For years, I was in awe of the growing metal scene out of Israel – within the relatively small country, there has been an influx of artists from black and death metal styles to even more modern prog and metalcore sounds. Naturally, I became a genuine fan of many of the groups within the scene, and connected with many of the musicians online… but in the aftermath of the October 7th attack and the following ongoing murders of Palestinian people in the thousands (current death toll: 62,614 Palestinians and 1,139 people killed in Israel), I’ve scrolled through too many Islamaphobic, conservative, and pro-genocidal posts by those within the Israeli scene.
On October 8th, I reached out to many bands in Israel to check on their safety and their reaction to the attack that just occurred. Living in Ma’ale Adumim of the West Bank, Moti Daniel (who has nicknamed himself “Butchered” and “Genie King”) fronts the black metal group Arallu – who released their debut album The War on the Wailing Wall in 1999. In regards to the attack, Moti’s immediate response was:
What stands out to you? Maybe, this:
Listen, I get it. There was a big, scary terrorist attack, people you know may have died. You’re probably scared. But responding with “we want gaza flat! We want them all die!!” is undeniably extreme. This is undeniably a statement that is pro-genocidal.
If someone stated that they wanted Tokyo flat, that would be pro-genocidal against Japanese people. If someone stated that they wanted São Paulo flat, that would be pro-genocidal against Brazilian people. If someone stated that they wanted Paris flat, that would be pro-genocidal against French people. It’s obviously pro-genocidal to state that you want to flatten Gaza – a city where two million people live.
The Arullu frontman continues to post pro-genocidal content even today – over a year since the October 7th attack, his initial response, and the tens of thousands of Palestinian deaths:
Orphaned Land is also an Israeli metal band, arguably the most popular, likely due to their usual pro-unity messaging. Considering the aforementioned, it’s beyond ironic that the band’s founding bassist Uri Zelha has been posting fascist and borderline pro-genocidal rhetoric online:
Obviously there are bands who reside in Israel who aren’t pro-genocidal; let’s not use these two bands’ behavior to paint the entire scene, but this needs to stop. Metal musicians should not be using their platforms for more to promote further deaths in this world. It’s a shame because I do enjoy the music from Orphaned Land and Arallu, but in no way can I listen to them, or promote them now that they’ve shared these views.
Simply put – if a metal musician’s message is countering Black Sabbath‘s anti-war anthem “War Pigs,” they no longer deserve the title of being metal.