(Note: This is my fifth entry in my series on Middle Eastern black metal. Previous posts have centered on Iran, Israel, Lebanon and Syria.)
Despite bordering Syria to the north, the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan has a “relatively open socio-political environment” (according to the Wikipedia entry), although Rabbath Ammon is quoted in QUENTIN KALIS’ Desert Demons – Part III: A Look at African and Middle Eastern Metal as saying, “Back in 1997, when metal was attracting attention, a group of policemen broke into our house at midnight, confiscated all the CDs, tapes and T-shirts we had. We were taken to a police station, where we spent approximately one month.”
Despite these past Stalinistic tactics, Jordan has a small, but active, metal scene, which includes three black metal bands of note.
AUGURY – “The Black Enemy” from Temptation of Oath (Augury)
Augury formed in 2000 as a metal cover band called SPHINX, though they quickly mutated into a powerful original band. In all honesty, their music isn’t really my cup of tea, as they take a technical/melodic/symphonic approach akin to the more commercial bands of the genre, but this single track, available from JorZine, a Jordanian metal webzine, has some cool riffs and the musicians are all extremely talented. As of now, the band is on hold, with two members in England and one here in the US. You can download “The Black Enemy” directly here.
INFESTED MIND – Soaked in Blood (Sick And Raw)
HEAD (aka ADNAN MRYHIJ) began Infested Mind (pictured above) in 2004, hoping to assemble a cohesive unit that would breathe life into his musical ideas. Unfortunately, a solid lineup wasn’t to be and Head disbanded IM earlier this year. However, the band’s final recording, Soaked in Blood, recorded by the duo of Head and NASSER ABU-HAMDAN, remains on their MySpace page and it shows a band with a lot of potential, who could seamlessly weave together elements of black, death and thrash metal into a singular, unique vision. Hopefully, Head won’t completely abandon music, as he’s obviously an extremely talented individual.
RABBATH AMMON – “Crown of Sand” from Rabbath Ammon (Rabbath Ammon)
Band members HANNA and FADI both came from ’90s Jordanian metal bands (RAPTURE IN HADES and HEBRON respectively). They created Rabbath Ammon in 2001, but didn’t release anything until 2005. “Crown of Sand” comes from that release and it’s really a very good song with a catchy riff and some guitar work that recalls classic IRON MAIDEN, only much less noodle-y. Download the song here. Apparently, they’ve split up, which is a shame because they seemed to have something worthwhile going on here. Well, that’s black metal for you.
We’re gearing up for the next issue of BT (#65), so I’ll be taking a brief hiatus to focus on those writings, but I’ll be back in 4-5 weeks with another entry on Middle Eastern black metal. See you then!
