Arallu
Encyclopedia
Arallu is an Israel
i extreme metal
band. As one of the members of the Jerusalem extreme metal scene, Arallu has "thrived off the seeming contradiction of its location within a 'holy' city."
. The debut album The War on the Wailing Wall arrived in 2001 and featured "a drum machine programmed to ludicrous speed". In 2002, Arallu released their "iconoclastic" second album Satanic War in Jerusalem. Nir Nakav from the band Salem was responsible for the drums and the traditional Goblet drum while Daniel performed on all other instruments and vocals. The album featured a cover version of Slayer
's "Evil Has No Boundaries". Daniel expanded the band's line-up after the release of this album and a DVD Visual Chaos Invasion was released in the following year.
In September 2003, Daniel's brother was kidnapped and held to ransom by guerrillas from the Colombian organisation Ejército de Liberación Nacional
. Daniel was successful in negotiating for his brother's release.
The year 2005 saw the release of Arallu's third album The Demon From The Ancient World with guest performers from various Israeli acts including Zeev Tananboim of Salem. Daniel returned the favor with a guest performance on Salem's chart-topping Strings Attached album.
In September 2007, Arallu opened for Mayhem
's concert in Tel Aviv. The footage from the performance was filmed and is scheduled for release in 2008 as the band's second DVD. Their fourth album Desert Battles - Descending to the Sands was released in 2009.
On August 28, 2009, the band was the opening act for Behemoth
on their show at the Barby club in Tel Aviv
, along with Arafel.
In September 2011, the band went on their first European tour, playing 5 dates between September 9–13, 2011, in Germany
, Switzerland
and Austria
.
with oriental influences and touches of thrash metal
. Critic Roberto Marinelli describes their style as "reminiscent of early Venom
, Sodom
, and Voivod
: thrashy, monochromatic, underproduced and full of ideas that far outstrip their abilities". Daniel has remarked in an interview that Arallu's style has to be oriental, thrashy and barbaric "all at once".
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
i extreme metal
Extreme metal
Extreme metal is a loosely defined umbrella term for a number of related heavy metal music subgenres that have developed since the early 1980s. The term usually refers to a more abrasive, harsher, underground, non-commercialized style or sound nearly always associated with genres like black metal,...
band. As one of the members of the Jerusalem extreme metal scene, Arallu has "thrived off the seeming contradiction of its location within a 'holy' city."
Biography
Arallu was created as the solo project of Moti "Butchered" Daniel, a bass guitarist who has performed live with MelecheshMelechesh
Melechesh is a Assyrian-Armenian black metal band that originated in Jerusalem. 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 debut album The War on the Wailing Wall arrived in 2001 and featured "a drum machine programmed to ludicrous speed". In 2002, Arallu released their "iconoclastic" second album Satanic War in Jerusalem. Nir Nakav from the band Salem was responsible for the drums and the traditional Goblet drum while Daniel performed on all other instruments and vocals. The album featured a cover version of Slayer
Slayer
Slayer is an American thrash metal band formed in Huntington Park, California, in 1981 by guitarists Jeff Hanneman and Kerry King. Slayer rose to fame with their 1986 release, Reign in Blood, and is credited as one of the "Big Four" thrash metal acts, along with Metallica, Megadeth and...
's "Evil Has No Boundaries". Daniel expanded the band's line-up after the release of this album and a DVD Visual Chaos Invasion was released in the following year.
In September 2003, Daniel's brother was kidnapped and held to ransom by guerrillas from the Colombian organisation Ejército de Liberación Nacional
National Liberation Army (Colombia)
National Liberation Army is a revolutionary, avowed Marxist guerrilla group that has been operating in several regions of Colombia since 1964....
. Daniel was successful in negotiating for his brother's release.
The year 2005 saw the release of Arallu's third album The Demon From The Ancient World with guest performers from various Israeli acts including Zeev Tananboim of Salem. Daniel returned the favor with a guest performance on Salem's chart-topping Strings Attached album.
In September 2007, Arallu opened for Mayhem
Mayhem (band)
Mayhem is a Norwegian black metal band formed in 1984 in Oslo, Norway and regarded as one of the pioneers of the influential Norwegian black metal scene...
's concert in Tel Aviv. The footage from the performance was filmed and is scheduled for release in 2008 as the band's second DVD. Their fourth album Desert Battles - Descending to the Sands was released in 2009.
On August 28, 2009, the band was the opening act for Behemoth
Behemoth (band)
Behemoth is a Polish blackened death metal band from Gdańsk, formed in 1991. They are considered to have played an important role in establishing the Polish extreme metal underground, alongside bands such as Vader, Decapitated, Vesania and Hate....
on their show at the Barby club in Tel Aviv
Tel Aviv
Tel Aviv , officially Tel Aviv-Yafo , is the second most populous city in Israel, with a population of 404,400 on a land area of . The city is located on the Israeli Mediterranean coastline in west-central Israel. It is the largest and most populous city in the metropolitan area of Gush Dan, with...
, along with Arafel.
In September 2011, the band went on their first European tour, playing 5 dates between September 9–13, 2011, in Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
and Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
.
Style
Arallu performs black metalBlack metal
Black metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music. Common traits include fast tempos, shrieked vocals, highly distorted guitars played with tremolo picking, blast beat drumming, raw recording, and unconventional song structure....
with oriental influences and touches of thrash metal
Thrash metal
Thrash metal is a subgenre of heavy metal that is characterized usually by its fast tempo and aggression. Songs of the genre typically use fast percussive and low-register guitar riffs, overlaid with shredding-style lead work...
. Critic Roberto Marinelli describes their style as "reminiscent of early Venom
Venom (band)
Venom are an English heavy metal band that formed in 1979 in Newcastle upon Tyne. Coming to prominence towards the end of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal, Venom's first two albums—Welcome to Hell and Black Metal —are considered a major influence on thrash metal and extreme metal in general...
, Sodom
Sodom (band)
Sodom is a German Thrash metal trio from Gelsenkirchen, formed in 1981.Along with the bands Kreator and Destruction, Sodom is considered one of the "big three" of Teutonic thrash metal...
, and Voivod
Voivod (band)
Voivod are a Canadian heavy metal band from Jonquière, Quebec, Canada. Their musical style has changed several times since the band's origin in the early 1980s...
: thrashy, monochromatic, underproduced and full of ideas that far outstrip their abilities". Daniel has remarked in an interview that Arallu's style has to be oriental, thrashy and barbaric "all at once".
Band members
- Moti "Butchered" Daniel - lead vocals, bass (1997–present)
- Gal "Pixel" Cohen - guitars (2007–present)
- Sergei "Metalheart" Nemichenitser - guitars (2010–present)
- Yonatan Dushnitzki - drums (2003–present)
- Yaniv Zada - "soul beating" doom percussion instruments, wind instruments (2006–present)
Former members
- Yossi Darmon - guitars (2004–2010)
- Avi Caspi - guitars (1998–2007)
- Alex Schuster - guitars (2003–2004)
- Ben Fisher - drums (2001–2003)
Studio albums
- The War on the Wailing Wall (2001)
- Satanic War in Jerusalem (2002)
- The Demon from the Ancient World (2005)
- Desert Battles - Descending to the Sands (2009)
External links
- Arallu at MyspaceMyspaceMyspace is a social networking service owned by Specific Media LLC and pop star Justin Timberlake. Myspace launched in August 2003 and is headquartered in Beverly Hills, California. In August 2011, Myspace had 33.1 million unique U.S. visitors....
- Interviews and reviews