Melechesh
| Melechesh | |
|---|---|
 |
|
 Melechesh at Party.San 2015 |
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| General information | |
| Genre (s) | Black metal with oriental influences |
| founding | 1993 |
| Website | www.melechesh.com |
| Founding members | |
| Ashmedi | |
| Current occupation | |
Vocals, electric guitar |
Ashmedi |
Electric guitar |
Moloch |
| Xul (Yuri Rinkel) (since 2005) | |
| Cream since 2009 | |
| former members | |
bass |
Thamuz (1994–1995) |
bass |
Uusur (1995–1996) |
Drums |
Lord Curse (1994-1999) |
Drums |
Proscriptor (Russ R. Givens) (1998-2005) |
Bass , vocals |
Al 'Hazred (1996-2008) |
Melechesh , from Hebrew מֶלֶךְ אֵשׁ ˈMɛlɛx eʃ for 'King of Fire' is ablack metalband from theMiddle East, founded in 1993 inJerusalem.
Band history
The band was founded in 1993 in Jerusalem by Ashmedi. Lord Curse and Moloch joined him. In 1995 Cimeries and Thamuz joined the band, and the band recorded their demo As Jerusalem Burns… ; they left the band in the two months after the recording. The EP The Siege of Lachish was recorded with the bass player Uusur, who also left Melechesh shortly afterwards. With these recordings, Melechesh first caught the attention of the scene, but also of the authorities. The band was accused of satanic activities in the Jerusalem and Bethlehem area . Some time later, however, the allegations were dropped and, according to Ashmedi, the police lost interest in Melechesh.
In 1996 Melechesh signed a recording contract with the US indie label Breath of Night Records from Akhenaten (Andrew Harris from Judas Iscariot ) and released their debut album As Jerusalem Burns… Al'Intisar under this . The band then played some concerts in Israel.
For personal and professional reasons (Ashmedi was at a disadvantage as an Assyrian / Armenian in Jerusalem), the individual band members were forced to move to France or the Netherlands in 1998 . Drummer Lord Curse initially stayed in Jerusalem, but then moved to the United States to finish his studies, so he left the band. His position was then filled by Absu Frontman and Drummer Proscriptor (Russ R. Givens) . In 2000 Melechesh signed a record deal for three albums with Osmose Productions. The band released the albums Djinn (2001) and Sphynx (2003) with this line-up ; the latter was recorded in the Swedish Los Angered Studios in Gothenburg and produced by King Diamond guitarist Andy LaRocque. The album brought them international fame in the metal scene .
In 2005, Proscriptor left Melechesh and Thanatos drummer Yuri Rinkel joined the band as the new drummer, having previously played a few live performances. Rinkel had also played as Y. Xul with Funeral Winds and Liar of Golgotha , with Melechesh he appeared under the shortened pseudonym Xul ( sux . 'Evil'). In 2006 the fourth album Emissaries was released , which was recorded in the German Woodhouse studios.
Melechesh announced in June 2008 that they were looking for a new bass player, as Al'Hazred "had not been an active member of the band since 2006". Until a permanent band member is found, live and session bassist Kawn will take over this position.
As Ashmedi is in a relationship with a Turkish woman, the band had the opportunity to record their 2010 album The Epigenesis in a professional studio in Istanbul. However, it was also an opinion; the band likes to challenge the norm. Ashmedi has only ever seen bands from the East record their albums in the West, but never seen them travel to the East. A pioneer of Anatolian rock, Cahit Berkay of the band Moğollar , also played on the album.
style
Ashmedi cites the Bathory album The Return ...... as the main reason for founding Melechesh , but he wanted to use eastern drum patterns for this music; he refers to Arab and Armenian drum patterns, the latter Melechesh used as the first band. The intention of the band was and is to play a self-created style called " Mesopotamian Black Metal", which contains elements of Black, Death and Thrash Metal and which makes it special through the use of oriental-inspired guitar riffs and drum rhythms as well Arabic scales obtained. The band sees itself as the inventor of a sound typical of the Middle East and access to Black Metal / Thrash Metal / Extreme Metal. Her music offers aggression, mystical moods and many other atmospheres. She has songs that are ideal for concerts and those that are "ritualistic and trippy ". When it comes to philosophical ideas and music scales, the band does not limit itself to the Middle East, but also picks up Indian , Persian and other music. Ashmedi only uses riffs that he has a mental picture of; in Sacred Geometry even the main reef is geometric . The style is considered independent and recognizable.
“Some bands, I think, are mistaking heavy with speed and noise maybe. No disrespect. I am a fan of extreme metal. But, there's another way of being heavy, which is playing with dynamics. Heaviness is not necessarily speed. "
“Some bands, I think, might confuse 'heavy' with speed and noise. No disrespect. I am a fan of extreme metal . But there is another way of being difficult, which is by playing with dynamics. Heaviness is not necessarily speed. "
According to the Imhotep webzine, Epigenesis seems to be more like a big story in several pieces than a set of heavy metal pieces à la Megadeth and Death , although both bands are audible as influences. The band is closer to Nile , Mastodon , Between the Buried and Me and Tool in that they write and compose pieces of music that are more reminiscent of Beethoven symphonies than traditionally structured metal. Ashmedi denied being influenced by these artists or having even heard Between the Buried and Me, although the named bands were very good. He mentioned influences from the 1970s psychedelic rock and hard rock , but it was extreme metal with black thrash and music from the Middle East.
Self-perception and relationship to Israel
The band uses an upside-down pentagram and St. Peter's cross in their logo . When asked whether the musicians followed Anton Szandor LaVey's so-called modern Satanism and Aleister Crowley or how the band Nile liked dark, ancient mythology and history, Ashmedi replied that the symbols reminded him more of spears than upturned crosses, but their spiritual concept is that Tape important. Sumerian / Mesopotamian mysticism and occultism of the Middle East played a major role.
According to Ashmedi, the band's problems started with a newspaper lying and claiming Melechesh was a satanic cult. Melechesh was the first black metal band in Jerusalem, but there was always metal there and he grew up with metal there. Israel was liberal when it came to music, art and lifestyle, Jerusalem was more conservative, and in East Jerusalem and Bethlehem it was socially unacceptable to be a metalhead. At times he was the only metal worker there and was also interested in occultism. He also mentions having previously believed in dark energies, which he has since moved away from. He respected LaVey's Church of Satan "because they did more for the dark side than anyone" and did not impose what he respected very much. Moloch was referring to an interpretation of Satanism that idolized human nature and that he understood not as religion but as philosophy. However, he is fascinated by the Christian image of Satan . During the time when the band was still living in Jerusalem, they were often exposed to hostility due to their music and the origins of the members. None of the members at the time were Jewish by birth or Israeli. Not least in order to be accepted in the international scene, at least in those times the band had an open hatred of Israel. Nor did the band see themselves as part of an Israeli black metal scene. At this time, the band concept of today, the "occult Mesopotamian Black Metal", already existed , in the course of which the band saw themselves as a member of the " Assyrian- Mesopotamian race ". Lord Curse, who was an Armenian, was an exception. The band also takes a subversive delight in being a Jerusalem black metal band. This becomes clear z. E.g. the following quote from the booklet of the debut album As Jerusalem Burns… Al'Intisar :
"Through these compositions we stab the flag of hell in the heart of god, Jerusalem where we reside blasphemously with pride"
"With these compositions we push the flag of hell into the heart of God, in Jerusalem, where we are filled with blasphemy and pride"
Around the turn of the millennium, the organization The Order of Mesopotamia, founded by Melechesh, also existed . The aim was to trigger a movement within the Black Metal scene that was to form a completely separate scene, detached from Europe, a kind of association of metalheads from all over the Middle East, which was ultimately to establish a religion. The Order Of Mesopotamia was also the title of a journal by the band. In the meantime, Ashmedi has commented on the Middle East conflict that Melechesh is not a political band and that he himself knew people on both sides who had died. He is proud of his background, but not a nationalist and likes both his home country and the rest of the world or the universe.
Discography
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Chart positions Explanation of the data |
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Demos
- 1995: As Jerusalem Burns ...
EPs
- 1995: The Siege of Lachish
- 2004: The Ziggurat Scrolls
- 2012: Mystics of the Pillar II
Albums
- 1996: As Jerusalem Burns… Al'Intisar (re-released 2001)
- 2001: Djinn
- 2003: Sphynx
- 2006: Emissaries
- 2010: The Epigenesis
- 2015: Enki
Music videos
- 2001: Genies Sorcerers and Mesopotamian Nights
- 2011: Grand Gathas of Baal Sin
swell
- ↑ Yuri Rinkel permanent bandlid Melechesh. Re-releases op komst voor Rinkel's other band Thanatos ( page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ a b c d e Kai Mathias Stalhammar: Melechesh. Vae Solis webmagazine, accessed June 10, 2014 .
- ↑ a b BIOGRAPHY. Archived from the original on August 8, 2002 ; accessed on March 4, 2015 .
- ↑ a b c d e f g h Dethster4life, Roy Kristensen: Melechesh - Destiny. Imhotep, accessed June 10, 2014 .
- ↑ a b c d Götz Kühnemund : Melechesh . Jerusalem is burning! . In: Rock Hard , No. 282, November 2010, pp. 44f.
- ↑ a b c d e f Tom Dare: Interview: Melechesh - “We took a fucking big risk- we could have ended our careers”. (No longer available online.) Thrash Hits, October 21, 2010, archived from the original on May 25, 2016 ; accessed on June 10, 2014 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ a b c d e f Melechesh. (No longer available online.) MetalAct.RO, October 7, 2006, archived from the original on March 4, 2016 ; accessed on June 10, 2014 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ a b BIOGRAPHY. Archived from the original on September 14, 2008 ; accessed on March 4, 2015 .
- ↑ Melechesh to Audition New Bass Players .
- ↑ a b Chad Bowar: Melechesh - Emissaries. About.com, accessed June 10, 2014 .
- ↑ a b c d Melechesh Talks About The Jerusalem Metal Scene in American Press ... Metal Israel, January 25, 2007, accessed June 10, 2014 .
- ↑ Joe, Hage: MELECHESH interview 2006. (No longer available online.) Ancient Spirit Magazine, 2006, formerly in the original ; accessed on March 4, 2015 . ( Page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ a b c d e Keith Harris (from the English by Martin Büsser ): An orphaned country? - Israel and the extreme metal scene . In: Testcard - Pop and War . No. 9, 2000, pp. 74-81. , ISBN 3-931555-08-9
- ↑ Chart sources: DE
Web links
- Official website
- Melechesh on Myspace