It’s difficult to put words to the ongoing Israeli-Palestinian conflict, especially not being present where the tensions and violence are occurring. We reached out to the Israeli metal scene to ensure the safety of the bands and for their perspective after the recent attacks.
Considering this is a fairly complicated and sensitive topic, we would like assure readers that not all views expressed by these responses are shared by Metal Has No Borders. We also acknowledge that the responses provided below are one-sided, as we unfortunately do not have any Palestinian metal band voices to share. We hope in the future, the Palestinian voice can be expressed through metal music as well.
To start with the good news, the following Israel-based bands responded and confirmed they are safe:
Canine – confirmed as safe [October 8, 2023; 1:41pm IDT]
Eternal Struggle – “We are all physically okay but dealing with heartbreak fear and trauma” [October 8, 2023; 1:45pm] “the horrible events that started yesterday and still go on have shattered our hearts and reality once again. We and our families are safe but there is a lot of tension in the air as it is very unclear how things would develop” [October 9, 2023; 12:13am IDT]
A’sh עש – confirmed as safe [October 8, 2023; 2:21pm IDT]
Subterranean Masquerade – “We are all safe, though in a state of shock. We are holding our fingers crossed for a quick resolution of hostilities and the safety of all.” [October 8, 2023; 2:23pm IDT]
Neolia – “We are dealing with a nightmare that is our reality at the moment, many friends have been kidnapped and murdered especially from the festival that was taken place during the weekend.” [October 8, 2023; 4:11pm IDT]
Shredhead – “We’re safe physically, but devastated mentally. It has been two days of almost no sleep, alarms, rockets, and chaotic news and disinformation… We’ve never experienced anything like that before…” [October 8, 2023; 5:38pm IDT]
Stash – “We’re safe, we live in the center of Israel.” [October 8, 2023; 5:52pm IDT]
Canine
“Yesterday, our country woke up to a horrifying nightmare of unprecedented magnitude. Since yesterday at 6:30am, Hamas terrorists launched a murderous assault on innocent Israeli civilians, infiltrating Israeli towns with the sole intent of carrying out a cold-blooded mass murder. More than 4,000 missiles have been fired over Israel from the Gaza Strip. Over 100 people were brutally murdered, and over 1,000 were injured, with these numbers continuing to rise as we speak.
Mothers, fathers, and children were murdered in their own homes, and dozens of people were kidnapped and taken hostage, with brutal and horrific images and videos intentionally spread throughout the media.”
[October 8, 2023; 1:48pm IDT]
Arallu
“We are under full attack by Hamas from Gaza in the South, but seems there is coordination with Hezbollah Lebanon from the North side and Iran. We are under threat from Israeli Arabs who live inside Israel, but we are ready with our private guns. Hamas broke the electronic fence between Gaza and Israel with hundreds of soldiers, and slaughtered children, women, and old people in the early morning. They kidnapped more than 100 children and women around the streets. It was a massacre of 700 – 2,000 people in a few hours. We still don’t know the exact number. The Islamic terror ideology is against all other religions. We have been around this war for hundreds of years. The first three albums of Arallu talks exactly about this.”
“This horrible massacre will be remembered for hundreds of years. We want Gaza flat. We want them all to die. Those “Innocent People” in Gaza that we gave mercy to in 2001 are those who slaughtered our children yesterday.”
[October 8, 2023; 5:26pm IDT]
Shredhead
“Yesterday morning, hundreds of Hamas terrorists attacked southern Israel by land, air, and sea. They occupied multiple cities and settlements, moving house to house and executing innocent civilians, including women and children. Many were kidnapped into Gaza strip, including mothers carrying their children and elderly women. As we speak, some of the occupied settlements and cities are still under Hamas control, and connection is lost with thousands of families. Also, a major trance party with thousands of participants (Nova Festival) was going on during the attack. When Hamas terrorists arrived at the scene, it turned into a bloodbath. Currently, over 200 dead are confirmed from that party alone, and thousands more are still missing. Families are trying to locate their loved ones via social media. Uncensored videos of these atrocities are being spread and celebrated across media networks, mainly Telegram, in official Hamas and Gaza channels. As of now, over 600 dead and 2,500 wounded are confirmed, almost exclusively civilians. Sadly, these numbers are expected to rise a lot.”
“Whether Jew or a Muslim, whether you support Israel or Palestine, please remember that Hamas is a radical religious terrorist group, driven by desire for blood, who took Gaza by force 15 years ago. Do not stand silent in front of these atrocities.”
[October 8, 2023; 5:38pm IDT]
Stash
“Terrorists have invaded Israel from Gaza and killed hundreds of men, women, and children in their homes, and taken several of them to Gaza; they are also launching thousands of missiles from Gaza. We don’t have a conflict with the Palestinian people; we have a conflict with terrorist organizations whose only purpose is the destruction of Israel and murdering innocent people.”
[October 8, 2023; 5:52pm IDT]
Eternal Struggle
“As Israelis, we are used to living in this tension that anything could happen out of nowhere and at full motion. However, these events are something that we could not imagine, and still everything is very unclear at the moment. We follow the news and social media constantly, however social media is currently overflowed with fake media or hard uncensored content that runs around like fire in a field. No one should find out what horrible things may have happened to their loved ones through social media; it is disgusting and we encourage everyone not to spread this kind of content. You have to understand that in these current events, civilians were massacred in brutal ways. They were locked in their homes, shot to death, or kidnapped to Gaza. The images of this horrific massacre are running on fucking TikTok; it is absurd. There was a music festival with thousands of partygoers that was raided by dozens of terrorists shooting everyone on sight and abducting anyone they could. There are friends of ours who are probably being held captive in Gaza right now and there are still no official statements about it.”
“The Israeli-Palestinian conflict is tragic; the amount of blood that runs in this river is beyond comprehension, for both sides. The tragic reality of the corrupted Middle East keeps all individuals in a sad loop of religion, power, politics, and economic ego battles between politicians. Sadly, it looks like this is a never ending cycle but we all hope for better days for everyone who lives here. We are affected by this in our day to day lives, in the way we think, in our instincts, and reactions to anything, thus it all shaped us to be the individuals we are today. We all served in the Israeli military and we all have our personal opinions about it, for better or worse, but it is a part of who we are. Of course you can hear or read in our album about our perspective, there is no right or wrong but this is our voice. The specific songs you can listen to would be “Year of the Gun,” “Indoctrination,” “As Heroes Fade,” and “Last Path.”
“We want to share our deep condolences with the families who lost their loved ones, we pray for the safety of the civilians and soldiers held captive in Gaza, and we all wish for better days and try to stay positive and to stay human. Don’t forget the PMA!”
[October 9, 2023; 12:13am IDT]
The coward terrorists of the Hamas are hiding behind their own civil population to quench their’s and newschannel’s thirst for blood, and their patrons pocket’s thirst of bloodmoney.