Did you know Israel has a metal scene? I didn't before I stumbled across
Collective Demise the
4th
album from
Salem. Apparently
Salem have been around since 1985, so they must be categorized as veterans on the scene. They play melodic death with a twist of black metal, and they appear to be heavily influenced by the Scandinavian metal scene.
The lyrics deal with subjects concerning the problems in Israel, and the band definitely seems to have a political agenda with this album. The music is dark and melancholic reflecting the seriousness of the lyrical themes.
Musically I am not very impressed with
Salem. Sure the songs are melodic and sure there is a catchy riff from time to time, but my overall impression is not very good. Most of the melodies lack an inventive edge, and it is all just a bit too predictable. Besides that I am constantly annoyed by the vocals of front man Ze'ev - I guess they are black metal like, but they just seem too forced for my ear. Fortunately some quite good female vocals take over from time to time.
I want to credit
Salem for experimenting with the genre. In the intro of
Act of War they use a traditional Israeli percussion instrument called Darbuka. That is all very good, but it doesn't change the overall quality of this album. The best song on the album is called
Act of Terror - it is on another level than the rest of the songs, and I actually caught myself head banging to it. Why
Al Taser was supposed to be the hit on Collective Demise I do not understand. The song obviously lacks flow and interesting riffs.
What else can I say about this album? The musicians are tight and play well together, but the music seems a bit too simple, and the technical level is not very impressive either. So the conclusion of this review must be: don't buy unless you know what you are doing.
Written by
Anders Friday, March 14, 2003
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