''You are a ball of lint''
You are in Lebanon and the 15 year long civil war has ended. It's the early 90s and Beirut remains divided into East and West. While the Green Line, which slithered its way through the center of Beirut and served to separate the Christians in the East and the Muslims in the West, no longer exists, the scars are still there.
[[Go West]]You find yourself in Hamra, Beirut. Home to the American University of Beirut, the area is known as Beirut's Champs Elysées for its cosmopolitan values and French influence.
You drift into one of the jewels of Hamra: The Piccadilly Theater, where famous Lebanese singers such as Fairuz preform.
<img src="https://u.osu.edu/lebanonpunk/files/2022/04/267496_222507034456249_7859292_n.jpeg" width="590" height="408">
//Piccadilly Theater//
<img src="https://u.osu.edu/lebanonpunk/files/2022/04/tumblr_nwrr1hF7Ih1r4viuvo1_540.jpeg" width="540" height="429">
//Audio: Fairuz: Shu Beyb'a Min El Rewaieh (Fairuz at the Piccadilly - Nass Men Warak)//
[[Continue]]
<audio src="https://u.osu.edu/lebanonpunk/files/2022/04/Fairuz_-Shu-Beyba-Min-El-Rewaieh-Fairuz-at-the-Piccadilly-Nass-Men-Warak.mp3" autoplay loop>That was Hamra back in the 60s, before Israeli troops and then millitias wreaked havoc on as they fought over control of Beirut.
The Piccadilly theater was shut down in the mid-80s during the civil war as bands could not travel across the (text-colour:green)[[[Green Line]]] to preform and having shows became more dangerous.
<img src="https://u.osu.edu/lebanonpunk/files/2022/04/Screen-Shot-2022-04-27-at-11.13.55-AM.png" width="590" height="408">
You are here over a decade after the Piccadilly Theater shut down. While the buildings now may bear the scars of war, the liberalism found in Hamra still exists. You find yourself drifting towards a side-street of Hamra.
[[Keep drifiting]]You discover a small side-street off of Hamra's main road, known as the Alley.
There is a group of young people hanging out and you notice a some of them trading cassettes. You see a teen boy pocket a particullarly menancing-looking cassette.
Meanwhile, another group seem to be plotting something with excited hand movements that seem to depict air-guitar strumming.
//Audio: DETOX - The Alley//
[[Follow the boy with the cassette]]
[[Continue watching the group]]
<audio src="https://u.osu.edu/lebanonpunk/files/2022/04/Detox-The-Alley.mp3" autoplay>
The boy heads home and you see the cassette is a demo by local black metal band Ayat. The boy's name is Safa and his days of loving death metal have come to an end as he falls in love with Ayat's sacreligious howls in Arabic.
<img src="https://u.osu.edu/lebanonpunk/files/2022/08/ayat.jpeg" width="400" height="400">
Safa feels inspiration to make his own black metal band.
[[DAMAAR]]
[[Find AYAT]]
The group huddles around a spirited women who is sharing about her recent trip to France. Her name is Aida you learn after someone cheers her on. They are listening to one of the new cassettes she brought back from her time abroad.
<img src="https://u.osu.edu/lebanonpunk/files/2022/04/crass-cassette.jpeg" >
//Audio: Crass - Do They Owe Us a Living?//
It's "The Feeding Of The 5000" by the anarcho-punk English band Crass. The angry hollars and fast past song inspires the group. You see Aida's boyfriend Tex air-guitar along to the song. The group laughs along and join in on thrashing to the music.
As the impassioned group calms down, Aida and Tex talk about plans for their bands and start talking with interested people.
[[Follow Aida]]
[[Follow Tex]]
<audio src="https://u.osu.edu/lebanonpunk/files/2022/04/Do-They-Owe-Us-a-Living_.mp3" autoplay>
''In 2005, BEZENE is born''.
It self-labels as the first punk band in Lebanon with Aida on vocals, Nader on Guitar, and Roland on Drums.
[[follow]]
<audio src="https://u.osu.edu/lebanonpunk/files/2022/04/detox-surrounded-by-filth.mp3" autoplay>You follow Tex and see a building that was once a brothel, except it had not been used for that since the 80s. You see a "the Pavillion" spray painted onto one of the walls on the outside.
[[Enter THE PAVILLION]]You see a building that was once a brothel, except it had not been used for that since the 80s. You see a "the Pavillion" spray painted onto one of the walls on the outside.
[[The Pavillion]]
<audio src="https://u.osu.edu/lebanonpunk/files/2022/04/detox-the-system-fails-but-the-law-prevails.mp3" autoplay>(text-style:"bold","rumble")[A strong & strange wind has taken hold of you]
[[Okay]](text-style:"bold","rumble")[The strange wind seems to have come back]
[[Let the wind take you]] The first room appears to be a bar and is littered with old beer cans.
You keep following Tex down a hallway which has three doors, but because of how long you spent looking around, you lost track of Tex.
[[Go through door 1]]
[[Go through door 2]]
[[Go through door 3]]You find a group of 4 teenagers hanging out. A girl is painting her nails in the corner while the others seem to be laughing at some joke she just made.
Tex is not here, so you should try the other doors:
[[Go through door 2]]
[[Go through door 3]] You see a punk drummer, a death metal guitarist, and a thrash metal singer jamming out.
The scene is so small that the bands formed here are a a collection of whatever subgenres people are interested in. They are unified through a love of extreme music.
But, Tex is not here, so you should try the other doors:
[[Go through door 1]]
[[Go through door 3]] ''NIGHTCHAINS REHERSAL''
You find Tex jamming out on guitar, while a young man named Max screams. They are joined by DAMAAR's Nadim on bass and Nabil on drums, forming the band NIGHTCHAINS.
The group goes on to preform many wild and violent shows at the Pavillion.
They release their debut LB "Metal to the Bone" in 2005.
<img src="https://u.osu.edu/lebanonpunk/files/2022/04/40856_photo.jpeg" >
//Audio: Nightchains - Ecstasy//
[[The Pavillion]]
<audio src="https://u.osu.edu/lebanonpunk/files/2022/04/Nightchains-Ecstasy.mp3" autoplay>The venues on the East no longer welcome the likes of the Hamra scene due to different ethics. The East couldn't handle the wild and unrefined sounds of Hamra's inflammatory anti-religious black metal bands and their punk groups.
So, occupied in 2004, the Pavillion became the hub for DIY culture and creative subcultures in Hamra. The local metal and punk scenes in Hamra found a home.
<img src="https://u.osu.edu/lebanonpunk/files/2022/04/10391575_174856001911_2102091_n.jpeg" width="590" height="408">
//Aida and Nasser in the Pavillion//
Many killer shows with Damaar, Benzene, Nightchains and more are thrown!
//Audio: Damaar - Ode to Blasphemy (Onward to the Gates of Mekka)//
[[July, 2006]]
''JULY, 2006''
Bombs begin to rain down on Beirut as war breaks out between Israel and Hezbollah.
The Pavillion is abandoned as the Hamra scene has to part ways.
[[Damaar 2007]]
[[Aida and Tex 2007]]
[[The Pavillion 2007]]
//Video: NIGHTCHAINS - Where We Come From//
<video src="https://u.osu.edu/lebanonpunk/files/2022/04/Y2Mate.is-Nightchains-Where-We-Come-From-5LNwswJi8-480p-1651156148403.mp4" autoplay width="100%" controls type="video/mp4">''DAMAAR IS BORN''
It's 2004 and the band has begun to get to work.
Due to DAMAAR's anti-religious messaging, which is not just a mere taunt at the system, but a dangerous rallying cry against the religious groups which continue to fight over control of Lebanon.
They chose aliases to go under. Safa is now Nunrider and is in charge of guitar playing for DAMAAR. Nadim who is the vocalist and bassist chose the name 'Heathen'. His brother, Nabil plays drums and goes by 'Napalm'
Growing up in the state of never-ending, war, instabillity and within bomb shelters, DAMAAR's sound becomes morphed into a pure rage against war and violence and is not just a mere fantasy.
From its creation, DAMAAR was bullied by police for how they dressed and their connection to metal, which was deemed satanic.
A street punk named Tex befriends DAMAAR and recruits them to hang out at some place called The Pavillion.
You follow Tex.
[[Enter THE PAVILLION]]
//Audio: DAMAAR - Preaching for Mass Suicide//
<audio src="https://u.osu.edu/lebanonpunk/files/2022/04/Damaar-Preaching-For-Mass-Suicide.mp3" autoplay>''DAMAAR split up once the war begins''
DAMAAR's whereabouts are unknown, but they release their 19 minute demo "Triumph Through Spears of Sacrilege" from 2005 through Nuclear War Now! Productions in 2007.
<img src="https://u.osu.edu/lebanonpunk/files/2022/04/artworks-000413652630-yipqe4-t500x500.jpeg" width="500" height="500">
//Audio: Damaar - Ode to Blasphemy (Onward to the Gates of Mekka)//
[[The Pavillion 2007]]
[[Aida and Tex 2007]]
<audio src="https://u.osu.edu/lebanonpunk/files/2022/04/Damaar-Ode-to-Blasphemy-Onward-to-the-Gates-of-Mekka.mp3" autoplay>''Aida and Tex get married in 2007''
Both BENZENE and NIGHTCHAINS split during the 2006 war.
<img src="https://u.osu.edu/lebanonpunk/files/2022/04/10391575_174856006911_2686404_n.jpeg" width="596" height="447">
[[Detox]]The Pavillion was taken in by the city and repurposed. The Hamra scene lost its hub.
''(bg:#f03e3e)[ CW: THIS VIDEO CONTAINS GRAPHIC CONTENT ]''
To listen to just the audio of the song:
[[Click Here]]
To continue onwards, select one of these options:
[[Damaar 2007]]
[[Aida and Tex 2007]]
//Video: NIGHTCHAINS - I can't write a love song//
<video src="https://u.osu.edu/lebanonpunk/files/2022/04/I-cant-write-a-love-song-NIGHTCHAINS-qtNqQeNOO88.mp4" width="100%" controls type="video/mp4">Aida's band BENZENE had to split after their drummer Roland leaving during the war in 2006. However, Roland came back in 2008 and the group reformed and rebranded as Detox.
Aida and Tex decide that it is time to for a Hamra Street punk band to be born.
With Aida on vocals, Tex on guitar, Roland on drums, and Karam (from thrash metal band THRASH STROM) on bass, DETOX is born.
[[Heaven, Hell, Hamra]]The Pavillion was taken in by the city and repurposed. The Hamra scene lost its hub.
//Audio: NIGHTCHAINS - I can't write a love song//
To continue onwards, select one of these options:
[[Damaar 2007]]
[[Aida and Tex 2007]]
<Audio src="https://u.osu.edu/lebanonpunk/files/2022/04/I-cant-write-a-love-song-NIGHTCHAINS-qtNqQeNOO88.m4a" autoplay> ''AYAT''
Started in 2000, the black metal band is led by Mullah Sadogoat on guitars and bass and Reverend Filthy Fuck on vocals. Both members have been playing in metal bands since the 90s.
Unlike other metal groups in East Beirut who sing in English, AYAT sings in Arabic. Their work transcends the European roots of black metal as their Arabic guttural screams condem all forms of religion. Their rage was born from growing up in war and seeing their city be destroyed again and again.
They release their album "Six Years of Dormant Hatred" in 2008.
<Image src="https://u.osu.edu/lebanonpunk/files/2022/04/ab67616d0000b27349ae17c3c88b47d2faf855ef.jpeg">
//Audio: Ayat - Ilahiya Khinzir! (All Hail Allah the Swine)//
Due to how sacrilegious AYAT's message is, they are not safe to reveal their names or preform live. However, Tex, the guitarist of NIGHTCHAINS saw AYAT as an inspiration and invites them to hang out at the Pavillion.
[[Enter THE PAVILLION]]
Or go back to check in with DAMAAR:
[[DAMAAR]]
<audio src="https://u.osu.edu/lebanonpunk/files/2022/04/Ilahiya-Khinzir-All-Hail-Allah-the-Swine.mp3" autoplay>
DETOX music came from all the experiences they've had on Hamra street to date, all the booze and drugs in the alleys, the dirty cops, the militias, and the wars... everything that is far from the real meaning of detox.
<Image src="https://u.osu.edu/lebanonpunk/files/2022/04/heaven-hllhamra.jpeg">
//Audio: DETOX: Heaven, Hell, Hamra//
Without the Pavillion to preform, DETOX plays in bars, basements, and wherever else they can.
[[Go to a show]]
[[Go to rehearsal]]
<Audio src="https://u.osu.edu/lebanonpunk/files/2022/04/Detox-HeavenHellHamra.mp3" autoplay>Detox plays a GG Allin cover live with Filthy Fuck from Ayat. American Dream Pub is the first place DETOX preforms live.
<Image src="https://u.osu.edu/lebanonpunk/files/2022/04/10391575_174861471911_4016095_n.jpeg">
//Audio: DETOX - Bite it you scum (live)//
(text-style:"rumble")[As the show comes to an end, a gust of wind finds you again.]
[[Ride the wind]]
<Audio src="https://u.osu.edu/lebanonpunk/files/2022/04/Detox-Bite-it-you-scum-live.mp3" autoplay>
''Detox rehearsal''
It is Halloween, 2009 and the group is practing for their upcoming show
[[Go to a show]]
//Video: DETOX - Halloween Rehearsal 2009//
<video src="https://u.osu.edu/lebanonpunk/files/2022/04/Y2Mate.is-Detox-Detox-rehearsal-3TbVj5cR9Hs-480p-1651159502268.mp4" width="100%" controls type="video/mp4" autoplay>
You find Tex managing a small venue next to the alley that doubles as a soup kitchen and language exchange for Syrian refugees.
It is 2012 and you find out that Aida split off with Tex and stayed in the US.
Many of the former Hamra street punks are no longer around, either moved away or ended up joining the extremist religious groups which they once detested.
[[Keep going]]The wind swifts you back up again and you see a massive explosion of Beirut's port.
It is August 4th, 2020.
Lebanon is plummenting into massive amounts of debt, instabillity, and the explosion just accelerates it all.
Most local shops in Hamra shut down as business-owners cannot afford to paying the rocketing electricity costs.
{
(live: 5s)[
(stop:)
(text-style:"buoy")[What will emerge from the ruins?]
]
}<img src="https://u.osu.edu/lebanonpunk/files/2022/08/1280px-Key_Shia-Controlled_Neighborhoods_in_Southern_Beirut_cropped.png" width="900" height="1114">
The Green Line seperated Muslim West Beirut from the predominantly Christian East Beirut (which was controlled by the Lebanese Front) during the civil war from 1975 to 1990.
Eventually West Beirut became seperated between Shia and Sunni Muslims as well.
[[Let the wind take you]] Double-click this passage to edit it.Double-click this passage to edit it.