Israeli Metal

Obsidian Tide – Pillars of Creation [Things You Might Have Missed 2019]

Obsidian Tide – Pillars of Creation [Things You Might Have Missed 2019]

“I love TheKenWord, but the problem is, if you skip an hour on the AMG Slack channel, you’ll probably miss one of his 1462 album recommendations. Lucky for me, at the precise day and time when Kenny waxed on about Obsidian Tide’s new album I just happened to be lurking on the forums, and I caught the link. The young fella did himself proud with this recommendation. Obsidian Tide are an Israeli progressive metal trio, and Pillars of Creation is the band’s debut album, a seven-song, 55-minute concept album detailing a man’s journey to enlightenment.” Tides and tidings.

Video Premiere and Interview with Butchered of Arallu

Video Premiere and Interview with Butchered of Arallu

“Every once in a while, for some strange reason, we like to give you creeps the VIP treatment and surprise y’all with some extracurricular goodness. Today you turds’ll be treated to a trve and tasty twofer: in a gracious act of metal camaraderie and questionable judgment straight outta Israel, blackened death veterans Arallu have granted us the honor of premiering the video for “Spells” from their latest desert-y offering, En Olam, as well as subjected their vocalist, Butchered, to an inquisitive Muppet.” Muppet on the desert beat.

Arallu – En Olam Review

Arallu – En Olam Review

“I now recognize AMG‘s Law ov Diminishing Albums as a cold and cruelly ironic constant, and subsequently I slowly shuffled up to Six’s successor, the septimal En Olam, with extreme arthritis and trepidation. By the time it was all over, I sighed wearily and shuffled even more gingerly back to my sleeping perch—for such was the extent of my physical capabilities in the wake of the ass beating that En Olam had just given me.” Desert for dinner.

Desert – Fortune Favors the Brave Review

Desert – Fortune Favors the Brave Review

“The smoke hasn’t even cleared from the battlefield that was the recent Sabaton opus, and here we go again with another over-the-top war-themed power metal album, this time by Israel’s Desert. It takes a certain amount of moxie for a relatively unknown act to drop their third album right alongside that of their nearest comparison point. Fortune Favors the Brave indeed. Desert does have a lot in common with Sabaton as far as thematic approach and overall bombast level, but they also sound a lot like Blind Guardian and Iced Earth. That’s quite a wicked trifecta.” Get sandy.

Zohamah – Spread My Ashes Review

Zohamah – Spread My Ashes Review

“Of all the myriad concoctions of subgenre blends present in metal, few have the potential to be as heinous and vile as black and doom metal. The ominous gloom of the latter mixed with the foul malevolence of the former can make for some horrifyingly ugly textures, something I discovered when reviewing Vile Creature last year. Though I tend to stay away from black metal if I can, this particular cocktail has shaken and stirred something in me, and thus I had no qualm fetching Zohamah from the promo bin, a one-man Israeli band whose debut combines black, doom, and death metal into an unholy platter of terror. Or that’s the idea, anyway.” Burnt offerings.

Exit…Hall Left: The Weenie Metal Round-Up [Things You Might Have Missed 2018]

Exit…Hall Left: The Weenie Metal Round-Up [Things You Might Have Missed 2018]

“Not everyone can be BRUTAL ENOUGH!!! Some of us are hobbits; diminutive, folksy, averse to Camo™ and Camo™-derived accouterments. Maybe you just want to smell the flowers, despite your allergies. That’s ok. We’re here for you.” Hello, weenies.

Betzefer – Entertain Your Force of Habit Review

Betzefer – Entertain Your Force of Habit Review

“Picture this, if you will. It’s Friday night, for at least a little while longer anyway. The air is thick with smoke and raised voices, illuminated only vaguely by various neon signs and their reflections off countless bottles and glasses. Here at the Angry Metal Bikerer Bar®, the music matches the mood: from a cramped corner masquerading as a stage, four angry metal guys unleash gravely growls and swagtastic riffage unto the leather and denim-clad patrons with a gritty little ditty titled ‘Ain’t No Party ‘Til You Hurt Somebody.'” Far beyond dreidel.

Arallu – Six Review

Arallu – Six Review

“Heads up, Angry Metal Explorers! Today we’re taking a magic carpet ride to a whole not-so-new world, a faraway place where the caravan camels roam. We’re going (going, back back) to Israel. Israel. Not exactly a land lauded for its black metal scene, but here we are, gathering our courage to sneak a glimpse at a trve monster born of death metal dreams in blackened Arabian nights.” Jinn and juice.

Subterranean Masquerade – Vagabond Review

Subterranean Masquerade – Vagabond Review

“Twelve years down the road from the debut, Subterranean Masquerade no longer sounds the same. The psychedelic has lost ground to the Oriental, and the introduction of Green Carnation vocalist Kjetil Nordhus has brought influences from his main gig into the songwriting. The subtle madness and looming shadow have made way for a scene of sunlit clay houses in a strange, vaguely Middle-Eastern land.” The mind of an artist is murky and mysterious.

Nothing Lies Beyond – Fragile Reality Review

Nothing Lies Beyond – Fragile Reality Review

“Nostalgia is a dragon that almost always eludes our grasp, because we’ve grown and the things we used to love are still essentially the same. While some things like Super Mario 64 will never lose their appeal, others will. So it was with Nothing Lies Beyond, a band so sonically entrenched in the days of 2005-2009 that I was basically transported back to my high school years.” Sounds of a playground…rising!