1987 is the full-length debut of

Doha Doha ( ar, الدوحة, ad-Dawḥa or ''ad-Dōḥa'') is the capital city and main financial hub of Qatar. Located on the Persian Gulf coast in the east of the country, north of Al Wakrah and south of Al Khor, it is home to most of the coun ...

Dubai Dubai (, ; ar, دبي, translit=Dubayy, , ) is the most populous city in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the capital of the Emirate of Dubai, the most populated of the 7 emirates of the United Arab Emirates.The Government and Politics of ...

based Heavy metal/

Hard rock Hard rock or heavy rock is a loosely defined subgenre of rock music typified by aggressive vocals and distorted electric guitars. Hard rock began in the mid-1960s with the garage, psychedelic and blues rock movements. Some of the earliest hard ...

singer-songwriter Naser Mestarihi. The album was released on June 17, 2013.

Production

All the lyrics and music on the album were composed by Naser, who was also in charge of musical arrangements as well as all the performances minus the drums. The drum tracks were recorded by Travis Marc in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

and mixed in Dubai. Naser has described the album as a difficult and daunting project which delayed the release on several occasions due to the difficulty of working with his engineer. He has stated that the album contains some political elements in the lyrical content.

Release

The album's launch party took place in Dubai at The Music Room with supporting acts Nikotin and Kicksound on May the 3rd 2013. The official release took place on June 17, 2013, with a worldwide online release on iTunes, August 2 in record stores Qatar and February 17, 2014 in the

United Arab Emirates The United Arab Emirates (UAE; ar, اَلْإِمَارَات الْعَرَبِيَة الْمُتَحِدَة ), or simply the Emirates ( ar, الِْإمَارَات ), is a country in Western Asia (The Middle East). It is located at th ...

and

Bahrain Bahrain ( ; ; ar, البحرين, al-Bahrayn, locally ), officially the Kingdom of Bahrain, ' is an island country in Western Asia. It is situated on the Persian Gulf, and comprises a small archipelago made up of 50 natural islands and an ...

. The first single "Exodus Highway" was made available for free download on Soundcloud ahead of the release.Ezz, Moe. News: NASER MESTARIHI TO RELEASE NEW ALBUM "1987" "Metality" May 2013
/ref>Tusing, David. "Soundbites: Qatari rocker wants to break the mould." "Gulf News" March, 2014
/ref>

Reception

The album has received favourable reviews from the regional press. ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...

'' magazine's Helen McDonald rating it three out of five stars. McDonald described the album as a "fun, if one-paced record, with genuinely impressive moments." McDonald also praises Naser's commitment "wailing & shredding histrionically." In a separate review on the first single ''"Exodus Highway"'' McDonald praises Naser's "undoubted instrumental ability and his impressive vocal chops (unleashing some eye-watering higher-register wails)."McDonald, Helen. "Songs Reviews: Exodus Highway" "Rolling Ston (Middle East)" May 2013
/ref>

The National (Abu Dhabi) ''The National'' is a private English-language daily newspaper published in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. The newspaper is owned by Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the deputy prime minister of the United Arab Emirates and member of the ro ...

, one of the

' leading newspapers, also gave the album a positive review with entertainment writer Saeed Saeed stating that the album is "a throwback to the era’s melodic hard rock and hair metal: tracks such as 'Blazing Temple' recall the driving riffs of Mötley Crüe while Mestarihi’s full-throated wail in 'Exodus Highway' echoes the vocal acrobatics of Iron Maiden’s Bruce Dickinson."Saeed, Saeed. "Rock and a Hard Place: Naser Mestarihi is a music pioneer." "The National" November 2013
/ref> Fact Magazine (Bahrain) also gave the album a positive review describing "Exodus Highway" as "Hair-raising," highlighting Mestarihi's guitar playing "his guitar technique is insanely good!" and his singing, calling his falsettos "sick". Songs like "Wovoka," "The Road Home," and "Emerald" were pointed out as standout tracks, comparing the album's overall sound to bands like

Aerosmith Aerosmith is an American Rock music, rock band formed in Boston in 1970. The group consists of Steven Tyler (lead vocals), Joe Perry (musician), Joe Perry (guitar), Tom Hamilton (musician), Tom Hamilton (bass), Joey Kramer (drums) and Brad Whi ...

and

AC/DC AC/DC (stylised as ACϟDC) are an Australian Rock music, rock band formed in Sydney in 1973 by Scottish-born brothers Malcolm Young, Malcolm and Angus Young. Their music has been variously described as hard rock, blues rock, and Heavy metal ...

."On the Record..." "Reviews" "Fact Bahrain" April 2014
/ref>

Track listing

Personnel

* Naser Mestarihi -

lead Lead is a chemical element with the symbol Pb (from the Latin ) and atomic number 82. It is a heavy metal that is denser than most common materials. Lead is soft and malleable, and also has a relatively low melting point. When freshly cu ...

backing vocals A backing vocalist is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists. A backing vocalist may also sing alone as a lead-in to the main vocalist's entry or to sing a counter-melody. Backing vocalists are use ...

lead guitars Lead guitar (also known as solo guitar) is a musical part for a guitar in which the guitarist plays melody lines, instrumental fill passages, guitar solos, and occasionally, some riffs and chords within a song structure. The lead is the featured ...

rhythm guitars In music performances, rhythm guitar is a technique and role that performs a combination of two functions: to provide all or part of the rhythmic pulse in conjunction with other instruments from the rhythm section (e.g., drum kit, bass guitar) ...

twelve-string guitars A twelve-string guitar (or 12-string guitar) is a steel-string guitar with 12 strings in six courses, which produces a thicker, more ringing tone than a standard six-string guitar. Typically, the strings of the lower four courses are tuned in o ...

bass guitar The bass guitar, electric bass or simply bass (), is the lowest-pitched member of the string family. It is a plucked string instrument similar in appearance and construction to an electric or an acoustic guitar, but with a longer neck and ...

. * Travis Marc -

Percussions A percussion instrument is a musical instrument that is sounded by being struck or scraped by a beater including attached or enclosed beaters or rattles struck, scraped or rubbed by hand or struck against another similar instrument. Excl ...

Production * Naser Mestarihi - Producer. * Dylan Ellis -

engineer Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who invent, design, analyze, build and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while considering the l ...

Additional Personnel * Sarah Mestarihi - Artwork.

References

{{Authority control 2013 albums Naser Mestarihi albums