Cryptopsy Beat Metallica as the First International Metal Band to Play Saudi Arabia
Last Monday, thrash giants Metallica made headlines by announcing that they’d be the first international metal act to perform in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. It was a distinction that would set Metallica apart from everyone else moving forward in the region.
The only problem is they won’t be the first international metal act to play in Riyadh on December 14, as that honor now belongs to Canadian technical death metal act Cryptopsy, following their performance at the Syrup Stage on Saturday, December 2
Announced back on November 15, it seems the entire metal world missed the news that Cryptopsy were playing Saudi Arabia. To our credit, the show was added a little over a week after the band officially announced their ‘Ashes Shall Reign Asia Tour 2023’. Super easy to miss, honestly.
Still, even though it wasn’t particularly reported by metal media ahead of time and we’re only now noticing their accomplishment, Cryptopsy said they were beyond excited that they can say they were the first international metal band to play KSA.
“It’s incredible that even after 30 years as a band we can still experience something new and exciting. It is a true honour to be the first international metal band to perform in Saudi Arabia. Our experience here has been amazing and unforgettable.”
Booked by Slamman Booking Asia and organized by Heavy Arabia Entertainment, the company’s CEO Gigi Arabia said the show this past Saturday was the culmination of years of hard work in trying to get a foreign metal band to play KSA.
“We take immense pride in pioneering the organization of the first-ever international metal band in Saudi Arabia, and we are incredibly honored to have Cryptopsy, alongside Creative Waste and Necrosin, marking a significant milestone in the history of the Saudi metal scene.
“We know for a fact that after December 1, 2023, the landscape of metal in Saudi Arabia will never be the same. This achievement was spearheaded purely by the local scene, for the local scene. Our commitment to promise and deliver, even in the face of imperfections, has truly been the driving force behind this milestone for the scene.
“Above all, our personal biggest achievement is finally providing a platform for our local metal bands to share the stage with their idols and major influences right here in their homeland. Every one of our bands has played an integral role as participants, co-creators, and enablers in realizing our collective vision to firmly establish Saudi Arabia on the global metal music map.”
To commemorate the event, we’ve got photos from the show courtesy of Hisham Alhisan. You can check them out below, along with a video of Cryptopsy’s gig in Istanbul the following night.
There’s no word if anyone in the Metallica camp are aware that they’ve been beaten by Cryptopsy, but I’d like to imagine Lars Ulrich jumping up and down, stomping his feet in frustration over the news.
