Death Tribe: Unfiltered Self Expression
Lebanese born Anthony Assaker has compiled quite the back catalogue with an impressive set of regular releases under his KAOTEON project and more recently another project known as DEATH TRIBE. A collaborative approach which brings together a string of talented musicians to contribute to tracks and bring forth something inventive and exciting.
“This whole process started when I released Beyond Pain and Pleasure: A Desert Experiment where I worked with a lot of artists from the Middle East and had multiple vocalists on there,” explains Anthony. “I was living in Dubai at that time and then when I moved to the Netherlands I thought it would be a good way to create the second album with musicians based in the Netherlands but throughout that process it became really hectic with me moving four times in two years and I moved out here for reasons which turned out to be not the right reasons. Obviously 2020 happened and the economic crisis happened around the world and back home in Lebanon and that hit my family really hard. You also had Black Lives Matter and climate change which came to prominence and all these things came together and I just wanted to express myself. Rather than pull a trigger on a gun my way is to plug in my guitar and let off some steam and distortion as a way of expressing my anger. I feel that I’m privileged to pass as a white person or a south European person and when they find out I’m not I get a load of weird reactions and people act differently.”
This project required a lot of groundwork before it eventually came to fruition and became the force it is today. “It was very hard at the beginning as I didn’t have any pre-existing relationships with the people I collaborated with,” he discusses. “The first person I started to work with was Linus Klausenitzer who I’ve worked with on both KAOTEON and DEATH TRIBE and it all kind of snowballed from there. Thankfully with a lot of musicians they are quite easy to get in contact with. Obviously, James Hetfield might not be on the end of the phone but I think if you come with a good proposal and a nice tone and be approachable and if it inspires them then they will go for it. I’ve been very lucky to work with the likes of Baard from LEPROUS and Adrian from AT THE GATES too among others.”
Things haven’t been straightforward or handed to Anthony, he has had to claw his way to the position he is in today. He never forgets the journey and his experiences and continues to make them a focal point of his creative spark. “There was a huge explosion in Lebanon and the news outlets said it was one of the biggest non-nuclear explosions in the world. Many were killed, many were wounded and approximately 150,000 people were made homeless overnight,” he says. “It stuck me right in the heart as that was only 500 metres away from where I grew up and where my parents’ house is. The walls of my house were cracked, the windows flew from one side of the room the other. My mother was sending me videos crying. It was so sad and you really feel helpless and hopeless. You try and convince yourself that you are better off than some people who can’t send things back to their family and support them but it’s just a reality that is really bitter. It’s a lot of weight on your shoulders. A lot of my friends can’t leave the country as they haven’t found jobs elsewhere.”
As well as his most recent effort entitled Beyond The Red Light District: A Canal Experiment there is also a movie to accompany it and bring his vision to life. “I’ve put together a full movie production which I have done with two amazing animation artists from Argentina called Dronicon Films,” Anthony states. “With the pandemic not allowing us to play live shows I thought I would create an audio and visual experience and it really took me out of my comfort zone and it took an immense amount of time and financial support which I’m never really going to recoup but at the end of the day it is all about passion, we need to express ourselves and I’m super proud of all the work that has gone into it. The movie all kind of stemmed from me getting bored during the pandemic and watching a load of old movies like One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest and Clockwork Orange. I also watched The Wall again and it kind of hit me just how much of an impact this had on my life. I love PINK FLOYD and it inspired me to really want to do a movie so I started researching how would be the best way to approach it. Obviously I’m not comparing mine to The Wall but I’m really satisfied with it!”
Beyond The Red Light District: A Canal Experiment is out now via Blood Blast Distribution.
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