Worldwide Metal: Israel
The country of Israel has had a rough and storied history. The country has a rich history in many religions, even forming its own religion in the form of Judaism, the country has faced many hardships and lots of people have lost their lives in the name of religion and the ownership of the Gaza Strip. Through that hardship and the atrocities that the Jewish people faced in the wake of the Holocaust and World War II, has this darkness, sadness and anger been used to create unique and culturally influenced metal? Today, I will delve into some popular acts from the region and how these bands have taken the music of heavy metal and made it their own.
The first band I’ll be talking about today is Witchlike Star Cones. A one-person black metal project helmed by Preposterous, the project is fairly new, forming in 2024. With only one album, 2024’s Candles on Black For A Thousand Young, the album is a genre-hopping take on black metal. With some songs including heavy, dungeon-synth moments to progressive and psychedelic time-signature changes. A unique and diverse listen for someone who wants a unique take on the raw black metal sound and demo-like production.
Now we are gonna dive into the death/doom genre with Clapsodra. Though formed in 1991, the band didn’t release their debut album Endless Agony until 2018. Taking inspiration lyrically from the atrocities of war and the devastation the Holocaust had on Jewish people, the historical and lyrical weight of those two subjects adds a haunting and eerie realness to the band’s doom-heavy take on death metal. From the harsh, guttural vocals of Avi Zadkani to the hopeful and angelic clean singing of Atalya Shuorki, the music adds a beautiful clean/harsh contrast in the band’s sound. The band did release two new songs in 2024 “Korban” and “Lust For Power”. Hopefully new music is on the horizon, as their debut left me wanting more.
Now we steer into the technical/progressive death metal direction with our next act Ma'anish. Complex and technical nature, with atmospheric spacing in the production, the band delivers that brutal intensity that Gojira delivers, but adds some unique chugging guitars and screeching vocals that remind me of a combination of Obscura, Lamb of God and Cytotoxin all rolled into one. Progressive yet heavy, groovy but still intense and headbang worthy. A great band that with their most recent record, 2021’s Heal, truly hit like a ton of bricks when I listened to it.
Now to take a detour into the hazy forest of stoner/sludge with Slowrepeat. Capturing that nostalgic vibes of classic heavy metal from the Sabbath-sound of Masters of Reality, the band instantly channels the clichés of the stoner genre. Fuzzy bass and walls of distortion, and the haunting reverb-heavy vocals of Ben Salomon. I could picture this band just delivering that slow-burn, heavy groove amidst a cloud of pot smoke live. The band’s debut studio album Abra Cannabra instantly has that classic stoner metal sound that fans of Electric Wizard, Fireball Ministry, Monster Magnet and Sleep fans would dig a lot.
The last band I will be talking about is the folk metal band Orphaned Land. Formed in 1992, the band incorporates many different genres throughout the band’s almost thirty-five year career. From early doom and death metal origins in their early records like Sahara and El Norra Alila, to a more Middle Eastern heavy instrumentation in the bands later works like Unsung Prophets & Dead Messiahs. The band did briefly go into dormancy for a short time due to the harsh reality the band faced living in Tel Aviv. Though new album has not been announced, the band’s music is a huge showcase in not only the musical and cultural influence in Orphaned Land’s sound, but also posts a positive message of unity and peace that was taught in many religions.
That’s going to do it for my time visiting Israel. Did you dig some of the bands I featured in this edition? Were there any bands you think other readers should check out? You can also let me know what country I should travel to next, so I can stamp my metal passport on my journey to discover Worldwide Metal.
