On Thursday nights, while most of Doha hums to the polished beat of lounges and DJs, another sound cuts through the city: guitars cranked, drums pounding, voices raised in chorus.
It comes from Bricks, a rock bar that quietly opened a year ago and has since become the unlikely epicentre of a scene many thought didn’t exist here.
We caught up with the founders, Dany, Bassem and Rabih (affectionately known as Zeppy) Deaibass, to learn more.
The story began with an unexpected request. In early 2024, Dany Deaibess, already known for organising Hard N’ Heavy gigs in Doha, was approached by a staff member from a struggling club. “She asked if I could organise an event to help boost the place,” he recalls. He agreed. In February, with the help of his brothers, Bassem and Rabih, Dany staged a night that packed the room.
What was meant as a one-off rescue turned into something else: the owners came back with an offer for the brothers to take over the bar’s management. “They were impressed with our organisational skills and our knowledge of the nightlife scene,” says Dany. That’s when the three brothers decided to propose something bolder than just running the place: a complete rebrand.
The walls themselves offered inspiration. “One of the main suggestions was to rebrand the venue with a name that fit a rock bar concept,” Dany explains. Rabih pointed around him and simply said: “Bricks”. Bassem adds with a smile: “Sometimes the genius is in simplicity.”
By July 2024, after bringing in partners and investors, they reopened the venue at the New Blue Rose Hotel, this time with the brothers not only managing, but owning the space. Since then, Bricks has become more than a weekend pulse in the city. On stage, its energy comes alive with the brothers’ bands, playing to a mix of regulars, first-timers and rock fans from all over.
Growing Up on Music
Bricks might be a year old, but its roots stretch back decades. Music has been part of the brothers’ lives since childhood.
Bassem was the first to take the plunge, learning drums and guitar while studying at a monastery school. “It was during my time there both as a student and as a priest-to-be that I learned my first instrument,” he says. “The nuns would give me the keys to the theatre, and I just started teaching myself.” Rock soon followed: “I discovered rock and metal through the TV, back when MTV still showed music videos. I came across Here to Eternity by Iron Maiden and Wherever I May Roam by Metallica, and there was no turning back. I fell in love with hard rock and heavy metal.”
For Dany, the path began a little differently. “I was part of the church choir and school choir from the age of six,” he recalls. “I became a Michael Jackson fan at a very young age. My older brother Bassem used to listen to him a lot when we were growing up.” Jackson became a gateway, but rock quickly took over. “We also got introduced to rock and metal through Bassem back in the ’90s. I think Iron Maiden was the band that really pulled me into the genre.” Later, his inspirations multiplied. “Freddie Mercury, Ronnie James Dio, Bruce Dickenson, Russel Allen – the list is way too long. And when it comes to lyrics, I think Edgar Allan Poe could be my biggest influence.”
Rabih, the youngest, grew up surrounded by this soundtrack. “I was raised around rock and metal music, so basically, I didn’t have a choice, did I?” he laughs. But his tastes stretched further: “Personally I have a bipolar range of inspiration, from classical music artists to metal artists and everything in between. One of my ultimate favourite bands is Led Zeppelin, especially because they kind of covered everything I loved: orchestration, ballads, blues, hard rock, even Oriental elements.”
From Beirut’s Underground
Long before Doha, the Deaibess brothers were shaping Lebanon’s underground rock and metal scene. In the early 2000s, Bassem co-founded Blaakyum, a heavy metal band that went on to play major European festivals like Wacken and Bloodstock. Rabih joined later on guitar, touring with him across Europe.
Misconceptions followed them abroad too. Rabih remembers one with a laugh: “I had a few fun experiences with journalists that didn’t quite do their homework and were so fascinated that I came all the way from Lebanon to Slovenia while a guy that came all the way from Mexico was standing next to me. The journalist didn’t know that Lebanon is way closer to Slovenia than Mexico! And she kept asking me about camels, desert and wars, mind you that at that time I hadn’t seen either camels or deserts in my life, because, well, I lived in Lebanon.”
Their touring memories also include some unusual moments. Rabih recalls: “One fan once licked my boots while I was on stage and it was super weird.” Bassem, who was there, adds with a laugh: “I think that was hilarious.”
In Beirut, Bassem also ran Cherry’s Pub, Lebanon’s only dedicated metal bar. It wasn’t always easy. “There were two major ‘witch hunt’ phases (or waves) in Lebanon: the first between 1996 and 1998, and the second between 2002 and 2005,” Bassem remembers. “I was jailed in the first wave and then jailed again in 2012 and detained a couple of times through the year.”
Dany, meanwhile, carved his own path as a singer. He gravitated toward heavier sounds, eventually founding Revenant X, a band steeped in melodic death metal.
Yet, despite this shared passion, the three brothers have rarely found themselves in the same project. “There is an important fact to point out here, that the three of us don’t have a band that we are all part of …yet…” says Rabih with a smile.
Doha, a Different Stage
On stage in Doha, the family dynamic is impossible to miss. Dany takes the mic as frontman of Hitchhikers, with Rabih on guitar beside him. DnD, the hard rock project, is helmed by Bassem and Rabih. And then there’s Revenant X, Dany’s own metal band. Together, their projects often share the same stage, making Bricks as much a family venture as a musical one.
What truly defines the place is not just who plays, but who listens. For Dany, the ambition goes beyond live music: Bricks has become a cultural anchor, a place where people come not only to hear guitars and drums but to belong. “The scene here is beautiful and versatile,” he says. “We’ve made friends for life and hope the community grows more.”
That community is as eclectic as the setlists. For Rabih, the most exciting part is how international the crowd feels compared to Lebanon. “The combination of music from all over the world being brought together under one roof is extraordinary,” he says. With Qatar’s expat-heavy mix, Bricks now draws audiences that stretch across backgrounds and tastes. One night might lean toward metal classics, the next toward alternative or hard rock, depending on who shows up and what energy fills the room.
As the amps hum and another night kicks off, Bassem, the eldest, reflects once more: “Bricks is becoming a creature of its own, and we will always work to make it better…” ✤
GO: VISIT @BRICKS.DOHA FOR MORE INFORMATION.
