(Note: This is my second entry in my series on Middle Eastern black metal. The first installment centered on Iran.)
Well, it looks like Ahmadinejad will remain as Iran’s president. Since he believes “Israel must be wiped off the map,” let’s take a look at Israeli black metal.
According to the Encyclopaedia Metallum, there are 41 black metal bands hailing from Israel. In reality, that number most likely only scratches the surface, as there is probably a few dozen more bands who haven’t bothered to upload their information to EM. In any case, I examined the profiles of every Israeli black metal band listed on EM and I found three artists who not only provide free downloads of their music online, but who also add their own unique voice to the genre.
DIE ENTWEIHUNG – Die Entweihung (Die Entweihung)
Die Entweihung – The Last Nail (Smell the Stench)
Right when I heard the intense opening feedback of Die Entweihung’s eponymous debut demo, I knew I had found something special. Lone band member HERR ENTWEIHERR‘s approach is raw, brutal, rough and bloody (to quote GG ALLIN). The lo-fi production and ranting, rasping vocals recall Transylvanian Hunger-era DARKTHRONE, but the songs are less hypnotic, more angry outbursts of disgust and depression. That’s not to say that Herr Entweiherr lacks a sense of humor, however. On The Last Nail, his second demo, he covers AVRIL LAVIGNE‘s “Girlfriend,” only he mutilates it into a Satanic black metal pop song as “Satan’s Girlfriend.” (Honestly, it’s worth downloading the demo just to hear this.) Both demos contain alternate versions of a song labeled as “I Will Kill You, Boatman!” credited to A. LEBEDINSKIY. After some harrowing Google searches, I was able to confirm that A. Lebedinskiy is in fact PROFESSOR LEBEDINSKIY, a Russian pop star whose music is a mish-mash of GOGOL BORDELLO, techo and TOM WAITS, if you can believe it. The song in question is actually called “Lodochnik” and you can see a video for it on YouTube here. Then you can hear Die Entweihung’s versions by downloading the self-titled demo here and The Last Nail from Smell the Stench’s internet label. (It’s cataloged as No.357.)
BLACK LANDSCAPES – Shred Them For They Might Escape… (Black Landscapes)
Black Landscapes is EVOX, whose black metal is ultra-technical, almost symphonic, but not pretentiously obnoxious like most symphonic black metal. It’s obvious that EMPEROR‘s symphonic albums are a huge influence, yet Evox keeps the music engaging, driving and evil. Perhaps most interestingly, he covers Israel’s national anthem, “Hatikva,” without a shred of irony. (It’s actually quite powerful.) You can download two tracks from Shred Them (including “Hatikva”) here.
MUCOUS SCROTUM – “Die Schwarze Erde” EP (Herbst)
That’s Mucous Scrotum’s lone member, RATIMUS, “enlightening” the crowd in the picture above. I first heard Mucous Scrotum on the Calls from the Underground CD, a split with INFERNAL NATURE (another Israeli black metal outfit to look out for). Mucous Scrotum’s dissonant, depressive drone really appealed to me, and it’s continued on this eerie EP. Creepy samples of creepy people talking waft through the songs amid blast-beats and doom riffs, making listening all the more uneasy. Some parts are strongly reminiscent of XASTHUR‘s paeans to unholy misery. The EP is available through Mucous Scrotum’s MySpace page. (Scroll down to the “About Mucous Scrotum” section for the download link.)
Ahmadinejad said, “Anybody who recognizes Israel will burn in the fire of the Islamic nation’s fury.” I guess he doesn’t know that Israel has a furious fire of her own.
