Something you might not know is that Israel has a longer history with black metal than you might realise. The first Israeli black metal band was formed in 1989, and by 1991 black metal music steeped in controversy was already being released by bands like Archeron Gates, or being performed live by bands like Impurity.
This early Israeli black metal scene wasn’t pussyfooting around either, and while they weren’t out burning synagogues, they were definitely causing controversy. (See: Acheron Gates.)
Formed from the flames of this initial spark of Israeli black metal a significantly populated black metal scene began to form throughout the 90s from which Arallu were born.
Arallu are an Israeli black metal band that fuses the raw aggression of the genre with the ancient sounds and mysticism of Middle Eastern music. Founded back in 1997, the band has evolved over time to create a distinctive identity that blends tremolo riffs and blast beats with traditional instruments like the darbuka and saz. With lyrics steeped in war, history, and Satanism, Arallu delivers a sound that is both ferocious and atmospheric, that has led to their standing as a unique force within the Israeli extreme metal scene, and one that is still going strong after all these years.
Today I’m speaking with Butchered to talk about Arallu’s origins, black metal in Israel, and what the future holds as the project turns 30. Let’s get into it!
Arallu Interview (Butchered, with D – 2025)
Appreciate your time today, B! I always like to start these things by asking, in your own words, what is Arallu and what led to this project’s creation back in 1997?
Hello D and thank you for this interview.
The name Arallu comes from the ancient world in the Middle Eastern culture Mesopotamia.come from Jerusalem and there’s never been stability in the area, and I think never will be. A lot of the songs of Arallu talk about exactly this, and the link between the ancient world and the modern world, that very much resembles each other. We wake up every day to new horror in our life, and I explore the reasons why, and the process. Arallu was founded in Jerusalem in the middle of the conflict between the religions around the old city of Jerusalem in the 90′. When you live as the terror is surrounding you, if you want or not, it inspires you whatever you do.
I remember the bus exploding next to me and the hatred comes through the TV news. I was 16 years old and the extreme black metal concept around Europe comes to my life mixed with bloodshed around Jerusalem is what brought Arallu band to life actually..
This year saw you guys re-record from scratch your 2005 album The Demon from the Ancient World as DMoon – From the Ancient World (available now from Satanath Records). What made you guys want to rerecord this album for its 20th anniversary? How has the reception been so far?
DMOOn is a very well-written and interesting album, but its production ruined it. Still, in many magazines that reviewed Arallu’s albums, it was considered the best one, even after Death Covenant.
Since January, we’ve been discussing within the band the idea of re-recording it, but it never actually happened because of other activities .
The past three years with the ongoing war here, the band’s inactivity, and the approach from Nir Nakav all led to the creation of this album. I’m very happy that it finally came to life, and even more so because, coincidentally, this year marks the 20th anniversary of its original writing.
I can’t seem to find much online about where DMoon was recorded, mixed, and mastered. Was it recorded at The Urban Cat Studio like Death Covenant or somewhere else? And what was the experience like compared to recording it for the first time 20 years ago?
DMOON album was recorded at another studio called “Kosov”. IS A studio recording our drummer Nakav work with and he insisted that we record there because of the quality of the studio’s equipment and the level of instrumentation, which resulted in a perfect production for this album.
With the re-recording, and with the physical abilities of the band members who worked on the album, it was important for us to take the music in the best and most fitting direction possible. The original version already exists some fans love it, some don’t, but it’s out there. Back in 2005, we had to compromise due to the studio budget and the physical limitations of the musicians in the band. But in 2025, there are no compromises. If we’re doing the album again, we’re doing it in the best way possible.
I think it’s beautiful that there’s a chance to compare the two, but Demon 2025 is, in my opinion, a monster of an album in every aspect compared to the original, classic version. What interests me most is hearing what those who truly loved the original will have to say. Every album we create has its own atmosphere. What was right for the production in 2005 is not right for the production in 2025. That’s why even the track order and the artwork are different. This is not a simple reissue of the album it’s a completely new and full production. In many ways, it’s almost a brand-new album
What equipment did you guys use to record the album, and how has it changed from the first time round? Is there any equipment you’d still like to add to your arsenal, and if somebody from outside the region wanted to purchase a saz or darbuka, which brands are the ones people should look out for?
Actually there is many different companies of Darbukka and saz so you should know what sound you looking for we always looking for new sounds. If you check our 8 previews albums you can hear its all are middle eastern black death metal but in different way. We always looking to add some new and different instruments to bring a new sound to our music. Darbuuka as always there like a second drum system but the instruments are different like in DEATH COVENANT and EN OLAM we add the SAZ sound, in DMOON album we make more keyboards and middle eastern violins.
The 2005 version has many more types of percussion instruments, and the new version has more string instruments, which gives a different color to the album. With that, What ultimately matters is the speed of the guitar picking and the tempo of the drum patterns.
All of Arallu’s music is based on Middle Eastern scales, combined with picking speeds drawn from death and black metal styles. When I’m in the mood to emphasize the Middle Eastern elements, the riffs I’ve written and the drum patterns are played at half or even a quarter of the speed of the faster songs. That’s the whole magic.
I’m sure most people outside of Israel are unaware of just how long (and controversial) a history black metal has in Israel. I feel as veterans of almost 30 years you’re excellent candidates to ask, how has the black metal scene in Israel evolved over that time?
Right now, in Israel, extreme metal like death metal and black metal is relatively weak compared to previous years. It always comes in waves, but in the past couple of years, maybe because of the war situation here, this style has unfortunately faded.
Obviously, there are quite a lot of Middle Eastern sounds across your discography including some instruments traditional to the area. So, I’ve wanted to know, who would you say had influenced your music most, and how have these influences changed over time?
As a child, I was nourished by my father’s love for traditional Middle eastern folk music, which I still listen to today and that’s the music I’ve blended into the style I love so much: death and black metal. What the combination created was a new style and a very different one from the familiar European black metal.When the band was formed, I wanted to create a style of music that I loved so much combined with traditional music from the region where I grew up.
Another prominent theme in your work is Satanism. Obviously, Satan and Satanism can mean a lot of different things to many different people, from the spiritual and literal through to the symbolic and fictional. So I wanted to ask, where would you say you sit on the Satanic spectrum?
As a person who has lived for over forty years and witnesses, day after day, the religious wars between the three great faiths Jews, Muslims, and Christians the endless bloodshed that has continued for centuries makes it hard for me to accept the whole idea of religion and God. I do not believe in religions, nor do I believe in God. In my eyes, this living being called “human” is full of flaws even corrupted. And from there, seeing all the evil in the world, the wars and the diseases, the path toward Satanism is a short one…
We like the esoteric, obscure, and occult over here at Mithraic Magazine. With those keywords in mind, is there any literature you would recommend? Either for your fans to learn more about the themes behind your work, or just in general?
The world I live in is far more mystical and esoteric than any book ever written by this or that philosopher.
That said, I have read biographies of Hitler and of Nasrallah, the leader of Hezbollah two people who, by the way, died without the suffering they truly deserved for the evil they caused humanity.
The reality I live in is insane and, at times, feels almost imaginary. The evil that surrounds me under the guise of religion is beyond description no article or book anyone has ever written can truly compete with it.
Outside the stuff mentioned above, is there anything else Arallu recommends we check out?
The truth is that the ongoing conflict between the three religions even today and especially in the ancient world is a very fascinating subject.
After all, all three were born from the same father, Abraham, the patriarch of the Bible. So how is it possible that three brothers caused such a war in which millions of people were killed in the name of those very brothers?
What is it really about land? faith?
I recommend looking for articles on this topic; it’s truly fascinating.
Again, as veterans of nearly three decades, I feel like you would be a good choice to ask this question. Who are some of the bands from Israel people should be paying more attention to? (Either active or extinct.) Then, inside or outside of Israel, are there any other smaller, lesser known bands you believe deserve more recognition for their contributions to the art?
Arallu is one of the veteran metal bands in Israel, but of course, there’s the earlier generation of bands that came before us, such as Orphaned Land and Salem.
Naturally, I’m more influenced by Salem’s style, since I mainly listen to extreme metal bands especially from the black metal scene, like Mayhem, Satyricon, Dissection, Morbid Angel, Emperor, Watain, and others.
There were also some excellent Israeli bands such as Bartholomeus Night and Grimor, but unfortunately, they no longer exist.”
What does the rest of 2025 and 2026 look like for Arallu? What are the plans now that DMoon has been released? Any shows coming up? And were there any riffs that didn’t make it onto 2022’s Death Covenant that you’ve been playing with towards making the next release?
Unfortunately, 2024 and almost all of 2025 have passed with no activity from us, due to the war that was forced upon us.
At least we managed to use that time to record the new album ‘Demon’, but we haven’t performed for two years, and even rehearsals didn’t happen because of lineup changes and various difficulties within the band.
I truly hope that with the end of the war and the release of the new album which is coming out right these days 2026 will bring new opportunities for shows across Europe, and hopefully around the world as well. We really want to return to full activity after two very, very hard years. Our previous album, ‘Covenant’, was written and recorded entirely in 2021 and released in 2022, which means we didn’t keep any leftover material for the new one. We never save songs from previous albums every record we make is written completely from scratch. So for the next album, we’ll probably start writing new material sometime during 2026.
I think I’ll end on this one, after all this time, what is it that still keeps you motivated to keep releasing new black metal music? A lot of your contemporaries have gone extinct over that time, meanwhile the dance still continues, and Arallu is still here. What is something you’d still like to achieve with this project moving forward?
Actually, I’m surprised myself that I’ve been going on with Arallu for so many years. But then I meet the band members in the rehearsal room, and the passion just keeps coming back again and again.
Until about two years ago, before the war started, we were still playing shows in Europe, and those encounters with fans every night that energy it really keeps the fire alive. What I want most to achieve with Arallu, after all these years and nine albums, is to finally play on the big festival stages.
Unfortunately, it just never happens — every time something gets in the way, whether it’s COVID or another war — and honestly, that’s really frustrating.
Finally, before we end today, is there anything else you’d like to add before we finish?
I really want to thank you for this interview and for your honest questions.
I truly hope we’ll be back on stage soon and that we’ll be able to come to you as well to let you experience the energy of our live show.
Thank you so much.
Likewise, appreciate it.
HTBLOF
And there we go, direct from the source.
Even within a thriving and diverse Israeli black metal scene, Arallu stands apart by weaving together ferocity, atmosphere, and sounds unique to the Middle East into a black metal package that has endured the test of time. Their music is more than just extreme metal. It is a ritual, a bridge between past and present, and a defiant roar from the Middle East to the global black
metal arena. In blending tradition with chaos, Arallu continues to prove that their voice is not only unique but also unconquerable in the ever-expanding landscape of black metal.
If you’d like a physical copy, you can pick up DMoon – From the Ancient World from Satanath Records.
As always, if you like it and can afford to do so – you should buy it.
Mithraic Magazine 
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