(TheMadIsraeli’s former boss at The Metal Register, Kyle Brady, requested that he write a piece on Middle Eastern metal, and here we have it. We’ve spotlighted bands from that region in previous writing at NCS, and I’ll add some further examples at the end of this post.)

When I say “Middle East”, what comes to mind?  War?  Brutal weather conditions?  The desolation of endless expanse of desert?  Regardless of what you think of, it’s probably not a region you’d immediately associate with metal, but with the evolution of the internet and the advent of file-sharing, becoming a successful band over there is slowly but surely becoming more of an option as we speak.  As a result, over the last four so years, a rash of bands have cropped up who are proving they’re already prepared to take the world by storm.

Consider this a sort of primer, or introduction to bands from the Middle East, with a mix of older and newer. Without further delay let’s begin doing a little analysis of the kind of shit we got going on over there.

One cannot discuss metal from this part of the world without touching on blackened thrashers Melechesh.  Definitely one of the longest running bands from the Middle East, their brand of black metal chaos, thrash technicality, and ethnically oriented musical and lyrical incorporations have turned them into a sure force to be reckoned with.  At one time hailing from Jerusalem itself (later moving to the Netherlands), their influence on the Middle Eastern scene cannot be denied.

Deathtune is an Iranian old-school groove-based death metal band with a beefy aesthetic and enough power to punch a meteor-sized crater into the earth.  You may remember that we featured them and their video for “No War” here.  Doing this perhaps even at potential risk to their freedom, this band delivers music with some real honesty and passion behind it.  They are currently recording their debut full-length.

Prey For Nothing is a progressive death metal band hailing, once again, from Israel.  They play a profound combination of death metal, groove, thrash, black metal, and even some slight hints of heavier power metal ala Symphony X.  They currently have two albums out, Divine Violence, released in 2008, and Against All Good And Evil, released last year.

Now is where I’ve simply jumped into Metal Archives, gone through a list of bands located Middle Eastern countries, and compiled some examples of shit that sounded good: 1000 Funerals (Iran), Tension Prophecy (Iran), Asgaut (Israel), Human Sector (Israel), and Brutus (Egypt):

Now it’s time for you to help widen this pool of selections in the Comments.  Help us find and share other shit from the Middle East.

EDITOR’S NOTE: To help start this off, here are links to previous NCS posts about other bands with their roots in either the Middle East or North Africa. You can also explore more of the region’s music via one of the the free compilations produced by the Cairo-based METALITY blog (the second of which we co-sponsored and wrote about here).

Voice of the Soul (U.S./Lebanon/Iraq/others)

Orphaned Land (Israel/Palestine)

Nervecell (U.A.E.)

Al-Namrood (Saudi Arabia)

Scarab (Egypt)

Odious (Egypt)

Depth (Kuwait)

Bilocate (Jordan)

Bouq (Jordan)

Sawlegen (Morocco)

Barzakh (Tunisia)

We’re now five months into 2010, and it’s time for another monthly update to the list of forthcoming new albums we first posted on January 1. (All the other updates can be found via the “Forthcoming Albums” category link on the right side of our pages.)  Below is a list of still more projected new releases we didn’t know about at the time of our previous updates, or updated info about some of the previously noted releases.

Once again, we’ve cobbled together news blurbs about bands whose past work we’ve liked, or who look interesting for other reasons. Needless to say (but we’ll say it anyway), these are bands that mostly fit the profile of music we cover on this site.

So, in alphabetical order, here’s our list of cut-and-pasted blurbs from various sources since our last update about forthcoming new releases. Look for the bands you like and put reminders on your calendar. Or if you’re old school like us, just get ‘em tattooed someplace you can see without a mirror (because reading stuff backwards is hard).

THE ACACIA STRAIN: “Western Massachusetts’ chuggernauts The Acacia Strain, have completed work on their new album, which will be released July 20th in North American and August 2nd in Europe via Prosthetic Records.”

ATHEIST: “Reactivated seminal technical metal pioneers ATHEIST will enter LedBelly studios in Atlanta, Georgia on July 5 to begin recording their long-awaited, as-yet-untitled fourth album. Engineering the session will be Matt Washburn. Additionally, the band has secured the services of one of metal’s most significant talents of the past decade, Jason Suecof (TRIVIUM, CHIMAIRA, DEVILDRIVER), to handle the mixing of what promises to be a modern classic from the pioneers of technical metal. . . . ATHEIST‘s forthcoming album is tentatively scheduled for a late 2010 release and will be followed by a world tour in 2011.”   (more after the jump . . .)

THE AUTUMN OFFERING: “The Autumn Offering is nearing completion of the recording process for their new self-titled album. Vocals are currently being tracked and the effort will be mixed by Pete Rutcho (Bury Your Dead) in June. A September release via Victory Records is planned.”

BONDED BY BLOOD: “‘Blood Spilled Offerings’, a new song from Pomona, California thrashers BONDED BY BLOOD, is available for streaming on the band’s MySpace page. According to a press release, the track is ‘a charging juggernaut of a song that gives a look at the inner workings of the Crong. They are the alien race that have taken control of future Earth in the band’s original sci-fi tale. ‘Blood Spilled Offerings’ comes off BONDED BY BLOOD‘s upcoming sophomore album, Exiled To Earth, which is set 600 years in the future and tells the tale of the Crong, an alien race who were sent to Earth long ago with one goal: global domination. A skilled group of warriors must now face the impossible and overthrow the Crong to take back our planet. Exiled To Earth will be available in North America on August 10 via Earache Records.”

BRUTUS: “Dutch death metallers BRUTUS have inked a deal with Unique Leader Records and Deity Down Records for the release of their sophomore album, Murwgebeukt (Total Loss). Due on July 20 in Europe via Deity Down in collaboration with Alpha Prime Music and Unique Leader Records in the rest of the world, the CD was recorded with drummer Ploegbaas, who took his own life shortly after the sessions were completed. A song from the album, “Lijdensweg” (Living Hell), is available for streaming on the band’s MySpace profile.”

BURDEN OF GRIEF: “German melodic death/thrash metallers BURDEN OF GRIEF will release their new album, Follow The Flames, on July 2 in Europe via Massacre Records. The follow-up to 2007′s Death End Road will contain 10 new songs. The limited-edition version of the CD will include a bonus disc featuring cover versions of eight metal classics. The album was mixed and mastered by Swedish producer/multi-instrumentalist Dan Swanö (EDGE OF SANITY, OPETH, DISSECTION, BLOODBATH). The cover artwork was created by Gustavo Sazes (ARCH ENEMY, SONIC SYNDICATE, GOD FORBID).”

COPROLITH: “Finnish ‘blackened death metallers’ COPROLITH will release their full-length debut, Cold Grief Relief, on June 17 via Violent Journey Records. The CD was recorded at Cut Circle Studio by Roland Nordström and was mixed by Jonas Eriksson at Second Floor Studio.”

DAATH: “Always one determined to abide by no preconceived industry standards and stray far from conventionality are the Atlanta based quintet Daath, who against all odds triumphantly return and enter the studio early next month to begin tracking their highly anticipated third full-length release. The drumming phenom Kevin Talley (ex-Chimaira, Dying Fetus) begins tracking in Atlanta on June 7th with renowned producer Mark Lewis (All That Remains, Trivium, Devildriver) and co-producer Eyal Levi (guitars) at the helm. . . . ‘We’re currently in the final stages of pre-production and begin recording with Mark Lewis on June 7th here in Atlanta. The release is planned for this fall.’”

EQUILIBRIUM: “Verbrannte Erde, a brand new song from German pagan/folk metallers EQUILIBRIUM, is available for streaming on the band’s MySpace page. The track comes off the group’s new album, Rekreatur, which is scheduled for release on June 18 via Nuclear Blast Records.”

GRAVE: “Swedish death metal legends GRAVE will release their new album, Burial Ground, on June 14 via Regain Records.”

HASTE THE DAY: “Indiana-based Christian metalcore band HASTE THE DAY will release its new album, Attack Of The Wolf King, on June 29 via Solid State Records. A brand new song from the album, “Dog Like Vultures”, is available for streaming via the band’s MySpace page.”

HATE: “Polish extreme metallers HATE will enter Hertz Studio in Bialystok, Poland on June 5 to begin recording their new album, Erebos, for a late 2010 release via Listenable Records. Erebos, which comes from ancient Greek and means literally “deep darkness” or shadow, will contain at least nine new songs, which are said to be a fusion of blackened death metal, industrial and ambient sounds, deathcore and heavy metal.”

HELMET: In a recent interview, vocalist/guitarist Page Hamilton of the alternative metal legends HELMET said that the release of the band’s new album (Seeing Eye Dog) “has actually been pushed back to August 24 as we try to finish artwork and finalize the tracks.”

HORNED ALMIGHTY: “Danish black metallers HORNED ALMIGHTY have finished recording their fourth album, Necro Spirituals, for a late 2010 release via Candlelight Records. The effort will once again be mixed and mastered by Jacob Bredahl (LAST MILE, ex-HATESPHERE), who previously worked with the band on last year’s Contaminating The Divine CD.”

IMMORTAL: “Norwegian black metallers IMMORTAL will release a concert DVD, The Seventh Date Of Blashyrkh, this summer via Nuclear Blast. The disc will include professionally filmed video footage of the band’s headlining performance at the 2007 edition of the Wacken Open Air festival, which was held August 2-4, 2007 in Wacken, Germany.”

IN THIS MOMENT: “Century Media Records has set a July 13 U.S. release date for A Star Crossed Wasteland, the third album from Southern California’s IN THIS MOMENT. The CD was recorded at The Wolves Den studio in Las Vegas, Nevada with producer Kevin Churko (OZZY OSBOURNE, FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH).”

ISIS/MELVINS: “The split 12″ from Isis and Melvins has now been slated for a July 13th release via Hydra Head Records. The split will feature two songs from each band. The Isis tracks are amongst the last recorded output to be released by the band. Both were recorded during sessions for the band’s Wavering Radiant album. Meanwhile, Melvins’ contribution is comprised of two tracks from their latest full-length, The Bride Screamed Murder. However, said tracks have been remixed and reworked.’”

KATAKLYSM: “Canadian death metallers KATAKLYSM have completed the recording process for their new album, Heaven’s Venom, for an August 24 release (one day earlier internationally) via Nuclear Blast Records. The follow-up to 2008′s Prevail was produced by KATAKLYSM guitarist Jean-Francois Dagenais (MALEVOLENT CREATION, MISERY INDEX) and is currently being mixed by Tue Madsen (THE HAUNTED, MNEMIC, DARK TRANQUILLITY).”

KYLESA: “Between extensive tours of Europe, Kylesa will enter the studio on May 31 to begin recording the follow-up to the critically-acclaimed album Static Tensions. The new album is the band’s debut for Season of Mist Records. The sessions will take place over the month of June at the legendary Jam Room in Columbia, SC with Phillip Cope (Baroness, Withered) at the helm as producer.”

MUSHROOMHEAD: “In a March 2010 interview with the ’Iron City Rocks’ podcast, Jeffrey Nothing revealed that the working title of MUSHROOMHEAD‘s new album is Slaughterhouse Road. The band recently finished mixing the CD for a tentative late August/early September release via Megaforce. Produced by co-founding member and drummer Steve ‘Skinny’ Felton, the album promises to be the band’s ‘most violent- and epic-sounding to date!’”

PRIMORDIAL: In an interview with The Obelisk (here), Primordial frontman Alan ‘Nemtheanga’ Averill disclosed that the Irish black/folk metal band plans to record its next album in June, with a  release projected for September or October 2010.

RAMESSES: “The psychedelic doom trio RAMESSES was spawned in the woodland of Dorset, England in 2003, and has been brutalizing its devoted fanbase ever since . . . . 2010 brings the next slab of raging doom from RAMESSES, in the form of their second mammoth full-length release, Take The Curse, which is set to infect the general public on the 2010 Summer Solstice, June 21. Releasing the album is new label Ritual Productions; the label formed by the band’s management.”

SERENITY DIES: “Melodic thrashers SERENITY DIES will release the Hacksawcracy EP on July 15, 2010. Taking inspiration from the likes of MEGADETH and METALLICA with a uniquely modern twist that emphasizes memorable songwriting, surgically precise riffing, and one hell of a rhythmic punch, the Maldives-based act sprints out of the blocks with refreshing vigor. The EP features guest appearances by Rob Caggiano (ANTHRAX) and Mikko Salovaara (KIUAS) who perform guitar solos on “Psycho Ride” and “Dystopian Law”, respectively.”

SEVERE TORTURE: “Dutch death metallers SEVERE TORTURE will release their fifth full-length album, Slaughtered, on June 29 (one day earlier internationally) via Season of Mist. The CD was recorded at Split Second Sound Studios in Amsterdam with producer Jochem Jacobs.”

SODOM: “The band will enter the studio during the coming months to begin recording its new album for a late 2010 release. Bassist/vocalist Thomas “Angelripper” Such recently stated about the group’s new material, ‘There has never been a SODOM album which is so wide-ranged, as powerful and as typically SODOM as this one.’”

SOTAJUMALA: ““Paratiisin kutsu” (The Call of Paradise), the new video from Finnish metallers SOTAJUMALA [is now available for viewing]. The song comes off the band’s new album Kuolemanpalvelus, which is scheduled for release on June 2 through Cobra Records. The CD was recorded at Studio Audio and Basement Alliance studios in Jyväskylä, Finland while the mastering was handled by Svante Forsbäck at Chartmakers in Helsinki. Kuolemanpalvelus is available for streaming in its entirety for a limited time at the Record Shop X web site.”

SPECIAL DEFECTS: “Meshuggah guitarist Fredrik Thordendal recently began recording material for his second album (the first as Fredrik Thordendal’s Special Defects in 1997). The effort will likely be available later this year. Among those contributing to the album is Soilwork drummer Dirk Verbeuren.”

VINDICATOR: “Midwest thrash maniacs VINDICATOR will release their sophomore album,The Antique Witcheries, on August 10 via Heavy Artillery Records. . . . The Antique Witcheries is described in a press release as ‘a masterpiece of modern thrash metal mayhem sure to please fans of DARK ANGEL, TESTAMENT andEXODUS.’”

WHITECHAPEL: ““Breeding Violence”, a brand new song from Knoxville, Tennessee death metallers WHITECHAPEL, is available for streaming . . . . The track comes off the group’s third album, A New Era Of Corruption, due on June 8 via Metal Blade Records.”

ZOROASTER: “Atlanta, Georgia’s “psych metal” band ZOROASTER has completed work on its sophomore album, Matador, for a July 13 North American release via E1 Music.”