Founded by a young guitarist who adopted the alias "Ashmedi " in the city of Jerusalem back in 1993, MELECHESH has always been a visionary band that invented a genre of its own. Melting raw black metal with Mediterranean drum patterns and guitar scales was the idea and resulted in a phenomenal demo (As Jerusalem Burns) and a 7" EP (The Siege Of Lachish) which gained the band a certain popularity in the first place. However the first album As Jerusalem Burns… Al'Intisar was the one to put Jerusalem and Bethlehem on the map of extreme metal, making MELECHESH the first non-Israeli metal band from the Middle East to get signed - and the first ever metal band out of Jerusalem with a record deal. Ashmedi and the rest of the members eventually moved to Europe and USA in 1998 due to several demographic, artistic and socio-political reasons.    In 2008, MELECHESH took another big step and signed with Nuclear Blast Records.Their fifth album The Epigenesis. against all trends the band went eastwards rather than going for the norm being recorded in Istanbul's newly built first class Babajim Studio.Response to The Epigenesis were outstanding with several cover stories and album of the Month or of the year in numerous publications. Summer 2014 MELECHESH set off to record their 6th album entitled Enki, featuring 12 string electric guitars aside from the 6 string played on the entire album, for a heavier and subtly richer harmonic sound. The band also tuned their instruments to the pitch perfect 432 Hz frequency rather than the standardized 440 Hz one for a deeper sonic experience within the human psyche and in accordance to vibrations of the universe. Enki also features esteemed friends of the MELECHESH society guest vocalists Max Cavalera and Sakis Tolis as well as guest lead by Rob Caggiano. With this deep and personal album filled with metaphor, spiritual, and philosophical references, and further development of their own Mesopotamian Metal, MELECHESH are yet again ready to spread their sonic magic, enlightened revelations and art to the cosmos. This is Sonic Magick
A**T
If there was any justice in the world Melechesh would be a big name in metal
For some reason when extreme metal meets ancient civilisation something truly wonderful is unleashed upon the world; witness the might of Nile for proof as they mix ancient Egypt with death metal. Melechesh have been doing it as well; furious black metal meets Sumerian (A region roughly where Iraq is now) they are however less well known than Nile probably because the subject matter is less well known, but really they deserve a lot more praise because their music is heavy and deeply absorbing.Enki is an epic piece of work which swings between violent, dirty thrashing and delicate melodic flourishes all the while imparting a sense of ages gone and time passed, this doesn’t mean the music is all dusty and old on the contrary it feels fresh and fiery like an unstoppable metal beast ravaging all it comes into contact with, while weaving up magical soundscapes.The album is a must buy if you like your music intelligent. Check out; ‘Multiple Truths’ and ‘Metatron and Man’
P**E
Amazing guitar etc
Melechesh are unique, not always fast, in fact a lot of their music is quite stately but still "fast". Amazing guitar etc. As usual the last track on the album is truly impressive! They know how to end an album!
D**R
Five Stars
Brilliant. A taste of the East.
M**L
is composed largely of blisteringly fast metal along with a beautiful instrumental track that makes use of historical middle eas
Melechesh have always been one of the more interesting extreme metal bands, their music being themed on ancient Sumerian mythology, magic and history. Enki, in a similar manner to their previous releases "The Epigenesis" and "Mystics of the Pillar II", is composed largely of blisteringly fast metal along with a beautiful instrumental track that makes use of historical middle eastern instruments. The fact that the band's music is not only thematically interesting but also exemplifies the awesome technical abilities of the band members as musicians is something that drew me to Melechesh in the first place and is certainly exhibited by this, their latest release.This album is a fascinating mixture of thrash metal (they've come a long way since their pretty nearly pure black metal roots) with historical themes, melodies and compositions, all played at 10,000 miles per hour! I would urge anyone interested in the notion of heavy metal themed around ancient Sumerian culture and mythology to check out the band's material on Youtube as the quality of the samples here on Amazon really doesn't do the skill of the band or the quality of the production on this album any justice. Unhesitatingly recommended to fans of extreme metal of any sort and anyone with an interest in metal that has a fascinating cultural theme.
M**.
'Enki': A Masterclass In Mesopotamian Occult Metal.
Five years on from their last album - 2010's 'The Epigenesis' - Mesopotamian occult metallers Melechesh return with their latest album 'Enki'.They're hardly prolific, only issuing 6 albums in almost 20 years, but they always come up with the goods, establishing a reputation as one of the greatest cult bands in extreme metal.'Enki' offers no radical deviations from their distinctive fusion of melodies rooted in ancient Mesopotamia with occult-themed black metal, as they serve up another magick brew of epic, swirling guitar riffs that conjure images of ancient lands from thousands of years ago, lyrics which allude to the mythology of long-lost civilisations, a pummelling rhythm section that oozes diamond-edged precision and, as always, a powerful production which allows Melechesh's sand-blasted, occult metal to breathe fully, not to mention fabulous cover artwork that perfectly represents the contents within.Like Egyptian-themed death metallers Nile, Melechesh also incorporate traditional middle-eastern instrumentation into their sonic brew, as evidenced on 'Doorways To Irkala', an 8-minute mood piece with utilizes an array of percussion and stringed instruments that perfectly invokes the spirit of the ancient world, before the epic, 13-minute 'The Outsiders' closes the album with yet another heaving slab of sonic magick that, in true Melechesh style, comes across as a perfectly organic melting pot of two very different worlds, separated by thousands of years.Needless to say, if you are partial to this magnificent band already, you will devour every note. If not, become at one with one of extreme metal's greatest bands. Try it.
