Even in the US, death metal bands fronted by women are rare, so you can imagine Slave to Sirens, the Middle East’s first all-female metal band, have to contend with exponentially more misogyny and judgment. Writer/director Rita Baghdadi’s new documentary Sirens, which had its premiere at Sundance, profiles Slave to Sirens’ bandmates Shery, Maya, Alma and Tatyana as they work in their spaces on the outskirts of Beirut and out on the road to break into a part of the already male-dominated music business that is even more devoid of female representation.
When the band gets invited to play Glastonbury, one of the largest music festivals in the world, they think their time to shine has finally come. When the experience proves decidedly anticlimactic, the pressure and disappointment leads to infighting between Lilas and Shery. Are they just bandmates, or friends, or a part of an unbreakable tribe? Against the backdrop of a fiery Beirut, the band starts to implode.
As anyone who has friends in a band or has been in a band themselves will tell you, bickering and grousing are part and parcel of being in any band. As no doubt Liam and Noel Gallagher of Oasis will tell you, it’s not enough to have talent. If you have personal demons to wrangle, or a journey of self acceptance to you’ve got to take, best to do it without self destructing or imploding the band from within. Contrary to legend, it’s neither better to burn out nor to fade away. Professionalism, open communication, and patience are essential to any musical group’s survival.
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