BLACK METAL THAT’S TR00 J00?

Reader Josh Kidd just tipped us off to the existence of an Israeli black metal band called Dagor Dagorath. And I, uh, actually can’t tell if they’re really Jews or not. For one thing, there are other Israeli black metal outfits with no Jews (see: Melechesh), and for another thing, Wikipedia tells me that “Dagor Dagorath” is ” is a fictional battle described in the legendarium of J. R. R. Tolkien.” (And, yes, I did have to look it up. I am indeed a dork about many things, but Tolkien bores me to tears.) So, nothing Jewey about that.

I also Wikipedia‘d (it can be a verb, right?) the name of DD’s new album, Yetzer Ha’Ra, and it does have Jewish connotations:

In Judaism, yetzer hara (Hebrew: יצר הרע‎ for “evil inclination”) refers to the inclination to do evil, by violating the will of God. The yetzer hara is not a demonic force, but rather man’s mis-use of things the physical body needs to survive. So the need for food becomes gluttony due to our yetzer hara. The need for procreation becomes sexual abuse. . .and so on. Judaism teaches that humans are born with a yetzer hara (physical needs that can become “evil”), but that we don’t acquire a yetzer tov (“good” inclination) until an age of maturity — 12 for girls and 13 for boys.

So, um, yeah. That’s actually kind of an interesting philosophical concept, no matter where it comes from.

But the music. Have to remind myself sometimes that it’s about the music! Yeah, the band sounds pretty decent. Check out their MySpace page and decide for yourself.

-AR