INTERVIEWS
How are you guys? How is life in Israel at the moment? And where exactly do you come from?
David: I’m fine, thank you. Israel is not a simple place to live in, and currently we are after two election days for our parliament and government and it looks like there’s going to be a third one… So yeah, as I said, not simple.
I live in Ramat Gan which is a small city next to Tel Aviv.
Maria: I’m good, thank you. Life in Israel is never easy, honestly. We don’t really get quiet times. When our politicians don’t go crazy, then we’re at the brink of war. When the south of Israel isn’t being bombed with rockets then we have diplomatic scandals. One thing for sure, it is never boring.
I also live in Ramat Gan.
EDELLOM started in 2009 but before releasing anything, your band took a break and then continued in 2012. In 2016 you released the “Long Lost Suns” demo. Please tell me about that. Was it an official release or a demo to get a label?
David: Edellom started as a solo project and not a band. Only around 2013 I decided to turn it into a band and started looking for band members. After finding a stable line-up we wanted to release something people could listen to, something for people who want to know the band could check out. It wasn’t an official release since it was only a demo.
Maria: It wasn’t anything official. We wanted to have something to refer people to when they wanted to check out our music. I don’t even think we sent it to any labels. Not as far as I remember at least.
What happened in these years since the release of “Long Lost Suns”?
David: We had a lot of gigs, as many as we could, and we started working on our debut album.
Maria: Working on the album took almost a full two years period. Some of the songs were completely rewritten a few times over.
Your bio mentions that your music became darker after “Long Lost Suns”. How did that come? Was it a conscious development or did it come unintentionally as a result of the momentum?
David: It was both, we wanted to make darker and heavier music, but I believe you can find hints of that in some of the songs in the demo.
Maria: I also believe it was both. I personally started drawing inspiration from bands with darker music. Besides that, I also was always a fan of black metal, and I wanted to incorporate a touch of that as well.
The bio also mentions that David was in the IDF. Had these experiences an impact on the music and / or the lyrics?
David: Serving in the IDF is compulsory in Israel so every one of us did. I guess on some level it did impact the music, but if it did, it was subconsciously. The lyrics are not related, I draw inspiration from folklore, mythology and gothic literature.
Maria: All of us served in the army. In fact, I was still in the army when we started working on the album, I think. I finished my service shortly after, though. I don’t think it had a significant impact on the album.
A friend of mine from Jerusalem plays in Israeli band Arallu. We talked about the political turmoil and he said that the people there never feel really safe. What about you? And have those turmoils an influence on your music?
David: We know Arallu, their previous drummer (Assaf Kassimov) used to be our session drummer, and I believe we shared the stage once or twice. Regarding safety in the streets: Usually I feel safe walking in the city, of course I try to stay alert, but everyone should be alert always and anywhere. I try to disconnect my music from politics, we are not a political act.
Maria: Actually, Assaf recorded the drums for the album.
It is true on some level, but I think it depends on where you live. Some places are more of a hot zone than others. Ramat Gan specifically is relatively safe. We have a lot less violent altercations than in Jerusalem. I don’t think it had any influence on the album, it’s just not what we write about. Besides, we like to keep music as something that brings people together, and politics does the complete opposite of that.
What are the lyrics on “Sirens” about? There are – among others – two interpretations of “sirens”: alarm sirens and the fatal ladies in Greek mythology.
David: There are actually two stories/themes/concepts, both deal with a poisonous connection between a man and a woman, drawing inspiration from folk and gothic literature. The title Sirens is an homage to the known myth of dangerous human-like creatures, seducing hopeless sailors into the ocean. This concept connects with our concepts thematically.
You play many shows in Israel. Are there plans to come to Europe some day?
David: Of course! We would love it.
Maria: There is nothing solid at the moment, but we would absolutely love to tour Europe.
Please tell me about the meaning of the name EDELLOM.
David: There’s no particular meaning. I thought about it many years ago and liked it.
Any last words?
David: Thanks for reading, and thank you again for the interview, go check out our album and I hope to see you in our future gigs!
Maria: Thank you for the interview. Check out Sirens and stay tuned. There is a lot more where it came from.
Ik was verrast door ‘Sirens’, het geluid is zo vol en compleet. Hoe is het album ontvangen tot nu toe?
Ten eerste: bedankt voor dit interview en je positieve woorden! Het album krijgt erg goede reacties en we hopen uiteraard dat dit en de videoclip zoveel mogelijk mensen bereiken.
Ik heb nog niet de kans gehad naar ‘Long Lost Suns’, jullie album uit 2016 te luisteren. Dit was een demo?
Het was inderdaad gewoon een demo, ja. We wilden iets de wereld insturen zodat mensen naar ons konden luisteren en ons leerden kennen. Dus we schreven een aantal nummers en gingen de studio in. Ik zie het niet als een album, maar meer als een verzameling liedjes. Als we het over Doom metal hebben: de nummers zijn vrij lang. Vandaar dat dit album ook zo’n lengte heeft.
Hoe heeft Edellom zich, vergeleken met ‘Long Lost Suns’ tot aan de release van ‘Sirens’, ontwikkeld?
Ik hoopte er op dat jij mij dat kon vertellen! Ik denk dat we ons nu meer aangetrokken voelen tot een donkerdere atmosfeer en zwaardere muziek. Minder Gothic, meer Black Metal. Een ander verschil is dat nu niet alle nummers alleen door mij geschreven zijn. Voor de demo heb ik bijna alles geschreven, met hier en daar een uitzondering, en de meeste teksten werden geschreven door onze vorige gitarist. Voor ‘Sirens’ was dit een totaal ander proces.
‘Sirens’ is een erg krachtige titel, vind ik. Het roept wilde beelden op van verleiding en verraad. Waarom deze titel?
Het album bevat twee verschillende verhalen. Het één is geschreven door mij, het andere door Maria (die vocalen doet). We hebben onafhankelijk van elkaar een thema bedacht en hier over geschreven, maar als we er op terug kijken zien we dat het iets gemeen heeft. Beide verhalen behandelen een gevaarlijke relatie waarin één kant uiteindelijk sterft. Dus, de associatie die we er gelijk mee hadden was dat van een sirene, die zeemannen naar hun dood verleidde.
‘Sirens’ vertelt over een sombere, giftige relatie tussen een man en een vrouw. Zware maar realistische materie. Kun je ons meer vertellen over dit idee?
Als je het goed vindt spreek ik alleen voor mezelf. Mijn thema was geïnspireerd door folklore en mythes, dus het woord “realistisch” is niet echt van toepassing. Uiteraard zijn er mensen die blindelings hun leven wijden aan degene waar ze van houden en daarbij waarschuwingen en tekenen negeren. In mijn verhaal realiseert de hoofdpersoon zich dit op een gegeven moment en confronteert hij degene voor wie hij is gevallen.
De nummers lijken te gaan over de verheerlijking van één persoon binnen een relatie, ten koste van de ander. Niet bepaald een gezonde relatie, maar wel een verleidelijke. Zoiets creëert een aura van veiligheid en comfort. Wat inspireerde deze nummers?
Zoals ik al zei is mijn kant van het verhaal geïnspireerd door folklore en mythes, zoals Herr Mannelig (een Zweeds ballade), andere Scandinavische verhalen en Griekse mythologie.
Enig advies voor mensen die zich aan de giftige kant van deze verbinding bevinden?
Je bent niet alleen. Wees niet bang om om hulp te vragen en de relatie te beëindigen. Als je in een relatie zit waarin er misbruik van je wordt gemaakt, realiseer je dan dat het niet zal stoppen totdat je opstaat en zelf wegloopt.
Edellom begon als een soloproject in 2009, en heeft zich ontpopt tot deze geweldige Doom-entiteit. Wat zorgde ervoor dat deze band veranderde van een eenmans-iets tot een ware band?
Nogmaals dankjewel! Ik had altijd al het idee dat dit een volwaardige band moest zijn, maar kon simpelweg niet de juiste personen vinden om muziek mee te maken toen ik de band stichtte. Rond 2012-2013 vond ik eindelijk wat spelers en toen werd het project een band.
Veel bands hebben tijd nodig om hun eigen geluid te ontwikkelen. Ik hoor een heleboel verschillende dingen als ik naar jullie muziek luister en jullie hebben het geluid tot iets geweldigs weten te maken. Hoe noem je dit geluid en hoe is het ontstaan?
Het is een resultaat van de combinatie van het materiaal dat we gebruikten, de studio waarin we opnamen en natuurlijk het mixen en masteren. We ambieerden om een enorm geluid te maken, iets dat zwaar en donker is en ook in staat om onze lichtere kant te versterken. Wat invloed en stijl betreft probeerden we de muziek waar we graag naar luisteren te combineren met de muziek die we wilden maken. Ik vind het fijn te horen dat het bevalt.
Één van de karakteristieke dingen van jullie muziek is de combinatie van duivelse, mannelijke vocalen met bijna engelachtige, vrouwelijke. Het is perfect, vooral op een album als ‘Sirens’. Hoe kwamen jullie achter de kracht van deze combinatie?
Nou, het was niet helemaal onze eigen uitvinding. Bands als Draconian en Paradise Lost deden het al lang voordat wij het deden en daar hebben we zeker inspiratie uit gehaald. We zijn van plan op deze manier door te blijven gaan, met een aantal toegevoegde concepten en ideeën, maar ik kan op dit punt niet meer vertellen.
De cover, getekend door Khaos Diktator, is echt fantastisch. Het is donker, simpel en iconisch. Wie heeft dat bedacht en hoe staat het in relatie tot het materiaal op ‘Sirens’?
We hebben dit samen bedacht in een poging beide verhalen te combineren in één tekening. We hadden verschillende versies en ideeën maar uiteindelijk hebben we voor deze gekozen. We konden ons geen betere cover wensen, Khaos Diktator heeft een geweldig resultaat geleverd. De voorkant stelt mijn verhaal voor: de Black Sorceress die danst in het woud. De achterkant stelt Maria’s verhaal voor, een seriemoordenaar die zich probeert te verstoppen voor zijn demonen.
Hoe is het om een (doom) metalband te zijn in Israël?
Over het algemeen is het niet makkelijk om een metalband te zijn in Israël. Doom metal, en met name Gothic Doom metal, is niet bepaald populair en het is moeilijk om een nieuw publiek te bereiken. Maar we doen ons best en gaan gewoon door.
Hoe is de scene daar? Ik ken maar een paar Israëlische bands, en natuurlijk Dana International.
Haha, Dana is een gerespecteerd popmuzikant. De Israëlische muziekscene is moeilijk, maar zijn ze dat niet allemaal? Als ik het vergelijk met het verleden zijn er nu véél meer plaatselijke metalbands dan toen. Er is elke week tenminste één optreden in Tel Aviv, en dat is fantastisch. Je kunt gewoon de bands opzoeken met wie we ooit het podium deelden, de meeste van hen hebben liedjes online staan. Ga ze beluisteren!
Ik kan niet genoeg benadrukken hoe veelzijdig en mooi ‘Sirens’ is. Wat zijn jullie volgende plannen en hoe groot is de kans dat Edellom in Europa gaat optreden?
Wederom bedankt voor je woorden, het is hartverwarmend. Ik hoop dat we snel de studio weer in kunnen duiken en meer muziek kunnen maken. Wat betreft Europa, we willen daar echt zo snel mogelijk heen en uiteindelijk zal dat ook gaan lukken. Het hangt vooral af van de plaatselijke vraag en touring mogelijkheden.
Als er iets is dat je nog kwijt wil is dit je kans!
Nogmaals bedankt voor dit interview en de goede woorden. Het betekent veel voor ons. Volgens mij hebben we het niet over onze video ‘To Darkness I Fall’ gehad. Het is het laatste nummer op ons album en we hebben er veel moeite in gestoken. We hopen dat iedereen het gaat bekijken! We hopen snel meer nieuws te hebben om met iedereen te delen. Tot die tijd – hou het metal!!
1. For those that have never heard of you before, can you tell us a little bit about the band?
We are a Dark/Doom metal band from Israel. Thank you for this interview!
2. Recently you have released your first full length, musically how does it differ from your previous demo?
The album is a direct evolution from the demo, with more influences of black metal and generally darker atmosphere and better production.
3. The band has been around since 2009 but so far has only released a demo and a full length, can you tell us a little bit more about the gaps in between releases?
Edellom was originally a solo project, only around 2013 it became an active band. This also has to do with the compulsory service in the IDF, it slows down every other aspect in your life. Many high-school metal bands split-up shortly after the band members join the IDF, it’s very hard to maintain an active band during this period.
4. What are some of the lyrical topics and subjects the band has explored so far with the music?
We draw inspiration from folk tales, myths and gothic literature. Sirens contains two different stories, one of them was written by Maria (singer) and the other by David (singer, guitars). Even though these stories are not connected, we found out they deal with relatively close themes, hence the title “sirens” and the artwork that represents both.
5. What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name ‘Edellom’?
There’s no meaning, David just liked the way it sounds.
6. Can you tell us a little bit more about the artwork that is presented on the album cover?
As mentioned previously, the artwork demonstrates some of the elements of both stories. On the front cover you can see the way we imagined the Black Sorceress, the antagonist in David’s story, and on the back is the serial killer from Maria’s story. We wanted to visually “connect” them by making the killer hiding in the woods while looking at the sorceress, but again, these stories are separated.
7. The band started out as a solo project, what was the decision behind expanding into a full line up?
David didn’t know anyone who loves the genre and so he decided to do everything by himself. The original idea was to form a band but that didn’t seem realistic at the time. Social networks didn’t really exist at this point (not as intensely as today) and it was very hard to get to know other people with similar music preferences. A few years later, when a possibility of a first lineup was created, Edellom turned into an active band.
8. What are some of the best shows that the band has played so far and also how would you describe your stage performance?
The best gig we had was most certainly the album’s release show, we created a special atmosphere with tons of decorations and DIY items, like small shrines, branches, leaves, skulls and much more. The show itself was intense and the crowd’s reactions were amazing.
9. Do you have any touring or show plans for the new album?
Nothing concrete yet.
10.On a worldwide level how has the reaction been to your music by fans of black, dark, doom and gothic metal?
Reactions are great, we got some very positive reviews and we cannot wait to sit down and make some new materials.
11. What is going on with some of the other bands or musical projects these days that some of the band members are a part of?
Currently all our band members focus on Edellom, the other projects and bands are unfortunately not active.
12. Where do you see the band heading into musically during the future?
It’s really hard to say, probably we will continue the general theme of dark, atmospheric and heavy music, with some developments and various influences.
13. What are some of the bands or musical styles that have had an influence on your music and also what are you listening to nowadays?
Some influences may be Behemoth, Swallow the Sun, Trees of Eternity, Mgła, Burzum, Paradise Lost, Draconian. It’s hard to say exactly what we listen to today, we keep discovering amazing new bands thanks to Spotify and YouTube every day.
14. What are some of your non musical interests?
Good food, video games, action movies, making movies in general, literature, poetry and visiting new places abroad.
15. Before we wrap up this interview, do you have any final words or thoughts?
First of all, thank you so much for the interview, again. We cannot wait to execute some of our plans for the future, and we hope people connect to our music and the emotions we share. Hope to see you all some say!
Hintf: Thank you for answering this interview! What were your expectations when all began?
David: Hello and thank you for this interview!
When it all began, I started writing my own songs alone as a solo project and I really didn’t know how it will develop. Sure, I wanted to have a band, but I didn’t know anyone who liked the genre and wanted to join a band – So I decided to just start writing down music and see what happens.
Hintf: Who are Edellom?
David – Vocals, guitars
Maria – Vocals
Matan – Bass
Omer – Guitars
Carmel – Drums
Hintf: What influences your lyrics?
David: Folklore, fantasy books, thrillers, horror and of course other writers and bands that influenced us as musicians.
Hintf: Consider yourself dark/doom metal, why?
David: We started as Gothic-Doom and released a related demo, but as we started working on the album, we noticed that our music is a lot darker than before, and it just didn’t match the classic Gothic-Doom genre anymore. We infused more Black Metal and Death Metal elements and I believe it shows.
Hintf: How it is the music scene in Israel?
David: Well, nowadays with the COVID-19 it is, as almost every cultural-related business here, quite gone. Once in a while, there are underground live shows “off the grid” but I believe most bands focus on writing new material and maybe shooting new video clips, while maintaining the government’s COVID-19 instructions.
Hintf: What are your plans for the future?
David: Keep making music and perform live!
Hintf: Please define Edellom in only one word…
David: Storytelling
Hintf: What you guys know about Portugal?
David: I’ve never been to Portugal, but I will most probably visit Lisbon soon to have a small research of my family’s connection to the country and its history. I cannot wait to be there!
Hintf: Would you like to leave some words to your fans in Portugal and to our readers?
David: It has been almost a year since we released our debut album, Sirens – go check it out, I hope you like it! If you do know our music and video clips, thank you for your support and I hope we will meet soon!
I welcome the Israeli band EDELLOM visiting our ATMOSFEAR magazine. Let’s first introduce your band to our readers. When did you form and where are you based? Who is playing in the band now?
Hey there, thank you for this interview.
We are based and formed in Israel. The band members are David Nardya (Vocals & Guitars), Maria Raven (Vocals), Matan Kedar (Bass), Omer Cohen (Guitars) and Carmel Abramovitch (Session Drums).
Your debut Sirens album is coming out very soon. Accept congratulations and tell us please how the album was recorded and what difficulties did you encounter?
Thank you very much!
It was recorded in Tel-Aviv in D-music Studios. We had some technical difficulties… Long story short, it was a challenge we had to take, and this challenge made us stronger.
In fact, this is not your first work, because three years ago you released a demo tape lasting forty minutes. Many bands would release it as an album, but you designated it as a demo. Why? And what is the fate of this record now, is it available on physical media?
Indeed, we wanted to release something so people will know us, but we didn’t have the resources to make it sound like we imagined. The production of the demo was far from perfect and we didn’t feel like it suites the title “album”. Of course, it is available on our BandCamp and we have some locally printed physical copies left.
It’s no secret that the Gothic Doom is not an empty sound for you. Which bands besides DRACONIAN have inspired you?
Of course, bands like Swallow the Sun, Ahab, Distorted, Doom:VS, Lethian Dreams, Paradise Lost and many others. But, this debut album is not focused only on Gothic, it also draws inspiration from black, death and dark metal bands such as Behemoth, Burzum, Septicflesh, Mgła, Myrkur and tons more.
Speaking of DRACONIAN. I know that you played with them on the one stage when they were in Israel. How did everything go? Did you manage to talk and which album from their discography do you have as favorites?
It was one hell of an experience! It was both amazing and very hard, but totally worth it. Sharing a stage with the band you grew up listening to, was a dream coming to life. We talked to them a bit in the meet and greet just before the show. We think you cannot pick just one, all of them are so great. If someone doesn’t know them we’d just recommend to start with the first album and go on.
Choosing a label, you stopped at the Ukrainian Another Side Records. How did you meet Anatoly and what do you expect from the label?
We sent samples to several places and Anatoliy also replied, we set our expectations and got a contract… The rest is history, as they say.
Introduce our readers to the album’s lyrics. What are you singing about, is there a concept and who is the main author?
The album was written by both David and Maria, 4 songs each, divided into 2 different concepts/themes that share a common ground, dealing with love-hate relationship with a tragic end.
October 25 the label will start selling your debut album. How you would celebrate this event and are you planning any shows or even tours in support of the album?
We will celebrate it on November 9th in Tmuna theater in Tel-Aviv, Israel. We plan a special show and we’re very excited!
Let’s dwell a bit on the Israeli scene. In what condition is it now? Are there many bands? How often do the shows take place and how many people attend them?
There are many metal bands in Israel, a lot of different genres, not many gothic-doom bands beside us, unfortunately. I believe the main issue in Israel is that we don’t have enough venues that will host a metal show – and still we have metal events and gigs almost every weekend here in Israel, you just need to know where to look. I guess most local gigs sell between 50-100 tickets.
The final chord. Despite the fact that the album is just coming out, what are your plans for the next album? Perhaps there are already new songs?
We currently focus on this album’s PR and release show, but we sure are planning the next one already, though we cannot reveal too much.
Where are you from?
Hello! We are from Israel.
How long have you been in a band?
We’re a band since 2013.
Influences?
To name a few: Swallow The Sun, Behemoth, Mgła, Satyricon, Draconian, Mayhem and much more.
How did you come up with the band name?
David, the singer and guitar player, just liked the way it sounds.
What is the most fucked up thing you have ever seen at a live show?
Belphegor’s set on the stage is awesome and grotesque.
What are your plans for the future?
Bigger gigs with more surprising elements and keep working on new songs.
Where can people go to find out more info about your band?
On our social media – Facebook, YouTube, Bandcamp, Instagram, Spotify or necessary from our label, Metal Scrap Records, pages.
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