Along with Orphaned Land, Melechesh are the founders of the "oriental metal" subgenre, although their debut album (and the only one that they've recorded in Israel) doesn't feature much "oriental" influences. In fact, it mostly sounds quite similar to the Norwegian black metal of the same time, apart from some tracks like the instrumental "Dance of the Black Genii". Nevertheless, the fact that there's black metal in Jerusalem of all places was quite astonishing to me when I was a teenager.
Despite originally coming from Israel, Melechesh are mostly inspired by
the Mesopotamian mythology, and their founding member Ashmedi is of
mixed Assyrian/Armenian descent (his mother comes from Syria and the
father - from Turkey). During the mid-90s, Jerusalem wasn't a particularly more friendly place for metal than, say, Teheran, so the band has relocated to Netherlands shortly after recording this album (which was timely, because all hell broke loose in Jerusalem after the start of Intifada Al-Aqsa just a few years later). Honestly there are more interesting oriental metal bands than Melechesh when it comes to music, yet let's not forget they were one of the first in the genre, and their lyrics always were quite interesting, especially if you love the history and mythology of ancient Mesopotamia.
Orphaned Land are arguably the best known metal band from Israel, the seminal band for the whole "oriental metal" subgenre, and also the band that introduced metal to the Arab world. Like most other people, I started listening to them from "Mabool: The Story of the Three Sons of Seven" (2004), but for those who are new to the band, I'd recommend to start from this album, as it's the most accessible out of all their discography.
Initially, in mid-90s, their music was rooted in death/doom metal, a genre which was popular at the time, but like many other such bands, they moved towards much "lighter" sound over the years. The lyrical themes have changed as well, from Middle Eastern mythology to pacifism (well, no arguing that the Middle East definitely needs some peace, especially these days). "All Is One" is ostensibly simplistic and less "progressive" than their other works (and that's why many diehard Orphaned Land fans disliked it), yet on a closer look, it's far from simplistic, and features a lot of oriental folk instruments that normally aren't found in metal. Some songs like "Shama’im" sound like radio-friendly rock rather than metal, but there's nothing to complain since this song is great (just like most songs composed by Yehuda Poliker). However, there also are heavier but no less catchy songs like "Fail" (maybe the best track on the whole album), and songs strongly influenced by Arabic folk music ("Ya Benaye"). Overall, all the songs are great, except maybe for the opening and the closing track being slightly weaker than the rest. It already was extensively reviewed all over the internet, so do I need to say more? Let's quote some reviews from metal-archives.com:
"Basically, what I feel like happened here is that Orphaned Land started
taking their role as Jew-Arab peace envoys more seriously than their
role as a metal band. Instead of abstract mythological lyrics, you get
stuff like "It doesn't matter if you're Muslim or a Jew!" I'm glad a
bunch of atheists can get religious idiots to quit killing each other
and listen to the same band, and I wish them the best of luck with that"
"If you pay a little more attention, you will notice a myriad of
instruments that you'll hardly ever find in metal: Oud, saz, chumbush,
bouzouki, and even xylophone. These instruments play haunting,
captivating melodies in what I would usually refer to as the
"snake-charmer" style, an intense mixture of harmonic minor and Phrygian
dominant scales which creates some of the most awe-inspiring tunes ever
written. The music has a strong progressive influence; the title track
itself is in 7/8 time signature, and many other such changes are
displayed throughout the album (most notably in the instrumental
"Freedom")... Some of the best melodies in all of metal are found on All Is One, especially in "The Simple Man," "Brother," "Let the Truce Be Known" and "שמיים (Shama'im)." Orphaned Land's All Is One is certainly not a conventional metal
album, and I don't expect most people to regard it as highly as I do.
Personally, I find that the melodies amount to perfection when combined
with such unique lyrics. This may not be the sound that Orphaned Land is
most respected for, but it sure is amazing anyway"
Chaos As Shelter already was presented on my blog some time ago, but this particular album deserves a special mention, because all its source sounds were recorded using Siemens "Turnier RK 16 Electronic" shortwave radio receiver. I think "radionoise" is an interesting subgenre (not to mention I was very interested in ham radio - and radiocommunications in general - before I got my first Internet connection), but there aren't many artists who share this interest. Surely, I know about The Conet Project, but, to my shame, I'm not familiar with almost all the projects listed here... (perhaps I should start from Kryptogen Rundfunk, who's frequently cited as the best Russian radionoise artist)
Artist: Agnivolok & Chaos As Shelter Title: Henbane Genre: Dark Ambient, Experimental, Neofolk Country: Israel Release date: 2009
Track List:
Agnivolok - Volka
Chaos As Shelter - Alien
Agnivolok - The Heart And The Hunter
Chaos As Shelter - Purgatory
Agnivolok - Belena
Chaos As Shelter - The Sacrifice
Agnivolok - Black Forest
Chaos As Shelter - Silver Lips Of Tomorrow
Agnivolok - Volka Volka
This album is a product of collaboration between Vera Shapiro aka Agnivolok (guitar, lyrics, female vocals) and Vadim Gusis aka Chaos As Shelter (arrangements, everything else). If I'm not mistaken, it was recorded in the late 90's, but released only 10 years later. Stylistically it can be described as something in between of dark ambient, experimental/noise and neofolk with lyrics in Russian. While it isn't a music for everyday listening, it's quite good, and remarkable for coming from a region that's not rich with industrial acts. Here you can read an interview with Vadim Gusis, if you're interested (nice to see RIO/zeuhl along with punk and early industrial on his list of influences, BTW).
Artist: Gevolt Title: AlefBase Genre: Folk/Industrial Metal, Neue Deutsche Härte Country: Israel Release date: 2011
Track List:
Hakdome
Trinken A Bisale Vayn
Der Rebe Elimelekh
Sha Shtil
Tum Balalayke
Shpil Zhe Mir A Lidele In Yiddish
Mayn Rue Plats
Zog Nit Keyn Mol
A Mol Iz Geven A Mayse
Sheyn Vi Di Levone
Bay Mir Bistu Sheyn
Tshiribim Tshiribom
Der Alefbeys
Probably one of the most interesting releases of 2011 - the first album in the history of metal with all the lyrics in Yiddish. Who might have guessed that there'll be a band playing NDH in Israel... however, Yiddish sounds very similar to German, so the choice of genre doesn't look odd. The band exists since 2001 and released their first album (with lyrics in Russian) in 2006. I found "AlefBase" much more interesting than their first one, though. It entirely consists of cover versions of various well-known Yiddish (Klezmer) songs, some of which ("Tum Balalayke", for ex.) sound quite funny in this "Rammstein-esque" arrangement. IMO it's a really original release, and not only because they're singing in Yiddish. Since they're officially giving it out for free on rutracker.org, I think it'd be OK to post it here as well.
Title: Ahvak Genre: Avant-Prog Country: Israel Release date: 2004
Track List:
Vivisection
Bertha
Regaim
Dust
Cement
Yawners
Ironworks
"Most of AHVAK members met through an internet prog-rock forum in Israel. They started rehearsing but didn't work seriously until drummer and composer Dave Kerman (5UU'S, THINKING PLAGUE, U-TOTEM, PRESENT etc.) came to Israel and joined the band. Their debut album was released on Cuneiform Records in the USA and got some pretty flattering reviews" (progarchives.com)
Besides that, not much is known about Ahvak. Don't even know if they recorded their 2nd album, but their debut one is quite interesting. It's probably the one and only RIO-influenced avant-prog release from Israel (correct me if there are any others).
Title:Goggles and Flipflops Genre: Punk Country: Israel Release date: 2010
Track List:
Electro Man & Highschool
El Vampiro
Apocalypse
Scapegoat
Skin And Bones
Alice DIY
Satanic Bible
Sodom And Gomorrah
Wolf Attack
Mossad
Two Rats
Get A Gun
The Truth Within
Pills
Despite the name, this band is from Israel, and they're playing very energetic punk rock with tongue-in-cheek lyrics. Definitely recommended to any fan of good classic punk.
