Melechesh is an ethnically Assyrian

black metal Black metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music. Common traits include fast tempos, a shrieking vocal style, heavily distorted guitars played with tremolo picking, raw (lo-fi) recording, unconventional song structures, and an emp ...

band that originated in

Jerusalem Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...

and is currently based in

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the capital and most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population of 907,976 within the city proper, 1,558,755 in the urban ar ...

, Netherlands. Ashmedi started the band as a solo project in 1993. In the following year, guitarist Moloch and drummer Lord Curse were added to the line-up. The band's goal was to create a type of black metal incorporating extensive Middle Eastern influences mainly based on

Assyria Assyria ( Neo-Assyrian cuneiform: , romanized: ''māt Aššur''; syc, ܐܬܘܪ, ʾāthor) was a major ancient Mesopotamian civilization which existed as a city-state at times controlling regional territories in the indigenous lands of the ...

n ( Mesopotamian) and occult themes (both musically and lyrically); the band invented the title "Mesopotamian metal" or "Sumerian Black Thrashing Metal" to best describe their type of metal. They are sometimes referred to as

oriental metal Folk metal is a fusion genre of heavy metal music and traditional folk music that developed in Europe during the 1990s. It is characterised by the widespread use of folk instruments and, to a lesser extent, traditional singing styles (for exampl ...

Name etymology and pronunciation

The name ''Melechesh'' consists of two words of

Hebrew Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...

and

Aramaic The Aramaic languages, short Aramaic ( syc, ܐܪܡܝܐ, Arāmāyā; oar, 𐤀𐤓𐤌𐤉𐤀; arc, 𐡀𐡓𐡌𐡉𐡀; tmr, אֲרָמִית), are a language family containing many varieties (languages and dialects) that originated in ...

origins: ''melech'' (meaning ''king''; מֶלֶךְ, ܡܲܠܟܵܐ) and ''esh'' (meaning ''fire''; אֵשׁ); hence, ''king of fire'' or ''fiery king''. The

portmanteau A portmanteau word, or portmanteau (, ) is a blend of wordsdigraph ''ch'' is pronounced similarly to the Scottish ''ch'', as in the word '' loch'', or the Greek letter ''Χ''. The

Modern Hebrew Modern Hebrew ( he, עברית חדשה, ''ʿivrít ḥadašá ', , '' lit.'' "Modern Hebrew" or "New Hebrew"), also known as Israeli Hebrew or Israeli, and generally referred to by speakers simply as Hebrew ( ), is the standard form of the H ...

realization of it is the

voiceless uvular fricative The voiceless uvular fricative is a type of consonantal sound used in some spoken languages. The symbol in the International Phonetic Alphabet that represents this sound is , the Greek chi. The sound is represented by (ex with underdot) in Am ...

(/χ/). See

Modern Hebrew phonology Modern Hebrew is phonetically simpler than Biblical Hebrew and has fewer phonemes, but it is phonologically more complex. It has 25 to 27 consonants and 5 to 10 vowels, depending on the speaker and the analysis. Hebrew has been used primarily fo ...

and

Aramaic phonology The Aramaic languages, short Aramaic ( syc, ܐܪܡܝܐ, Arāmāyā; oar, 𐤀𐤓𐤌𐤉𐤀; arc, 𐡀𐡓𐡌𐡉𐡀; tmr, אֲרָמִית), are a language family containing many varieties (languages and dialects) that originated in ...

. In English, an accepted and common pronunciation is ''me-lek-ESH'' ().

Geographical origins

The band started their career in

(and

Bethlehem Bethlehem (; ar, بيت لحم ; he, בֵּית לֶחֶם '' '') is a city in the central West Bank, Palestine, about south of Jerusalem. Its population is approximately 25,000,Amara, 1999p. 18.Brynen, 2000p. 202. and it is the capital o ...

), where most Israeli Assyrians and many Israeli Armenians live today, and operated from there between 1993–1998; however, they have resided mainly in

since 1998 for several personal, professional and demographic reasons.

History

The band's release in 1995 of the official demo '' As Jerusalem Burns...'' and 7" EP '' The Siege of Lachish'' attracted attention from both underground metal fans and local authorities. Melechesh were accused of "Dark Cult activities" by the law enforcement authorities of the city of Jerusalem, especially by a frontpage newspaper article which twisted some facts. The charges were eventually dropped. In 1996, the band released their debut album '' As Jerusalem Burns...Al'Intisar'' on an American black metal record label; then newly recruited bassist Al'Hazred completed the line-up. This marked the band as the first signed non-Israeli band from the Middle East and also the first international signed metal band from Jerusalem and Bethlehem. Due to various personal, professional, and demographic reasons, the band members had to relocate. In 1998, armed with a new promo CD "Mesopotamian Metal" and after a farewell gig in Jerusalem, Israel, Melechesh relocated to France and the Netherlands. Lord Curse remained in Jerusalem and later moved to the US to continue with his Art studies (and now works for George Lucas' ILM company), hence, the band had to recruit a new drummer. Absu vocalist and drummer Proscriptor soon filled the vacant position. From that point on, Melechesh have released two full-length albums: ''

Djinn Jinn ( ar, , ') – also romanized as djinn or anglicized as genies (with the broader meaning of spirit or demon, depending on sources) – are invisible creatures in early pre-Islamic Arabian religious systems and later in Islamic myt ...

'' (2001), dealing with Mesopotamian mythology, and ''

Sphynx The Sphynx cat (pronounced , ) also known as the Canadian Sphynx, is a breed of cat known for its lack of fur. Hairlessness in cats is a naturally occurring genetic mutation, and the Sphynx was developed through selective breeding of these ani ...

'' (2003), dealing with

Mesopotamia Mesopotamia ''Mesopotamíā''; ar, بِلَاد ٱلرَّافِدَيْن or ; syc, ܐܪܡ ܢܗܪ̈ܝܢ, or , ) is a historical region of Western Asia situated within the Tigris–Euphrates river system, in the northern part of the ...

n/ Sumerian mythology while always keeping the dark and Near Eastern occult themes close to their hearts. The band recorded their fourth and highly acclaimed album '' Emissaries'' which is available in Europe (

Osmose Productions Osmose Productions is a French independent record label created in 1991 by Hervé Herbaut, after he had spent three years running a small mail order company. They specialize mainly in death and black metal bands. Many of the groups who began w ...

) and by

The End Records The End Records is a record label in Manhattan that specializes in rock, heavy metal, indie, and electronic music. Early years (1998–2005) The End Records was founded by Andreas Katsambas in Pasadena, California, with the goal of helping ...

in the United States and Canada. Meanwhile, Xul has replaced Proscriptor as the band's full-time drummer. A documentary was begun filming the founder, about his plight to create the band. Despite the first director leaving the film after losing all footage he did in Jerusalem another director took over and the project is still on track. Ashmedi's biographical articles can be found on several reputable websites and printed magazines around the world, such as the magazines Decibel and Legacy. Meanwhile, since the release of the highly acclaimed '' The Epigenesis'', Melechesh have been continuously touring around the world to further promote the album. On 13 August 2013, Melechesh announced via their Facebook page that both Moloch and Ashmedi amicabliy decided that the former should leave the band, due to academic commitments. It was also revealed that drummer Xul was dismissed in July on good terms. Sirius has been drafted, after one gig the collaboration ended and the position is open for a guitar player. A new drummer will be announced in the future. It is also understood that Scorpios' position in the band is that of a full-time member.

Band members

Current members

*Ashmedi – lead vocals, guitars, sitar, keyboards, piano (1993–present)

Former members

*Uusur – bass (1995–1996) *Thamuz – bass (1995) *Cimeries – keyboards (1995) *Al Hazred – bass, vocals (1996–2008) * Proscriptor McGovern – drums, percussion, vocals (1999–2005) *Xul – drums (2005–2013) *Rahm – bass (2010–2011) *Scorpios – bass, vocals (backing) (2013–2016)

Current live members

*Nomadic Soul – guitars (2019–present) *Nomadic Soul – bass (2020–present) *Simon Škrlec (BOBNAR) – drums (2015, 2016–present)

Session/live musicians

*Simon Škrlec (BOBNAR) – drums (2015, 2016–present) *Kevin Paradis – drums (2014, 2015) *Geert Devenster – guitars *Kawn – bass, vocals (2007–2008) *Malak Al'Maut – guitars (2008–2009) *Rahm – bass (2009–2010) *Aethyris MacKay – guitars (2011) *Scorpios – bass, backing vocals (2012–2013) *Max Power – guitars (2013) *

Ralph Santolla Ralph Santolla (December 8, 1966 – June 7, 2018) was an Italian-American heavy metal guitarist. He played in many bands, most recently Deicide, but also including Eyewitness, Death (he never recorded any of their albums, but toured with them in ...

– guitars (2013)

Timeline

Discography

Studio albums

* ''As Jerusalem Burns...Al'Intisar'' (1996) * ''

'' (2001) * ''

'' (2003, 2004 in North America) * '' Emissaries'' (2006, 2007 in North America) * '' The Epigenesis'' (2010) * ''Enki'' (2015)

EPs

* ''The Siege of Lachish'' (1996) * ''The Ziggurat Scrolls'' (2004) * '' Mystics of the Pillar II'' (2012)

Demo

* ''As Jerusalem Burns...'' (1995)

References

External links

Official website
* {{Authority control Israeli black metal musical groups Israeli expatriates in the Netherlands Oriental metal musical groups Blackened death metal musical groups Musical groups established in 1995 Musical groups from Jerusalem Musical quartets Nuclear Blast artists 1995 establishments in Israel Assyrian musicians