Review of Salem - Collective Demise

You know, I almost feel ashamed to admit this, but I never thought a metal scene actually existed in Israel. Considering the area of the country you would figure metal would not be looked upon too kindly, but fortunately it worked its way through the cracks and has spawned the band Salem. Salem was formed in 1985 and has been playing some crushing metal since then. Shortly after the release of Kaddish, the bands second full length album in their career, they were even nominated by Kerrang as one of the best 10 up and coming bands. With three full length albums under their belt they return with Collective Demise.
Salem falls along the lines of melodic black metal, but you can occasionally hear a hint of death metal in there too. Lior Mizrahi and Nir Gutraiman toss out some exceptional black metal riffs, not to mention some smooth and creative harmonies. Ze'ev Tananboim's vokills are exceptional also. He holds that grim higher pitched gravelly sound we've all come to know and love and it is also occasionally accompanied by some serene female vokills on a few songs also. I really like the addition of the female vokills because they never sound too cliché or become overused. Nir Nakav does a great job on the drums with some cool fills and solid blast beats. The album even throws in some middle-eastern sounds for good measure. They use an Arabic Darbuka (a percussion instrument) on the songs "Act of Terror" and "Broken Yet United".
The production is pretty solid on the album, but I thought the double kicks could be a bit louder at times. They sound great, but on occasion can become a bit drown out. This is an album that I've enjoyed more and more with each listen. I highly recommend anyone who's into melodic black metal to check Salem out. Collective Demise is an album that should not be overlooked.

Release Details

Salem

Collective Demise

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