Guitarist/vocalist Ashmedi of Mesopotamian blackened thrash pioneers MELECHESH, has issued the first of several track by track explanations of songs from their forthcoming album The Epigenesis. The album was released on October 1st in Europe and will be released on October 26th in North America via Nuclear Blast Records.

Read the explanations below:

‘Ghouls Of Nineveh’: “This song is a statement on how one riff can be effective and devastating! It is very powerful and live it is neck breaking. The song itself revolved around a singular riff, very non cliché to extreme metal. Some people expected a conformist start for the album, i.e. a faster song and we rejected the idea. This song sets the mood for a multi-faceted album. This song is almost like a hymn. ‘Ghouls Of Nineveh’ revolves around Assyrian/Mesopotamian deities, who are the Annunaki. Some of the brass bells you hear are a result of a pestle and mortar I found in my childhood house in Jerusalem when I went for a visit. The brass pestle and mortar was in my house as far as I can recall, yet this time when I was there in 2009, I experimented with it and the sound was bright. Better than any bell I know of. So I confiscated it and used it on the album as a percussive instrument! The final guitar lead was improvised on the spot and the piano cosmetic lead was split between Reuben the engineer and myself. This Fazioli Grand piano cost as much as a house in some parts of the USA ($120,000), so I was slightly careful with it!”

‘Grand Gathas Of Baal Sin’: “Gathas are the sacred writings of Zarathustra. However I liked to integrate themes and made Gathas for Lord Sin (Baal is not only a deity but actually the word means Lord). Sin is the name of the Mesopotamian moon deity so it is a play on words. Musically this song is meant to resemble a stampede or a whirlwind of chaos with frantic riffing tones, which breaks with epic Middle Eastern scaling and beats. The drum toms on this song represent war drums or ritualistic drums. With the set of right speakers the drum toms are explosive and bombastic. The group Chanting “Sin Baal Sin Baal” remind me of Sufi rituals. There is a little part in the end like a jam with non-distorted guitars. This was purely by chance the tape was rolling and I could only hear drum tracks so I jammed on the drums on a couple of channels. Eventually we thought ok let’s use it. The very final note on the song is the Persian Santur.”

Pre-order a copy of The Epigenesis with or without an exclusive shirt design at this location.

The Epigenesis was recorded in the newly built first class Babajim Studios in Istanbul, Turkey. The album was mixed by Reuben de Lautour and mastered by Pieter Snapper. The band chose to record the album entirely in Istanbul in an attempt to capture the inspiring surroundings. Babajim Studios is run by some of the most elite sound engineers in Turkey.

The artwork to their fifth album was handled by renowned UK based occult artist John Coulthart, whom the band has previously collaborated with before.

As previously reported, Melechesh have made the track ‘Grand Gathas Of Baal Sin’ from The Epigenesis, available for streaming on their MySpace page.

Melechesh will be supporting ROTTING CHRIST on their tour next March/April 2011. Joining them will be Polish death metallers HATE, ABIGAIL WILLIAMS, and LECHEROUS NOCTURNE.

Tour dates are as follows:

March

9 - Jaxx – W. Springfield, VA
10 - Championship Bar & Grill – Trenton, NJ
11 - Montage Music Hall – Rochester, NY
12 - Rocko’s – Manchester, NH
13 - The Palladium – Worcester, MA
14 - Crazy Donkey – Farmingdale, NY
15 - Petite Campus – Montreal, QC
16 - Mod Club – Toronto, ON
17 - Blondie’s – Detroit, MI
18 - Peabody’s – Cleveland, OH
19 - Reggie’s Rock Club – Chicago, IL
20 - Station 4 – St. Paul, MN
22 - The Republik – Calgary, AB
23 - Starlite Room – Edmonton, AB
25 - El Corazon – Seattle, WA
26 - Hawthorne Theatre – Portland, OR
27 - DNA Lounge – San Francisco, CA
28 - Chain Reaction – Anaheim, CA
29 - The Key Club – Hollywood, CA
30 - Brick by Brick – San Diego, CA
31 - U.B’s Bar – Mesa, AZ

April

1 - The War Legion Underground – Amarillo, TX
2 - The Marquee – Tulsa, OK
3 - Rail Club – Ft. Worth, TX

4- Emo’s – Austin, TX

5 - Walter’s – Houston, TX
7 - Brass Mug – Tampa, FL
8 - The Masquerade – Atlanta, GA
9 - Volume 11 – Raleigh, NC
10 - The Casbah – Charlotte, NC