Album Review: Melechesh - “Emissaries”

With Nile merging death metal and Egypt and middle eastern sound, did you ever want to hear some other kind of metal merged with Egypt and middle eastern sounds? While it’s a topic to debate whether or not Melechesh have elements of thrash or death metal, it’s generally agreed upon that the core of their sound is black metal merged with the sounds of the middle east.

All the staples of black metal are definitely there, the high raspy vocals, the often speedily picked riffs, the blast beats contained among the other drum beats. The guitar sound has that familiar cold stark feel is there, yet some tones have been added to give more power and heft than the usual (sometimes weak) black metal tone. Not only that, but the production is of the good variety as opposed to the intentionally bad production of many other “raw” black metal bands.

If you’re looking to hear some middle eastern influence, then “Emissaries” is teeming with it from start to finish, including a few songs with some non-metal instruments. While the connection to Nile for these middle eastern influences might seem completely natural, I can’t hear any direct connections at all. The merging of black metal and the middle east couldn’t have come more naturally to Melechesh.

4.5/5

Melechesh
Melechesh At MySpace
Melechesh At Osmose Productions