Salem
Wywiad przeprowadził Piotr Pyczek
Salem is one of those bands you've heard of, but never listened to. Am I right? You know bits and pieces of information about them, and that's all. I guess that this will eventually change, since they've released a new album "Collective Demise" which has had really good promotion world wide. If it's not in a nearby store, then you're probably in a drug store right now! We'll begin this interview without any info about history or bio details, you can get those on their webpage. We'll start with what is important - the new album. 
Hello Ze'ev. Lat's start with your new album "Collective Demise" which has been like a real blow straight into my face musically and lyrically. It seems that you play heavier and your vocals are more (let's say) brutal when compared to "The Moment Of Silence".
"Collective Demise" is very aggressive, although it has lots of melodies and harmonies. I think that "Collective Demise" reflects a certain adolescence of Salem, the fact that it's more aggressive and much faster distinguishes it from our previous releases.
On the new CD I can feel a transition from gothic-like playing to more aggressive metal elements in your music. Your kinds of speed, aggression and your voice are not typical for death metal nor for doom or black... It's pretty hard to say what you play.
It is very difficult for me to define Salem. In general, Salem plays Death Metal, but if you'll take the songs and separate them, you'll see that every song has it style. For example, take "Coming End Of Reason" and try to compare it with "Slave". Those are 2 completely different songs, and that is why this is so difficult to define what we play. You have to listen to understand the difference between the songs.
You also used lots of strange instruments on this album. What the hell is that Arabic darbuka you mention here and there?
We are living in an oriental country, and here, in Israel, all those things are very common, and we think it's important to add those things to our music. The use of Afro-Cuban Percussion on "Dead Eyes" and "Slave", Arabic darbuka on "Broken Yet United" and "Act of Terror", female vocals on "Coming End of Reason", "Feed on Your Grief", "Act of War" and "Al Taster" and the most sophisticated second guitar harmonies ever submitted to reel.
A darbuka is a percussion instrument that is made of clay and on top of it, tied with strings, there are 2 leather layers (usually of camel). You play this instrument with your fingers.
You like to colour your music in this way. In "Al Taster", the whole track is based on a Jewish Hymn. I wonder what the reaction of common people might be; do they object to it being played by a metal band? I remember that you had some problems during "kaddish" with one of your songs.
We did have a problem when we did "Kaddish", we had an argument because people thought it wasn't appropriate to play "Ha'ayara Boe'eret" with Metal. This is a very sensitive subject and some people thought the music is too aggressive, but eventually, we decided that it is appropriate to cover songs like that, and that is why we did it. After all we have freedom of speech and creativity. Until now, we haven't had any problems with "Al Taster".
When you look back on the previous album I have mentioned a minute ago - tell me what mistakes you made? Maybe some good or bad choices? Was the promotion satisfactory?
The mistake we made with our album "A Moment Of Silence" was that we signed with the Israeli record company "B.N.E", and that wasn't right for us. We didn't get the right promotion, and we were very disappointed. When "A Moment Of Silence" was released, "B.N.E got a deal from "Noise Records" (a German label) for 5 albums. The thing that prevented Salem from signing, and ruined the album distribution in Europe, were a number of clauses in the contract that can fail the band in the future. Therefore, the contract with "Noise" was cancelled.
The good thing that came out from BNE is that we had the chance to work with Colin Richardson. He is one of the biggest producers, he produced bands like "Fear Factory", "Machine Head", "Napalm Death", "Carcass", "Bolt Thrower" and more. We learned a lot from him, and we are very happy that we had the opportunity to work with him.
It is a fact that you live in a country where everyday life is not easy and not always safe. You write a lot about that in your lyrics, things like terrorism and death in the street. Do YOU feel safe? What about during concerts? There 
are so many people. This fear that you write about - is it everywhere?
In Israel it's impossible to ignore the news, since it has a direct effect on your daily life, and as a result you have songs. It's hard to cope with the fear of being somewhere crowded (like buses, restaurants, or even live shows) without knowing how it will end. The fact that innocent civilians are dying gives you a feeling of helplessness. It is difficult for us to see a solution for it right now, but we don't know what tomorrow will bring - therefore we try to keep hoping.
The political situation in Israel is very tense. That influences us and you can see it in our lyrics and music. It influences the metal in Israel because foreign metal bands are afraid to come here. Also, if we have a terrorist attack and a show on the same day, it is possible that the show will be cancelled.
Do you think that people will get this message?
We just want to show the situation as we live it.
In the Video to "Act of War" you directly show what it's like. This one really made an enormous impact on me, and I think that everyone should see this clip at least once. Are these included on a regular CD?
You can't get the videos now, but soon Act Of War and Broken Yet United will be on the Salem site. It is possible that we will release a DVD that will include those videos and more.
Another video included on the promo CDR is devoted to the Israeli metal fans. Are they really so mad and crazy during concerts?
Salem shows have great energy. The audience knows and sings all the lyrics with me, and almost every show is sold out (800-1000 people). The show is 80 minutes, and it includes songs from all of our releases. Every show is different because we have 4 CD's, and we try to give the audience something new every time they come to see Salem show. In some shows, we put up a video screen with Salem's video clips, or project the show. You can see in the video clip that Salem fans are mad and crazy during the concert. We are now working on a new clip ("Slave") from a previous show, 1000 fans going crazy - the clip "Broken Yet United" will be delicate in contrast with this one.
Your shows are full of energy and you music is full of anger. I think that you play Anger metal. Can we coin it now? There is so much anger in your voice and music.
Our music has a lot of different emotions in it, like pain and anger that we experience in Israel as individuals and a collective. I think you can feel it through our melodies and harmonies.
New label KMG/ System Shock is quite known in Europe. What are your expectations as far as promotion is concerned? Do you have any numbers? What about the feedback?
KMG/ System Shock treats us great, they are doing a great promo for "Collective Demise". They are very satisfied with the sales of the CD. They didn't expect that Salem sales would be so good, and if they are happy, we are happy. Up until now, we have been getting great responses, excellent reviews and a lot of interviews. We appreciate it a lot. This is a good place to say thank you to all of you for the support, and for the good responses of the audience and the media.
You have not played outside Israel yet, but you must have heard about maniacs in other countries. Where would you like to play?
Salem hasn't played outside of Israel. One of the main reasons is that some of our band members at that time served in the army, and they couldn't leave Israel because of that. We where supposed to go twice on a European tour, with Death, Pestilence and with Cradle Of Filth. In any case, Salem has played with such known acts such as Megadeth, Entombed, Rotting Christ, Cancer, Disharmonic Orchestra as well as headlining tours throughout Israel. Salem was featured on MTV Europe several times and also on the German show Viva. I think I would like to play in Europe first.
Is there any chance of seeing you somewhere close to Poland? From what I can gather, you're a live band and you raise hell on stage...
I will be happy to play in Poland, it is our record company's decision, KMG/ System Shock is planning a European tour for Salem in 2003. We don't have the exact details right now, but we will be happy to inform you when we do.
Is there anything I did not ask and you'd like to add? Thanks and take care Ze'ev.
I would like to give more info about our 3 new video clips from "Collective Demise". The first one, "Al Taster" deals with the pain of people who have lost their loved ones. The second, "Act of war" shows the absurdity of suicide terrorists on buses in Israel. The third, "Broken Yet United" is dedicated to the Israeli Metal scene, to the audience, and it shows the relationship between Salem and our fans.
Thank you very much for your support. Keep metal alive! For more information about Salem, you can visit our web site: www.salemband.com
Salem
P.O.Box:566,
Givatyim 53104,
Israel
ps. in the meantime these videos have been posted on their webpage
www.vilon.co.il/meidan/act_of_war.wmv
www.vilon.co.il/meidan/broken_yet_united.wmv
