SALEM Playing God And Other Short Stories

Knew:

• SALEM was the first Israeli band to be put in regular rotation on MTV's Headbangers Ball.

• SALEM was the first extreme metal band to have done a full-length studio album accompanied by a full string quartet. The unusual co-operation led to the band playing a live set with an all-girl string quartet from Israel.

• Mayhem frontman Attila Csihar performed with SALEM in 2005 live on stage, covering two of Mayhem's most memorable songs: "Freezing Moon" and "Deathcrush."

• Playing God And Other Short Stories is the first album in SALEM's history to move away from their strong political subjects. Instead, the new album is loosely based around the concept of super heroes.

Playing God And Other Short Stories

Released earlier this year, Playing God And Other Short Stories is the latest full-length from legendary Israeli extreme metallers SALEM. The band's seventh studio album since forming in 1985 was recorded at Harold Studios in Israel and mastered by UE Nastasi at the prestigious Sterling Sound in NYC. Playing God And Other Short Stories includes a guest vocal appearance by At The Gates frontman Tomas Lindberg, (on “The Mark Of The Beast Part 1” and “The Mark Of The Beast Part 2”) as well as a cover of Bob Marley’s “Exodus.”

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SALEM - "Playing God And Other Short Stories"

(Now available in Super Jewel Box CD)

OUT NOW!!!

25th May (USA)

Also available in Digital format on the iTunes Store

...::: Tracklisting :::...

1. Drums Of The Dead Part I
2. Drums Of The Dead Part II
3. The Privileged Dead
4. Exodus
5. The Downfall Of Paris Part I
6. The Downfall Of Paris Part II
7. The Mark Of The Beast Part I
8. Beast Lullaby
9. The Mark Of The Beast Part II
10. The Mark Of The Beast Part III
11. I Hate Pigs!
12. Playing God

The illustrious history of the unrivaled legends SALEM had always been a dauntless path but despite of all the obstacles throughout their 25-year existence, the band seemed to be an even more formidable and well-oiled resilient machine. The seventh full-length album "Playing God And Other Short Stories" is a different twist to the quintessential SALEM conceptual songwriting structure. Based loosely on the concept of superheroes, "Playing God And Other Short Stories" proves the band's diversity to be able to move away from the political issues and still retain the unaffected integrity of the band! Featuring the now-defunct Death Metal darlings At The Gates's frontman Tomas Lindberg appearing as guest vocals on two tracks and also utilising the services of the famed Sterling Sound mastering engineer UE Nastasi (Biohazard, Clutch, Devin Townsend, Sepultura, etc), "Playing God And Other Short Stories" is clearly a milestone in the band's intense and long enduring career.

"Playing God And Other Short Stories is one of those albums that keeps you guessing from stem to stern. It's thrashy, doomy and always one hundred percent metallic. It's also a smart album, throwing comic book themes and ancient Biblical scriptures into the mix. Who does that and does it seamlessly? Only a band with the chops to unify several disparate things into one cohesive album. That's Salem and Playing God And Other Short Stories" - Amy Sciarretto / AOL Noisecreep (USA)

Click here to purchase "Playing God" at Pulverised Records Online Store

Click here to purchase "Playing God" at Pulverised Records eBay Store

Salem - Playing God

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SALEM - New Album Teaser Now Available & Noisecreep Feature Exclusive

Legendary Israeli Extreme Metallers SALEM, back with a stunning seventh full-length album entitled “Playing God And Other Short Stories”, has issued a new album trailer, which includes a few audio excerpts from the upcoming album.

View the “Playing God And Other Short Stories” video trailer here:

SALEM "Playing God And Other Short Stories" Trailer

In other SALEM-related news, Noisecreep.com recently caught up with the band and asked a few questions aboutSALEM’s long-enduring history, internet promotion and why they think everyone has “become an Israeli since 9/11”:

Israeli metal band Salem have been around for over two decades, with their seventh release being 'Playing God.' Through it all, they've played to full houses, been featured on MTV's Headbanger's Ball and enjoyed plenty of press accolades. Yet they've never achieved a huge degree of success.

"It is very costly to send a band from Israel to tour Europe or the States. So exposure on a big scale has always been out of reach," Nir told Noisecreep. But the band wasn't resigned to be a 'locals only' act. "The Internet solved that problem," Nir continued. "Salem's MySpace page statistics show that over 40 percent of our visitors are North American. We believe there is a market for us anywhere in the world since Salem is up to international standards as far as our level of musicianship, performance and production are concerned."

Even though the band has a substantial -- relatively speaking -- North American following and fan base, Nir is firm about the fact that the band "could not have happened anywhere else in the world but Israel." The band's geographic origin is reflected in every element of the band's music and lyrics.

Nir also said, "Unfortunately, for the world, since 9/11, everyone has become an Israeli, in a sense. Living under constant threat has always been a way of life for us. It reflects in our lyrics, with lines like 'We keep dry under the rain of terror.' Now, terror has become an international issue. Most of Europe is in danger of losing its identity. Over 3,000 Americans did not make it home on Sept. 11, 2001. A month ago, Al-Qaeda tried to take down another airliner on its way to Detroit. Another 300 families could have experienced that loss. At this point, Salem doesn't represent Jewish Israeli views exclusively. I think it is safe to say that we represent the point of view of a sane Western civilization. Welcome to Salem."

SALEM Official Website

SALEM Official Myspace

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Playing God And Other Short Stories / SALEM

The legendary Israeli Death Metallers SALEM have revealed the album artwork and final tracklisting on the group’s upcoming seventh full-length album entitled “Playing God And Other Short Stories”.

Also appearing as special guest singer on this album is the acclaimed At The Gates frontman Tomas Lindberg, whoshared vocal duties on “The Mark Of The Beast Part 1” and sang exclusively on “The Mark Of The Beast Part 2”.

SALEM also did a rendition of one of Bob Marley’s most recognizable song - “Exodus”; giving it their own unique but nevertheless an aggressive touch with their version of the song.

…::: Tracklisting :::…

Drums Of The Dead Part 1
Drums Of The Dead part 2
The Privileged Dead
Exodus (Bob Marley cover)
Downfall Of Paris Part 1
Downfall Of Paris Part 2
The Mark Of The Beast Part 1 (featuring Tomas Lindberg on guest vocals)
Beast Lullaby
The Mark Of The Beast Part 2 (featuring Tomas Lindberg on vocals)
The Mark of The Beast Part 3
I Hate Pigs!
Playing God

"Playing God And Other Short Stories" was recorded at Harold Studios in Israel and mastered by UE Nastasi at the prestigious Sterling Sound NYC.

On the explanation of the album artwork for "Playing God And Other Short Stories", SALEM skinsman Nir Nakavstates:

“The cover is based around Adinkra, a West African symbol system. The symbol we used is called Gye Nyame and it means "Except for God". This unique and beautiful symbol is ubiquitous in Ghana. It is by far the most popular for use in decoration and also a reflection on the deeply religious character of the Ghanaian people."

SALEM is:

Ze’ev Tananboim – Vocals
Nir Gutraiman – Guitars
Lior Mizrahi – Guitars
Michael Goldstein – Bass
Nir Nakav – Drums

SALEM Official Website
SALEM Official Myspace

PULVERISED RECORDS

Nir Nakav Studio Tour, Making of "Playing God" part I