Maybe for some western ears Oriental music is very intriguing and interesting, for some is a part of a local music scene. In Israel, as a middle eastern country, surprisingly Oriental Metal is not very common, in fact the local Israeli scene has only few bands that goes under the definition of Oriental Metal.

Though the band it self does not defined as an Israeli band, MELECHESH has it's origins in Jerusalem, Bethlehem, the rest of the band unites in Europe. The controversial history of the band holds the reason for for leaving the gates of Jerusalem and rebuild the main fortress overseas.

It took almost 11 years for the Oriental Black Metal MELECHESH to come back to Israel and hit the stage once again. the responsibility for this legendary comeback holds by the ProgStage Production, once again the nostalgia floats to the surface thanks to ProgStage initiative. The show took place at the Gagarin Club Tel-Aviv at the 28th of March.

The opening show was performed by the local wicked and extremely heavy Death Metal band, SPAWN OF EVIL. These guys know how to crush some bones to ashes. They had fulfilled their duty by warming up the stage for the main act. This veteran Death Metal band hits the local scene since 1998, still unlabeled, maybe to keep the underground profile maybe for some other unknown reasons, what matter is the unique caricaturists of each band member.
 

Moti Rokah, the leader and the vocalist is like a giant cave man with a long black hair that covers his face compliantly, rising his right palm horizontally towards the crowd like he's going to grasp your throat, but in this case, the gesture roles to make the atmosphere heavier, it is unnecessary to add more about his beastly and demonic voice. Hezi Menashe behind the bass, gives the crowd angry looks and feeds it with heavy bass lines. And what can I say about Nero Tamir, the man is the star of the show, the look of the spawn itself, showing off his piercings and crazy tattoos with insane guitar performance. Yaron Hakon on drums, watching this man hitting the drums with passion like he gives the instrument all his heart and soul.
 

For the last couple of songs, the former and the original guitar player Miko Haronian, the reason behind his attendance doesn't clear at all, because Miko doesn't always end up attending for the band's shows, though he still noted as a formal guitar player. Seeing these guys on stage is a whole other exciting and stirring experience of musicians which love their audience as they love their music.

However, delays are very common in local shows, in this show particularly, the main act performed by MELECHESH was short on schedule due to delays and perhaps some other technical difficulties. The set list had been changed by couple of songs. The attitude toward the performance in Israel was also a mystery, hard to explain but there was some tension on the stage that filled the air, maybe it's the lack of air-conditioning, maybe the synergy between the band members that felt odd. Maybe it's only me but it looked like a rehearsal on stage from time to time between the songs. Another awkward feeling I got by observing the show on the stage, is the charismatic personality of the lead singer Ashmedi slightly fading away while it looked like he was focused on some issues.
 

The crazy crowd can say otherwise, the insane energy that filled the air followed by unbearable and brutal moshpit. Literally, it was impossible to stay still in any corner, you'll be pushed and pulled away. It looks like the audiences expectations were exceeded , up until the last song when Ashmedi and his crew just left the stage without expressing any sympathy towards the crowd, although the song before the last was declared as the closing song for the show, they'd ended the show leaving crowd with their stomachs empty.
 

Maybe It could have been understandable if it were a part of the show. Although It is unprofessional for a labeled band to finish the show with the last song preformed in this manner for no acceptable reason. Many people in the audience were excited over the top and fulled with high expectations after seeing this band over a decade ago. I hope that the crowed wasn't disappointed that much as I was. Even so, after the show there was some compensations, the still hungry audience could enjoy the signing session and the after party.