Tag Archives: hezi menashe

Album Review – Spawn of Evil / Sadistic Missionaries (2023)

Posted on by
Reply

This Israeli Death Metal outfit will crush your senses with their third studio album, representing their spoken word against the sadistic corruption that dominates the world and destroys life in every aspect.

Representing a decade long worth material featuring eight new tracks of traditional Death Metal with melodic guitar lines, furious rhythm section and wrathful vocals that will surely impress fans of bands like Morbid Angel, Benediction, Gorefest and the likes, the third full-length opus by Hadera, Israel-based Death Metal veterans Spawn of Evil, entitled Sadistic Missionaries, perfectly depicts all the passion for extreme music by Moti Rokah on vocals, Miko Haronian and Nir Tamir on the guitars, Hezi Menashe on bass, and Yaron Hakon on drums. Recorded by Hezi Menashe, mixed and mastered by Miko Haronian, and featuring guest guitarists James Reed of Vile Iniquity, Liran Aloni of Primaterra, and Kutna Hora (ex-Spawn of Evil), Sadistic Missionaries is the band’s spoken word against the sadistic corruption that dominates the world and destroys life in every aspect, speaking of those who embrace power to its evil form rather than humanity.

Fierce riffs and the rumbling sound of Hezi’s bass ignite the heavy-as-hell Hell Spawn, an in-your-face, unfiltered Death Metal attack with Moti already growling like a demonic creature, sounding vile yet very melodic from the very first second, and continuing their path of darkness and destruction the band offers us all the hammering, sluggish Storm Of All Sins, dragging our damned souls into the demonic lair ruled by such infernal Israeli entity. Yaron then pounds his drums with no mercy in God Is Fake News, an old school, mid-tempo Death Metal onrush perfect for breaking your neck headbanging, with Moti once again roaring and screaming in the name of evil, followed by the breathtaking Rhea Of The Gods, a song based on the mythological story of Rhea, the mother of all the gods, in her struggle against Krunus, the child eater, showcasing the band’s violence and passion for extreme music in great fashion, with the guitars by Miko and Nir sounding absolutely caustic until the very end.

It’s pedal to the metal with Yaron taking the lead with his massive beats in Human Mind, presenting another incendiary performance by Miko and Nir on the guitars supported by the metallic bass lines by Hezi. Then we have the two part title-track, with the first half Sadistic Missionaries, Pt. 1 bringing forward more of the band’s crushing Death Metal, with Miko and Nir kicking some ass with their demented riffage, therefore providing Moti with exactly what he needs to bark nonstop, whereas the second part, obviously titled Sadistic Missionaries, Pt. 2, sounds a lot faster and more violent and melodic, with the thrashier drums by Yaron adding an extra touch of insanity to their music, resulting in one of the most electrifying of all songs. Lastly, those Israeli death metallers will pierce our souls with over six minutes of dark and grim sounds in Righteous Evil, where despite all elements from the previous songs are present, its total length makes it a bit repetitive after a while.

If you love some good old school Death Metal with an additional dosage of brutality and violence, then you must give the guys from Spawn of Evil a try by listening to their new beast on  YouTube and on Spotify, and of course by purchasing a copy of it from the Pest Records’ BandCamp or webstore, from the Loud Rage Music webstore, or from Apple Music. Furthermore, go check what those Israeli metallers are up to on Facebook and on Instagram, keeping up to date with all things spawn of Evil. Corruption, power and all those evil things that make our world a much worse place have always been the perfect themes for any Death Metal album, and in Sadistic Missionaries it couldn’t have been any different, proving the guys from Spawn of Evil do not carry their name in vain.

Best moments of the album: God Is Fake News, Rhea Of The Gods and Sadistic Missionaries, Pt. 2.

Worst moments of the album: Righteous Evil.

Released in 2023 Loud Rage Music/Pest Records

Track listing
1. Hell Spawn 4:27
2. Storm Of All Sins 4:43
3. God Is Fake News 5:30
4. Rhea Of The Gods 4:19
5. Human Mind 3:52
6. Sadistic Missionaries, Pt. 1 5:18
7. Sadistic Missionaries, Pt. 2 4:35
8. Righteous Evil 6:29

Band members
Moti Rokah – vocals
Miko Haronian – guitars
Nir Tamir – guitars
Hezi Menashe – bass
Yaron Hakon – drums

Guest musicians
James Reed – lead guitars
Liran Aloni – lead guitars
Kutna Hora – lead guitars

Album Review – Zohamah / Spread My Ashes (2019)

Posted on by
Reply

Combining Black, Death and Doom Metal into a poisonous but intoxicating musical cocktail, here comes an Israeli one-man band armed with his excellent debut opus.

An intentionally cryptic band from Israel, Black/Death Metal one-man army Zohamah, which by the way is an expression taken from the Kabbalah that translates to “darkness” or “pollution”, a form of evil that results in kilkull (or spiritual damage), is unleashing upon humanity its first full-length opus, entitled Spread My Ashes, a follow-up to its debut EP Manic Depression, from 2017. Combining Black, Death and Doom Metal into a poisonous but intoxicating musical cocktail, Zohamah is the brainchild of vocalist and multi-instrumentalist H.M. (also known as Hezi Menashe), known from several underground bands such as Romuvos, Spawn of Evil and Immaterial, with all lyrics and music being written by H.M. himself, not to mention the album was also recorded, mixed and mastered by this extremely talented Israeli metaller.

The howling wind warns us all there’s a Black and Doom Metal storm coming in the opening track New World, generated by the somber gnarls and damned riffs blasted by H.M. It couldn’t have sounded more devilish than this, with H.M. also showcasing his superior skills on drums. Then presenting a Black Sabbath-inspired main riff enfolded in absolute obscurity we have The Darkness Whispers in My Ear, where H.M. is once again on fire with his demonic roars and intricate beats amidst the song’s hypnotizing rhythm; followed by Zohamah’s 2017 single, named Emptiness, a feast of the most Stygian sounds a man can generate, with his scorching hot guitar lines blending beautifully with his rumbling bass and rhythmic drumming, bringing elements from the most diverse types of classic extreme music.

A lot more Death Metal than its predecessors, which is noticeable specially on H.M.’s deeper growls, Black Cloud offers three minutes of aggressive, sulfurous and ruthless sounds, and the music remains vibrant and grim until all fades into pitch black darkness, whereas Broken Mirror is another demented creation by H.M., presenting the most melancholic and obscure elements from underground Blackened Doom. In addition, H.M. growls in a true desperate manner, bursting his lungs in pain and anguish. The title-track Spread My Ashes is a disturbing and harmonious instrumental bridge, building the ambience for the song that carries the name of the project, Zohamah, to captivate our senses with its neck-breaking pace, infernal screams and blast beats, ending the album on a high (and visceral) note just the way we love in underground extreme music.

It doesn’t really matter if you appreciate the works of one-man bands like Zohamah or not, you should definitely take a shot at Spread My Ashes, available in its entirety on on YouTube and on Spotify, as this is one of those albums that perfectly represent all the talent, hard work, passion for heavy music and darkness found in the independent Extreme Metal scene. If after listening to Spread My Ashes you feel like you want to know more about H.M. and his Zohamah (and I’m sure you will), you can follow him on Facebook, and show him your utmost support by purchasing the album from the Redefining Darkness Records’ BandCamp page, from the Hells Headbangers’ webstore, from iTunes or from Amazon. In the end, H.M. is not only spreading his ashes on us with Zohamah’s brand new album, but also showing all of us fans of metal music that the Israeli scene is a lot more interesting, vibrant and obscure than we can imagine.

Best moments of the album: The Darkness Whispers in My Ear and Broken Mirror.

Worst moments of the album: None.

Released in 2019 Redefining Darkness Records

Track listing
1. New World 4:45
2. The Darkness Whispers in My Ear 4:38
3. Emptiness 5:04
4. Black Cloud 3:14
5. Broken Mirror 4:29
6. Spread My Ashes 1:52
7. Zohamah 5:42

Band members
H.M. – vocals, all instruments