Paws, Pets & Metal is Metal Insider’s ongoing column on bands with pets, discovering who watches them on the road, and more. Get to know more about these metal furbabies. We caught up with LA’s progressive power metal offering In Virtue guitarist Rami Khalaf as he revealed how his dog Nico enjoys Knocked Loose’s “Counting Worms.”
Tell us more about your pet(s) and their names?
My dog’s name is Nico, he is a shepherd/husky mix that we adopted in 2020. We think he is abRami Khalaf out 9 years old. He’s got 2 different colored eyes and the kind of energy you wish you could have. He keeps us on our toes, that’s for sure.
Have you ever taken your pet on tour?
No, he has never been on tour but I think he would embrace it.
Who looks after your pet while on the road?
My wife looks after him. I think he likes her more than me anyways. But she doesn’t listen to metal and I think he doesn’t like that, so at least when I’m home he gets to listen to good music.
What’s your pet’s favorite song or album?
Counting Worms by Knocked Loose. The “Arf Arf” speaks to him.
How did you introduce your pet to metal?
He got to listen to the new In Virtue album Age of Legends while we were recording it in the studio and listening to mixes in the car. I think he likes “Desolation Throne” the most, I think it matches his manic energy. You can see him perk up a little bit when it comes on, and sometimes he gets the zoomies when it gets to the last chorus. He also gets to hear me playing guitar a lot, as you can see in the pictures, he likes to hang out in my home studio.
What animal charity means the most to you?
The Annenberg Petspace in Los Angeles. I am thankful to them for saving dogs from overcrowded Los Angeles shelters. Without them, we would not have been able to adopt Nico. Pet adoption is extremely important when there are so many wonderful animals without forever homes, so before you go to a puppy mill, consider adopting.
