Salem (Israeli band)
| Salem | |
|---|---|
| Origin |
 Giv'atayim, Israel
|
| Genres |
Oriental metal Death metal Doom metal Gothic metal Black metal (early) |
| Years active | 1985–present |
| Labels | KMG, System Shock, Season of Mist, Pulverised |
| Associated acts | Orphaned Land, Melechesh, Nail Within, Arallu |
| Website | www.salemband.com |
| Members | Ze'ev Tananboim Lior Mizrachi Nir Gutraiman Michael Goldstein Nir Nakav |
Salem is an Israeli extreme metal band, pioneers of the oriental metal movement and of the Israeli heavy metal scene in general. Much of their lyrics and music deals with political issues concerning the Jewish people and Israel, most notably the concept albums Kaddish (1994) and Collective Demise (2002).
Salem, the first extreme metal band in Israel, was formed in 1985, under the name Axe Metal, and is thus one of the first bands in the worldwide underground metal scene to play brutal black metal. This can be heard in their self-titled rehearsal tape from 1986 and their live demo Destruction Till Death from 1987, recorded at the legendary 'Penguin' club, the only outlet for alternative music in Israel throughout the 1980s. This formula was later perfected by bands such as Beherit and Blasphemy in the early 1990s.
After five years underground, the band released another live demo, Millions Slaughtered (1990), with a new line-up and a genre shift towards the death/doom realms. This demo sold 1,500 copies and led to a record deal with the German label Morbid Records. In the film Global Metal, drummer Nir Nakav recounted a story relating to the demotape that somehow ended up in the hands of the Norwegian Varg Vikernes, who contacted the band and noted that while he appreciated the music, he loathed the anti-Holocaust lyrics and wished the band to perish in the Gulf War. The band, infuriated, replied with a strongly worded letter; a few days later the band was contacted by local police, who had found a bomb in the mail from Norway. The band's official website describes this story in the following manner: "SALEM was formed in 1985 along with the newly born extreme metal scene and released 2 demo tapes called: "Salem"(1986) and "Destruction till Death"(1987). Back than, SALEM were in very good relations with Mayhem`s founder Euronymous who offered SALEM relocation to Norway and joining the black metal inner circle. Varg Vikernes of Burzum who disliked the band's ideals thought differently and sent to vocalist Ze'ev Tananboim an explosive envelope by mail."
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Wikipedia