Motör Militia
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 Picture of the band's last known lineup, shot circa July 2004 for their debut album, The Sound of Violence
From left to right: Salem Sulaibikh, Abdulla Muijrers, Mahmood Abdul Ghaffar, and Yousef Hatlani. |
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| Background information | ||
| Origin | Saar, Bahrain | |
| Genre(s) | Thrash Metal/Heavy Metal | |
| Years active | 2001-Present (on hiatus) | |
| Label(s) | SandStorms Records | |
| Members | ||
| Mahmood Abdul Ghaffar - Vocals / Bass Yousef Hatlani - Guitars Abdulla Muijrers - Drums |
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| Former members | ||
| Salem Sulaibikh - Live Guitarist Mohammmed Bukannan - Guitars Khalifa Kamal - Guitars Amer BuHussain - Guitars |
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Motör Militia is a Bahraini Heavy Metal and Thrash Metal band, noted for their influential status as the "First ever Thrash Metal band in the Gulf / Middle East area to record and release a full length album of original material"[1], and also "the second ever local Metal band in Bahrain over the last 20+ years to record and release a full length album of original material on an independent label"[2].
Prior to their formation and career decisions, the palette of many local Heavy Metal groups in the Bahraini music community consisted largely of cover songs, with very few--if any--bands recording and releasing their own material through albums over the span of more than 20 years[3], since the 1980s. In addition, locally organized DIY concerts were few and far between, with the only outlet for Heavy Metal and Hard Rock groups consisting of Bahraini nationals being corporate sponsored events and competitions.
However, around 2003, this changed when Motör Militia built a strong following based on word of mouth promotion in their local and neighbouring Middle Eastern music communities. At the same time, members of the group began interacting with many other bands in their music community, organizing DIY Heavy Metal and Hard Rock concerts at a pace faster than previously realized. This, in addition to the band's decision to play sets consisting almost entirely of original material (and subsequently recording and releasing it), influenced many local groups to do the same--helping to strengthen the local Heavy Metal scene of the country and pave the way for future generations of local musical groups.
Popular for their atypical cover song selections, energetic live shows, and original compositions, the band remains well known in Middle Eastern Heavy Metal and Hard Rock music communities--despite performing in a total of only 10 [4] concerts in their known career. They remain on hiatus since their last performance in July 2004, due to "the members individually serving college time in different countries"[5].
[edit] History
[edit] Early Days (2001)
The band formed in mid-2001 under the name Black Star[6], when three High School students by the names of Abdulla Muijrers, Amer BuHussain, and Mahmood Abdul Ghaffar decided to create a group based on their similar musical tastes, and also to make up for the dearth of Heavy Metal and Hard Rock musicians in their school--Ibn Khuldoon National School, a K-12 institution located in Isa Town, Bahrain.
Muijrers, a fifteen year-old Dutch-Bahraini drummer who had been playing since 1997 [7], had recently quit the instrument in late 1999--until September 2001; when he met Ghaffar, another fifteen year-old who had started playing bass earlier that year and recently moved in to the country from Washington, D.C., through his high school's Guitar Club. Abdulla was subsequently inspired by Mahmood's ability to play bass and sing at the same time to take up his role as a drummer again[8].
Following this encounter, a friend of theirs in the same grade, a keyboardist turned guitarist named Amer BuHussain, met with the two students and decided to share his admiration for the same musical genres with the others by proposing to form a band. Engaging in their similar tastes, they soon began to jam together--performing primarily Black Sabbath and Motörhead covers.
As Black Star, they performed in a total of one[9] concert: Their high school's first annual talent show in June of 2002--an event itself proposed to the school by Muijrers. Their setlist consisted of one song; an original composition which was intertwined with a combination of various songs by Heavy Metal groups the members were influenced by, such as One by Metallica, Peace Sells by Megadeth, and Crazy Train by Ozzy Osbourne. The performance was well received, and caught the attention of another guitarist in their school who also shared a liking for their genre of music--a student in their grade by the name of Khalifa Kamal. Kamal joined the group shortly thereafter, making them a four-piece lineup for the first time.
The lineup, however, did not perform for the rest of the year--due to collectively increased focus on their schoolwork, as well as BuHussain himself losing interest in guitar playing. Instead, they jammed occasionally, with Muijrers and Mahmood remaining serious about their musical endeavours.
[edit] New Lineup with a New Name (January 2003)
By January 2003, the interest guitarists BuHussain and Kamal once had in the band was waining. Regardless, the band opted to perform at another of their school's events being held later in the month: "Sports Day"[10], an annual occasion that dedicates an entire day to sporting events and competitions. Although the event is usually held in a large soccer pitch located in the high school, this time was an exception, in that it was held in the significantly larger Bahrain National Stadium--thus allowing room for the band to perform.
At the same time, a 15 year-old Arab-American guitarist in their school named Yousef Hatlani voiced his own interest in performing at the event to the school's music teacher--as a soloist, however, as he was unaware of Black Star at the time. After talking about his proposition, he was told that a band was already slated to be performing that day. Intrigued, he asked for more information about the band, at which point the teacher gave him drummer Abdulla Muijrers' phone number[11].
Out of his interest in performing, Hatlani did not hesitate to call--also knowing that the event was only a few weeks away and that it was already well into the beginning of January. As he called, Muijrers mentioned that the group already had two other guitarists, but that they wouldn't mind seeing him play--seeing as the two found mutual agreement in their musical tastes, and--not ostensibly--that the group was in need of a more dedicated guitar player. Yousef showed up for his first jam session with the group, and the band members were immediately impressed with both his equipment and with the intensity he portrayed musically[12]. He was speedily admitted into the band in due to his dedication, despite the time period being the midst of their rehearsal sessions.
As he was admitted, however, both BuHussain and Kamal suddenly quit--primarily due to the atrophy of their musical interests. The band continued to rehearse undeterred as a three-piece, solidifying what would become their core lineup; with Mahmood on bass guitar and vocals, Yousef on both rhythm and lead guitar, and Muijrers on drums.
It was also around this time that Muijrers and Mahmood had decided to rename the group in light of their new lineup. Their decision on a name came in a conversation over the phone: Mahmood had previously nicknamed Muijrers "motor" for his double bass grooves[13], and the two of them had decided on using that as the first part of their name. After not being able to come up with anything useful, Muijrers suggested pairing it with the word "militia"--a decision brought on by him listening to the Metallica song Metal Militia at the time. The two quickly decided on the name "Motör Militia", taking to heart the meaning behind it: "Army of Speed". The umlaut was added later as a tribute to another of the duo's favorite bands: Motörhead.
[edit] Sports Day and the Powerhorse Mega Jam (January - February 2003)
Following very productive jam sessions, the band performed their first gig under the Motör Militia name on January 21st, 2003 at Sports Day to great acclaim from the students and faculty alike. Their setlist, however, did not reflect the full-on Thrash metal sound that the band would soon develop. Instead, it consisted of an early, slower version of "End of Days", another original named "Holocaust", a cover of Audioslave's Cochise, and a jam of Jimi Hendrix's Voodoo Child (Slight Return). Although it was planned to end the set with a cover of Slayer's Angel of Death, the band grudgingly packed up their equipment early after a student left an opened water bottle on the edge of one of the school's amplifiers they were using for the performance; an event that could have effectively ruined the piece of equipment and caused an electrical hazard.
Having established their presence in their high school, the band continued to jam every week--strengthening the lineup that had thus far only been together for less than a month. One Thursday in February, as the band was jamming a couple weeks after Sports Day, Muijrers had read in the newspaper about a competitive gig called the "Powerhorse Mega Jam"[14] that was taking place the next day--on Friday, February 14th. Feeling it was too late to audition at first, he then noticed that the event was taking place at a local go-kart circuit named Rally Town that was minutes away from his house. Because the band already had a full setlist of covers rehearsed, they got in their car and quickly rushed to the location in hopes of landing an audition.
As they got there, they were eventually told by officials that there was no problem with them performing at the gig. However, they would have to go on as the last local group before the Powerhorse band, a group of local English and Filipino musicians put together by the management especially for this event, took the stage. The band agreed, willing to perform, and then auditioned a cover of Motörhead's "Ace of Spades".
The gig, however, revealed that the band did not rehearse enough for the event; missing many cues and generally not playing the songs well. In addition, there was a five minute power outage during the middle of their set that took away from their twenty-five minute time limit. Undeterred by the problems, the group then played Ace of Spades as the unintended last song of their six song set. The band then attempted to again cover Slayer's Angel of Death as the next and last song of their setlist. However, before they were able to announce it, they were told by the officials that their time limit was up, and that they had to leave the stage. Mahmood Abdul Ghaffar announced to the crowd their song selection, and was responded to with acclaim. After the group continued to argue with the officials, they angrily packed up their stuff and left.
[edit] The Second Annual Ibn Khuldoon Talent Show (March - June 2003)
A month after the Mega Jam gig, the band decided to get a second guitarist in hopes of expanding their sound. It did not take them very long to find one, though, as they quickly asked their friend and senior Ibn Khuldoon student Mohamed Bukannan[15] to fill in for the time being. Bukannan, who had not being playing guitar for very long, agreed to the offer; and the group expanded into a four piece for the second time. The band then continued to rehearse for the upcoming high school Talent Show, which was months away. Despite this, it was apparent that Bukannan's inexperience was not meshing very well with the band, and the band decided to keep looking for a permanent second guitarist while keeping Bukannan temporarily.
Some months later, in June, Muijrers asked childhood friend and fellow musician Salem Sulaibikh to join the band permanently, as he was impressed by his lead guitar skills. He agreed quickly, additionally impressing both Mahmood and Yousef with his abilities.
[edit] Friendly Violent Fun (June - October 2003)
[edit] Growing Popularity (November 2003 - January 2004)
[edit] Friendly Violent Fun 2 and 'Thrash On Ice' (February - March 2004)
[edit] Rock Issues, Underground Asylum, and a Record Deal (April 2004)
[edit] 'Satanism In Bahrain': Allegations of Satanism in the Media (April - June 2004)
[edit] The Sound of Violence (June - July 2004)
[edit] Friendly Violent Fun 3 and Beyond (July 2004 - Present)
[edit] Discography
| Album Cover | Date of Release | Title |
|---|---|---|
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July 22, 2004 | The Sound of Violence |
