Melechesh Sphynx
Osmose Productions
2003
1. Of Mercury and Mercury
2. Secrets of Sumerian Sphynxology
3. Annunakis Golden Thrones
4. Apkallu Counsel
5. Tablets of Fate
6. Triangular Tattvic Fire
7. The Arrival Ritual
8. Incendium Between Mirage and Time
9. Purifier of the Stars
10. Caravans to Ur
11. Babylon Fell
Brilliant, brilliant, brilliant. I cant say enough about how brilliant this album is. Did I mention that its brilliant? Totally evading me last year, this without doubt would have been top 5 material of 2003. MELECHESH are one of those bands that you cant get enough of, and Ive yet to search through their back catalogue, however deep it goes. These guys are the epitome of riff-frenzied atmospheres WITHOUT becoming chaotic in that MORBID ANGEL manner. This needs to be spelled out up front because of the Sumerian undertones (indeed, the band refer to their style as Mesopotamian Metal and people immediately think of Trey & co. so the comparison is inevitable.)
In any case, MELECHESH are totally unique! In this day and age, who would have believed? They mix elements of black metal in with hammering death metal, all to the tune of a middle-eastern incantation for raising the fallen demons of old. Of interest in particular are the riff changes, and the way that theyre always introduced. Kick-drums build up the tension, guitar picks screech down the strings, the bass starts pounding away the whole collection of all these attributes on Sphynx just blow my mind. This is the exact antidote to something like MITHRAS, where everything seems well composed and sequential, as opposed to flying off on tangents into black holes of oblivion. (Note that both MITHRAS and MELECHESH are now two of the greatest DM contenders to rise to the occasion in the last 12 months).
Push. The. Envelope.
Anyway, if you want a reasonably recent album that demands to be heard on headphones, Sphynx is it. Well, perhaps Sphynx and BLUT AUS NORDs The Work Which Transforms God. Either way, get this like theres no tomorrow, and if for any other reason, it would be to hear one of the greatest DM songs of all time, I shit thee not: Apkallu Counsel. Radical double-bass drumming in perfect symmetry with old school open-E riffs that scream Max Cavalera before he turned into a circus act. MELECHESH are what you might get if you were to throw DECAPITATED and AETERNUS out in the desert, only to seal them in a tomb together with ORPHANED LAND, mummify the whole mess of ugly offspring into one big fuck off band aid, and release this bastard curse a thousand years later to wreak havoc on your lower bowel movements. Honestly, if youre plugged up, listen to this and treat yourself to a self-induced enema.
9/10
Osmose Productions
2003
1. Of Mercury and Mercury
2. Secrets of Sumerian Sphynxology
3. Annunakis Golden Thrones
4. Apkallu Counsel
5. Tablets of Fate
6. Triangular Tattvic Fire
7. The Arrival Ritual
8. Incendium Between Mirage and Time
9. Purifier of the Stars
10. Caravans to Ur
11. Babylon Fell
Brilliant, brilliant, brilliant. I cant say enough about how brilliant this album is. Did I mention that its brilliant? Totally evading me last year, this without doubt would have been top 5 material of 2003. MELECHESH are one of those bands that you cant get enough of, and Ive yet to search through their back catalogue, however deep it goes. These guys are the epitome of riff-frenzied atmospheres WITHOUT becoming chaotic in that MORBID ANGEL manner. This needs to be spelled out up front because of the Sumerian undertones (indeed, the band refer to their style as Mesopotamian Metal and people immediately think of Trey & co. so the comparison is inevitable.)
In any case, MELECHESH are totally unique! In this day and age, who would have believed? They mix elements of black metal in with hammering death metal, all to the tune of a middle-eastern incantation for raising the fallen demons of old. Of interest in particular are the riff changes, and the way that theyre always introduced. Kick-drums build up the tension, guitar picks screech down the strings, the bass starts pounding away the whole collection of all these attributes on Sphynx just blow my mind. This is the exact antidote to something like MITHRAS, where everything seems well composed and sequential, as opposed to flying off on tangents into black holes of oblivion. (Note that both MITHRAS and MELECHESH are now two of the greatest DM contenders to rise to the occasion in the last 12 months).
Push. The. Envelope.
Anyway, if you want a reasonably recent album that demands to be heard on headphones, Sphynx is it. Well, perhaps Sphynx and BLUT AUS NORDs The Work Which Transforms God. Either way, get this like theres no tomorrow, and if for any other reason, it would be to hear one of the greatest DM songs of all time, I shit thee not: Apkallu Counsel. Radical double-bass drumming in perfect symmetry with old school open-E riffs that scream Max Cavalera before he turned into a circus act. MELECHESH are what you might get if you were to throw DECAPITATED and AETERNUS out in the desert, only to seal them in a tomb together with ORPHANED LAND, mummify the whole mess of ugly offspring into one big fuck off band aid, and release this bastard curse a thousand years later to wreak havoc on your lower bowel movements. Honestly, if youre plugged up, listen to this and treat yourself to a self-induced enema.
9/10
