#absu

Absu - "Barathrum: V.I.T.R.I.O.L." - 1993 Texas, US

Melechesh: Djinn (2001)

It took Melechesh nearly a decade to gain international attention with their sophomore album, Djinn, but an implausible 25 years have now passed since I myself became acquainted with these Jerusalem-formed, self-anointed harbingers of 'Mesopotamian Metal.'

But this exposure came at a tall price: exile!

Having found little support for their admittedly extreme sound and lyrics in their homeland, by the late '90s vocalist/guitarist Melechesh Ashmedi and bassist Al' Hazred had relocated to Holland, while second guitarist Moloch initially settled in France.

Their original drummer, Lord Curse, was unable to join them (how could he with a name like that stamped on his passport?), so when Melechesh reconvened to record Djinn at Harrow Studios in Losser, the Netherlands, they recruited Absu's Proscriptor McGovern to annihilate the drum kit.

This was hardly a casual decision, since precious few Western percussionists possessed the skill, let alone the world music knowledge, to contribute both the standard metallic techniques and Middle Eastern rhythms required of Melechesh's ethnically-possessed black metal.

That being said, Djinn offerings like "Rub the Lantern," "Covering the Sun," and "Oasis of Molten Gold" weren't nearly as fully realized or adventurous as the band's later works; simply meshing (or should I say "melecheshing") Arabia's classic melodies and clichéd thematic tropes with black metal ferocity, intensity, and instrumentation.

But that doesn't mean they didn't sound exciting, exotic, supa-fresh and hell-a-cool (no idea where that came from) anyway, and hints of future glories did emerge on highlights like "Genies, Sorcerers and Mesopotamian Nights," "Dragon's Legacy," and "The Siege of Lachish."

By contrast, the militaristic riff exercises of "A Summoning of Ifrit and Genii" overstayed their welcome and the quavering clean singing in "Wardjinn" could have used a little work, but the sitar-powered opening instrumental, "Whispers from the Tower," totally got the job done.

And Melechesh did too over the ensuing years, both consolidating and expanding their signature Mesopotamian Metal proposition with superior albums like Sphynx (2003), Emissaries ('06), The Epigenesis ('10), and Enki ('15).

The band was disappointingly silent for almost a decade after that, but I just noticed they have a three-song EP named Sentinels of Shamash scheduled for release on April 10, 2026, so I suppose that means the ancient Sumerian gods are awakening!