroned as a headliner. The only problem we are facing now is finding a permanent drummer. I’ve been auditioning and contacting a few people but nothing is solid yet. We even had a show planned in January, but I didn’t think we would make it so I outsourced the show to the other band I play with Pitchfork. Hoping that until May we have at least a guest drummer to fill in for that show. And we wanna do more shows of course, especially after finishing the new album, which is already almost fully composed and 80% recorded. So fingers crossed it all works out the way it’s planned.

You’re involved with other metal bands: Pitchfork, Paindemonium, and Onkt too, what can you tell me about your contribution to each band?
That’s right. Paindemonium is my oldest band of the bunch. I co-founded the band in Egypt back in 2007 with second guitarist/vocalist Mohamed Salama, and we released an EP in 2010 before we disbanded due to the situations in the Middle East that arose. On that EP, I played guitar and vocals, as did Salama. We both recorded bass for the songs and programs on the drums. Right now, I’m the guitarist and vocalist of the band and I wrote all the lyrics/concepts for the new album. As for Pitchfork, I’m the lead guitarist and possibly will do backing vocals on stage. And finally, I’m the vocalist for Onkt, which was the last band I joined a couple of months ago. As for the plans, with Paindemonium, we released 2 singles from the upcoming album, which should drop in 2025. For Pitchfork, we released a single from our first upcoming EP. And like I said we have a show or 2 planned for the band. As for Onkt, we are practicing the setlist they have so that we would be ready to perform live, and we are working on some new music, but nothing has been finalized yet.

Raaf, you’re from the Middle East, we all know that being in a metal band from that area can be hard due to war, religion, and political views, and the risk of getting forbidden is high. I know a few examples, harsh ones, but speaking about yourself, what’s your take on this?
Well, it was pretty harsh in terms of being a forbidden form of music because it’s so foreign to the culture. Whether in Egypt or Syria, my friends and I have been to prison multiple times because of this music. We get accused of so many things like satanism, or planning to overthrow the government, and being funded by foreign countries. You name it. It was fucking ridiculous because we were broke. If we were funded we would have had the best and biggest shows ever. But we played some small local theaters where we knew that the next day, someone would be knocking on our doors for investigation. What made it worse was that we didn’t have any real media outlet for metal. No magazines, labels, booking agencies, none of that. We did our own advertising and management. We booked our own venues and shows. There were a few metal stores that sold bootleg tapes and those were the most precious places ever. But even those guys were always under investigation and being shut down and they re-open to go through it all over again. I hope it’s better now for the remaining metalheads and the new generations in the Middle East. I would assume that the governments there have more on their minds at the moment than to focus on arresting metalheads.

You’re now living in Holland, but was it difficult for you to relocate, and even integrate with the European metal scene?
I think it was inevitable at some point that my friends and I would relocate here or the US or whatever. As anything else, you start from scratch and build up a life. It takes some time to get used to, but it’s worth it in my opinion. As for the European metal scene, it took some time for people to start recognizing me. I go to shows a lot and I see the same people and they see me. We started saying hello and whatnot and became friends on FB and Instagram.  You start making real friends and expand and integrate. And with the music I have been releasing, and being in 4 bands definitely helps keep a form of consistent presence. That’s always good.

Let’s say you were lucky, but many, unfortunately, are still stuck in their countries, still having high hopes that there’d be more freedom to express themselves through music, more, and more, someday.
I’ll speak here for the countries in which I lived. As I said earlier, as government vs metal goes, the governments now have bigger issues to pay attention to. They found themselves in war after war for over a decade now. So the pressure of looking a certain way or wearing band shirts in public has diminished according to my friends who still live in Egypt and Syria. But of course, the circumstances there suck. And it’s getting more hopeless by the day. And I truly hope that all the musicians over there can find some hope and motivation because I know they lack it at this point. And I know how frustrating it can be. I left the Middle East in my mid-30s and so much time was wasted. I certainly hope that music can be their outlet even on a local level. Metal has meant more to us than music, it was fucking revolution. And I know it will always be to anyone who lives the life of an underdog. Metal represents them and their struggle. I just hope they stay motivated and to never give up.

There are bands coming from the Middle East, quite many, but as I said earlier, there’s a risk they might be forbidden in their area, mostly religiously and politically speaking, and that’s the harsh story.
The level of strictness varies in the Middle East. Some countries (like Saudi Arabia) are more conservative than countries like Syria for example. Syria is a secular republic, not a kingdom, fundamentally. So in countries like Syria, religion was not the main reason why the government arrests metalheads. There are religious people within the country sure, but it is more about being the black sheep of the family and being culturally alien in looks and behavior. Plus the satanic stigma and the intent to organize a coup, and you have a full-blown case against them. I lived in Saudi Arabia for 9 years when I was a kid, and it is one of the most conservative countries in the world. However, I started listening to metal and buying original tapes from SA. Metallica played SA., Cryptopsy played SA., and more bands are coming to play soon. I find it extremely contradictory and weird how no one is consistent over there. The secular countries prevent metal. The religious conservative allows it and allows bands to perform in their country, while people cannot discuss religion at all. It is considered pure blasphemy. In Syria, there was never an international metal band that performed there, but you can curse and blaspheme all the time. The point is, that risk is relative to the country’s politics.

To end this interview, is there anything you’d like to add? Thanks a lot for your time!
As always, support the underground, buy their merch and CDs, and follow their socials, every bit helps. Thank you for having us!

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