Search - Salem :: Collective Demise

Top Black Death Metal album of the year.

04/21/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"These guys have been around since the late 80s and got to work and play with some of the best known faces in the scene. Their site is nothing short of amazing...and so is this album.
Their music is very unique. It's a great blend of orientaly oriented riffs, ethnic instruments (my favorite is the timbales on both "Slave" and "Dead Eyes"), female vocals (amazing voice on "Coming End of Reason", "Feed on your Grief" and the interlude of "Act of War"), wide range of tempos, great lyrics ("We keep dry under the rain of terror" is a personal favorite), amazing second guitar parts, great drumming (This guy should be on Modern Drummer giving clinics) and overall very impressive production.
Through their website you can download 2 songs and watch their videos which is great because you can literally preview the CD before you buy it and that's something that is hard to find these days.
Unlike other extreme metal releases in my collection, this one my girlfriend is cool with mainly because there are songs on the album, songs that are structured in a great manner and the music is very melodic which compensates for the harsh vocals. Great work, people. Last but not least, the band is from Israel which is pretty amazing to me and explains why they sound so special. I love it!!!"