Warthur Who says black metal can't be catchy? Melodic black metal is, to an extent, a subgenre founded on questioning that assumption, but Melechesh on Emissaries really go the extra mile in demolishing it. Undeniably catchy and accessible and yet at the same time undeniably steeped not just in black metal, but in the esoteric ancient Assyrian aesthetic and mythology that Melechesh have made their own. The Middle Eastern folk influences that come out more prominently on other Melechesh albums are more towards the background here, but it's still a very smooth introduction to their particular sound and to current trends in melodic black metal.

Warthur This is a solid black metal album from Jerusalem's very own black metal blasphemers. The material here is somewhat simpler than the more epic, progressively-inclined compositions on their later albums, and the folk influence correspondingly less apparent, but it makes up for it with a fury which manages to radiate malignant heat whilst maintaining high production values instead of the sort of raw, lo-fi approach a more "kvlt" release might have gone for. This is the first release the band put out after the lineup shakeup and personal disruption involved in their move away from Jerusalem and relocation to France, and it reveals a band who remain dedicated to their distinctive Assyrian-inspired aesthetic vision.

Warthur Esoteric Assyrian myth conceptually informs this melodic black metal release from Melechesh. The album enjoys fantastic production standards which both helps bring out the best in their melodic style of black metal (which certainly wouldn't benefit from a lo-fi, kvlt production) and also helps bring across the Middle Eastern folk music elements they bring into their music, which for my money they integrate into their sound better than any other act doing a similar schtick presently. It's a quality, progressive-tinged release which presents an impressively original sound which stands out from the black metal pack, and leaves me keen to further explore Melechesh's music.

UMUR "Enki" is the 6th full-length studio album by Dutch based, Israelian rooted black metal act Melechesh. The album was released through Nuclear Blast Records in March 2015. It´s the successor to "The Epigenesis" from 2010, although the "Mystics of the Pillar II (2012)" EP bridges the gap between the two full-length releases. Melechesh was founded in 1993 in Jerusalem, Israel, but relocated to The Netherlands as a consequence of issues with religious authorities in their homeland.

Stylistically the music on "Enki" is a combination of black, death, thrash, and progressive metal with occasional ethnic middle eastern elements. So it´s one of those releases where it´s probably more valid to call it extreme metal than to label it black metal, which is what Melechesh is generally regarded as. The middle eastern influences are very tastefully incorporated and provide the music with identity. The band successfully makes it all sound dark, and intense all the way through though and only during the instrumental "Doorways to Irkala", do the ethnic element of the band´s sound overshadow the extreme metal part. It´s actually a pretty long and repetitive track featuring only traditional middle eastern instrumentation, and on it´s own I´d probably usually think it was too long, but as it works as a kind of intro to the epic 12:48 minutes long closing track "The Outsiders", it serves a purpose and generally works well within the flow and concept of the album.

The above mentioned "The Outsiders" is actually one of the highlights of the album, but I´d also mention the thrashy "Metatron and Man", the epic "Enki-Divine Nature Awoken", and "The Palm The Eye and Lapis Lazuli" as some of the highlights. The latter mentioned features an absolutely killer main riff. There´s not a single wasted second on "Enki" though, and it´s a high quality album through and through. The musicianship is strong, the sound production is powerful, and suits the music well, and all compositions have something interesting to offer to the listener, so all in all "Enki" is a very impressive release. A 4.5 star (90%) rating is fully deserved.

Kingcrimsonprog The Epigenesis is the fifth full-length studio album by the unique Metal band from Jerusalem, Melechesh. It was released in 2010 through Nuclear Blast.

Its always a bit difficult to describe the unique and interesting style in which Melechesh play. On this album in particular they have shed quite a few of the remaining Black Metal passages from their sound and presented an album that is distinctly Melechesh. In a lot of ways it may be their least extreme and most blast-free record to date, with a greater emphasis on instrumental passages and grooves as well as an absolutely top notch production job and mix. The songs largely revolve around big fat grooves and adventurous song structuring but give way to blistering Thrash passages now and again to keep the energy levels up.

In the past I’ve heard the band called all sorts of things online and in print, from Black Metal, to Technical Thrash, to Groove Metal, to Melodic Death Metal, to Folk Metal, to Progressive Metal. No one label really suits the band as they can mix all of those things in an album and often in a single song. On this album in particular they’ve really blended everything down into one, and used that to inform the whole song writing process. Its less of a bit of Prog here and a bit of Thrash here, a bit of Black over there. Now, they just write Melechesh-sounding music all the way through, and luckily it really, really works.

As usual, they have a heck of a lot of technical sections in odd time signatures but they are not afraid to just slam away with some powerful Thrash for a while either. They incorporate Folk influences from their own culture, but that’s not really “the point” of the songs either. They lapse into slow, heavy grooves and apply pinch harmonics certainly, but its only ever one string to their multifaceted bow, and while the vocals can be reminiscent of Black Metal at times, the riffs aren’t really oppressive or icy sounding.

Lyrically, as usual, the band have their unique selling point in the form of singing about interesting historical and fictional things from their own culture (Sumerian/ Assyrian/ Mesopotamian folklore). It gives the listener an interesting perspective, and variety from all the usual gore or biblical stuff.

Don’t worry too much about “what” they play however. Whatever it is, they play it brilliantly. Melechesh are just a really unique, incredibly interesting and talented band, that come out with some very enjoyable music that covers a lot of ground within the Metal spectrum and this album in particular is a culmination of all the experimentation and improvements that the band have developed over their career. It is a potential-filler. It’s a promise-fulfiller. It is the refinement and perfection of over a decade of brilliant ideas. It is a straight-up masterpiece that just gets better with each listen.

The Epigenesis, like each album the band have released to date, expands the band’s horizons and without loosing their core sound, improving with each new record into their collage of different Metallic styles. There are more of the band’s trademark evil-sounding folk moments and sound effects (in this case ‘When halos Of Candles Collide’ and ‘Greater Chain Of Being). Like the two records which preceded it, The Epigenesis is an incredibly instant album, that grabs your attention right away but that has so many great little touches and hidden depths that you can listen to it over and over again and like it more every single time. If you are already a fan of the band this will doubtlessly delight you and if you aren’t yet it will surely make you one.

Highlights include the groovy opener ‘Ghouls Of Nineveh,’ the ridiculously catchy and bouncy ‘Sacred Geometry’ (that riff is massive!) and the rolling, hypnotic, album-closing Title Track. That being said its an absolutely rock solid album all the way through, and nothing’s worth skipping at all (unless the quiet Eastern numbers aren’t your cup of tea). Basically; if you want creative memorable riffs, powerful technical drumming and a distinct flavour that separates it from the crowd, this is something should consider trying.

Overall; Melechesch are a superb and talented band with a hell of a lot to offer. If you like Extreme Metal they’ll feel like a breath of fresh air and if you don’t they are still somehow strangely accessible and manage to write such catchy and enjoyable music that it never feels too dense or challenging. The Epigensis is definitely one of the finest records that the band have released to date. I highly recommend you give it a try if the band appeals to you at all.