Arallu
Satanic War in Jerusalem
6.2
Well here's something unexpected: Israeli black metal. But don't worry, they're not traitors to the BM cause, they just happen to be hail from Jerusalem, giving Arallu an authentic view of the people that their northern brethren rail so loudly against. In fact, they lay down the gauntlet in their bio: "we got in touch with some of the known "black metal" bands of today, invited them to share our blasphemy and share a stage with us here. The "virtual black metal" bands were afraid to come here...They feel good to be virtual warriors." Well, with that said, the time has come to see if they deliver on their promises.
The vocals are done in a mid-range, raspy tone, while the music harkens back to the 80's. The music has a good bit of Celtic Frost laced throughout, but the drumming is taken up a notch, and the riffage is faster. Another influence is the mighty Slayer. Case in point, the Araya-esque shriek that kicks off Evil has no boundaries. In fact, much of the guitarwork is in the Slayer style, but slowed up 25-50%. A few songs also start off Sabbath-style: with slow and heavy groove. The production is pretty clear, particularly for a little-known black metal act. It's good to see bands not getting caught up in this minimalist business that I despise so much. The drums are a little too far in front for my tastes, but they in no way detract from the guitars or vox, I just really notice them when they are at near-blast speed.
The album starts off with the requisite intro track that succeeds in relegating the first song to the second track position. Beyond that feat, it doesn't do much at all. On the other hand, the opening song, Jewish Devil, is pretty solid. My favorite tracks are the opener, Evil has no Boundaries, and the thrashy Arallu's Rage. On the whole, these Israelites have some promising material. There are quite a few nice thrash moments between the blasting and the slowed-down intros and interludes. While the songs tend to lack cohesion, the end result is quite listenable. Better than I expected from a black metal submission.
