Interview with Ahl Sina’s Guitarist, Ex Composer and Sand Aura’s founder Shung

Interview with Ahl Sina’s Guitarist, Ex Composer and Sand Aura’s founder Shung 

By: Rana Atef 

Originally published on 5/6/2018 at 6:38

A known and respectful name that each Egyptian Metalhead knows, one of the rare professional Egyptian guitar stars that enhances the scene with his various, and phenomenal projects such as Sand Aura, Chronicles of Eternity and Beyond East. He is not only enriches the Egyptian Metal music with his unforgotten oriental tunes, but he added to Egypt’s Metal record sub-genres that Egypt’s Metal Scene had never known before, as Atmospheric/Black Doom back in 2007. 

The Egyptian Metal Archive had the chance to set an interview with Shung, who is currently combinines forces with Ahl Sina through its comeback album 

Q1- Firstly, thank you for giving me the chance for this interview, you participated in founding a big number of Metal bands in Egypt since 2000, such as Sand Aura, Chronicles of Eternity, Beyond East and others, and now you are participating in Ahl Sina’s comeback album alongside the leading Egyptian Metal vocalist Moustafa Ali, what are the main concepts of Ahl Sina’s album?

A- You are welcome Rana, and I do really appreciate your efforts for making the Egyptian Scene having this kind of communication and awareness, And thanks for giving me the chance to speak here.

Firstly, Me and Mstafa Ali are close friends and brothers back to 1997, and we begun to co-operate musically back to 2006 in one of the Earliest phases of Beyond East Project, and I believe that Ahl Sina is the natural extension for Beyond East as we both had the same concept need to deliver.

Our Main musical and lyrical theme along our journey is to express who we are through the History, and give a good awareness to "the other" that there's no other in matter fact, it is just a very good and rich difference of the human's experience that we shall all get the benefits of it on Earth, not to fight because. 

To reach that point we need to start to express and explain ourselves first.

In Ahl Sina this concept had been addressed with the most professional and beautiful effective lyrics writing, which had motivated me to go on with this experience, and try to address the music writing in the same level, "Hopefully" 

Q2- as you announced on Ahl Sina’s official Facebook page that the music will be mainly oriental with Symphonic lines, what are your main influences in the process of writing?

A- Yes, and exactly it's Mainly Traditional Egyptian taste addressed into the Classic Old-school Extreme Metal sound, covered by the Classic music Rules, Just to give it the chance to be accepted and sounded unique for the Western ears to serve delivering the message the max.

My main influences from the Egyptian Great Musicians are:

Ammar Al Share'ey, Ahmad Moneeb, Mohamad Abdel-Wahhab, Mohammad Fawzy and many others but those are the main influences

From the Extreme Metal side are:

Ammorphis, Haggard, Orphaned Land, Therion, "The Old" My Dying Bride and many others.

Q3- currently Moustafa Ali is in Germany, and he has good relations with a lot of German bands, moreover, Germany has leading experience and sound in Metal music industry, Do you have the chance for employing the German experience within Ahl Sina’s album?

A- Yes, Indeed We are having German members who had recorded already our music and they of-course had their own touch and taste such as the Bassist "Marcel Hauptmann" one of the best and expert bass player in Germany, and the Violin player, and they were extremely happy playing our music and having such an experience to sound Egyptian and keeping there own musical culture strongly matched in the same time.

And I need to say that our Violin player "Stefanie Pfaffenzeller" the lead of the Strings section in Frankfurt Symphony Orchestra, has no experience before with Metal Music nor Egyptian, and she sounded like an Egyptian 100% in some parts and as an old-school Gothic or Doom Metal musician in other parts, and that was fantastic.

And Also I need to mention our great Egyptian/American drummer "Shaadie E Khoury" who known with "Shaddie Eric" one of the first Egyptian Metal musicians back to the early 90's and gave us the honor to join the project and adding all the experience and efforts he had to make this record sounds real and professional, come along with the Egyptian fantastic musicians "Amr El Zanaty" on Percussion and "Ahmed Eskandrany" the known as one of the best Egyptian Nai player and both of them are from the first early members of Ahl Sina in 2011.

I am honored co-operating with such musical treasures.

Q4- How did you choose the new line up of Ahl Sina?

A- It wasn't a choice or a selection to be honest, It was Ahl Sina's Fate, The way that each and every member joined was from above.

Q5- So, I need to take you back a little bit, specifically Sand Aura Phase, this band was really one of the most successfully metal bands, Why did you stop the bands’ progress, although you announced few years ago that there is a new album in progress?

A- Sand Aura was a great experience, by the time I was working in writing the second album I had to quit the music for good, and I stopped playing guitar even for 3 years and a half, 

When "Moustafa Ali" and "Amr El Zanaty" had a serious step to record the first album for Ahl Sina they forced me to be on the track again writing music to complete the album and arrange it preparing to record, and here I am.

Q6- Based on your experience, How do you see the Egyptian Metal Scene now?

A- It is the same Beautiful scene, free and true young men and women have all the power and motive to live and learn, have all the courage to be who they are, have the ability to see the dark side beauty and sing out-loud no matter what.

Q7- How do you evaluate the rising Egyptian Metal bands such as Mythos, Infernum Expectat, Maddox Theory, Catharsis?

It is the natural rising of such a Metal scene, Egyptian Metal scene has all the facts and elements to produce in the rich way, I don't want to mention a specific band's because most of them are great, unique and true, and this richness from the early 90's it is not a new thing, just the social media and the Digital technology made it faster and reachable.

Q8- Regarding the issue of Metal concerts in Egypt, in your point of view, What are the points of weakness in the Metal concerts in Egypt or what are the problems that the organizers really face?

In Egypt where we are having main concerns about the Freedom issues and Human Rights!

All the organizers in Egypt starting from the 90's till today with all their mistakes and failures are doing a great job.

When every event is better than before and avoids an old mistake, it is naturally will be perfect one day, don't forget that there's no sponsors for Metal events, and it is mainly passion much more than a business, the same thing for the musicians.

Q9- Any exclusive news for The Egyptian Metal Archive?

Sure, here's one for you,

Jane Elliott the known American anti-racism activist and diversity educator approved to join "Troops of Pain" Ahl Sina's next album with her famous anti-racism speech.

Thank you again Shung for this interview, and guys stay tuned for Ahl Sina’s album