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

'Illumination - The Face of Shamash': “This was the first song written for this album. As soon as I had the demo in my hands I sighed in relief. This was the beginning; the first stone in the sonic ziggurat known as The Epigenesis. I recorded several Tibetan monk types of chanting. The song goes into a blast beat while the drum pedals still maintain one of the middle eastern drum counts. It’s an aggressive song yet it still offers breaks with mid eastern melodies. The lyrics relate to my hallucinating but enlightening encounter with the Mesopotamian sun god Shamash. A lot of metaphors here! In the mid east shams means sun in Arabic and Shemesh means the same thing in Hebrew. The songs builds up to a very dramatic and epic ending. We tried this live last February. It had no title and no lyrics. Now we look forward to taking this song to the stage with a proud title and insane singing.”

'Negative Theology': “How can I describe this? Many jump to conclusions before understanding the concept. Is theology negative? I say often it is. The principle of it is to provide people with a set of guidelines and hopes which is not so bad. But when looking at the amounts of dead people due to it you have to think! But regardless of this issue, does the song title refer to this? I answer no. Negative theology actually is a system of negating what is NOT divine, with the hopes of discovering the divine in the end. This is a thinking system used in every belief! We used it for discovering the actions of the Annunaki or any creators if there are any! This song was done with 12 string guitars and has very technical drumming and dynamics. The song offers some neck breaking black metal rhythms. I composed this song at the same time I was on a HEAVEN & HELL high. Coincidentally and fatefully I was doing the vocals in the studio when I was interrupted and was told DIO had passed away. I could not work anymore that day so I got a drink and then I tried to record some vocals as a tribute. It was hard. So we stopped the session after a few hours and called it a night.”

Melechesh have made the track 'Grand Gathas Of Baal Sin' available for streaming on their MySpace page. The track comes from the band's new album The Epigenesis.

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. In an unprecedented move in metal, 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 (above) to their long awaited fifth album was handled by renowned UK based occult artist John Coulthart, whom the band has previously collaborated with before.

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