VOICE OF THE SOUL – Melodic Death Metal from Middle Eastern Metal Scene

Brief History 2007-2011

Voice of the Soul started in Kuwait in October 2007 with 15 year-old Kareem (Lebanon) on guitar and a constantly changing lineup. After playing a few small shows, the band joined the Q8 Battle of the Bands competition in 2008. Making it among the top 20 finalists and achieving 4th place and winning “best guitar” and “best bass”, the band found it was time to write originals. The lineup changed again, with current guitarist Monish Shringi (India) joining in August 2008, but on bass. By February 2009, it was only Monish and Kareem in the band, but they proceeded to recording the first EP, Winds of Apprehension, at Sarj’s Studios, which featured 3 originals and a cover of Death’s “Empty Words”. The EP was released in July 2009 and was well received regionally. Kareem left for college in the United States in August 2009, but he and Monish were determined to continue.
Slowly writing music and communicating through the Internet, the band recorded Eyes of Deceit EP at Sarj’s Studios in the summer of 2010 and released it in July 2010. The 4-tracked EP had only originals, and with
Monish leaving Kuwait to India early, the band’s friends from Black Well, Adam Benobeid and Ahmed Al Zubaidi, helped fill bass parts. Sarj, Voice of the Soul’s producer, sang on one track, “The Light That Never Shone”. After the release of Eyes of Deceit, Voice of the Soul go attention from more international media outlets. Also, Voice of the Soul completed their lineup for the first time in years with Ahmed Al-Zubaidi (Iraq) on bass guitar, Dubai-based Rana Rassouli on drums, creating a unique and multicultural lineup. Voice of the Soul also had the honor of featuring one track “Farewell to Hope” on Metality.net’s Compilation Album featuring Middle Eastern heavyweights, Nervecell, Scarab, and Bilocate, as well as other bands such as Daylight Dies, Demonic Resurrection, and Norther. In January 2011, Voice of the Soul rocked Dubai for the first time at Annihilation 5, soon after winning Middle East Metal Song of 2010 on Rockability Magzine. They entered the studio in May 2011 to record their third EP, Into Oblivion. In June, Voice of the Soul hit Dubai again to play two more shows featuring some new unreleased tracks. Into Oblivion EP is has 5 originals and 1 cover of At the Gates’ “Under a Serpent Sun”. The EP was premiered in August 2011 on Portugal’s SOS Heavy Metal Radio show in a special 2-hour feature. The EP is available on Voice of the Soul’s Bandcamp page as a free download or “pay as you like” option. In January 2012, Voice of the Soul hit Dubai again with new permanent drummer, Khalid Temimi. They
shared the stage with a number of bands from Dubai and Abu Dhabi, playing second to headliners, Perversion, the veteran technical death metal act.

Current Plans and Full Length 2012

After a successful show in Dubai with the new drummer, Khalid, Voice of the Soul are currently working on their first full length album. They are still in the writing and pre-production process, but with the reception received from Into Oblivion, it will definitely be a unique release. On February 23rd , 2012, Voice of the Soul signed an international promotions/management deal with Portugal-based Avantegarde Management, which manages many successful bands including Livarkahil (France) and Heavenwood (Portugal). The band is also releasing their official website soon and working on releasing a new line of merchandise. Of course, Voice of the Soul is constantly searching for more shows as well.

Current Lineup Contact and Pages:
Kareem Chehayeb – Guitar/Vocals
Monish Shringi – Guitar
Ahmed Al-Zubaidi – Bass Guitar
Khalid Temimi – Drums

votsband@gmail.com

Facebook: facebook.com/votsband
Youtube: Youtube.com/votsband
Twitter: Twitter.com/votsmetal
Bandcamp: Voiceofthesoul.bandcamp.com