In The Spotlight: Israel

A fair number of metal fans are familiar with Melechesh and Orphaned Land, but beyond them the Israeli metal scene does not have a particularly big presence. There is, however, some good material coming from the area. In this second post of my "Spotlight" series, I'll talk briefly about three new releases from that country.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Soul Torture are a melodic death metal band who evidently formed in 2004, but they took until this year to release their debut EP, The Reign of War. The music is very full, with a six-man lineup that features both dual guitars and a keyboardist. The keys provide drama but not melodrama. Instead of leaning too heavily on that side of their sound the central focus is instead placed on the catchy, driving guitar riffs and scattered solos. The vocals are pretty standard fare for this style, though they are notable in that they maintain the hostile edge of melodeath's roots.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Geist are a low-fi black metal band who released Der Ungeist, their first full-length album, this year. Blistering guitar and the vocalist's psychotic howls and shrieks dominate this record. They are willing to slow down in places to create a little atmosphere, but it's the rabid highs that really shine. With nearly non-existant bass, harshly rattling drums, and a hazy wall of almost-too-low-fidelity white noise, the band creates a cold, hostile sound that one would expect from a much more northerly source.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sonne Adam are a death/doom group who I think are the highlight of this post. They have been very active of late, releasing a full-length last year and two EPs this year before signing with Century Media to put out a compilation which went on sale just a few weeks ago. The group has simple but crushingly heavy guitar, and they feature some powerful death vocals. They are also willing to delve into quiet, gloomy, gothic atmospherics that really add a vital amount of depth to their material. The selected track is from their first EP of the year, The Sun is Dead.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

That's it for the second installment.