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Heavy Metal Thunder Oriental Metal

Genres Heavy Metal Folk Metal Oriental Metal

Oriental Metal

Metal built on the Middle East’s own musical language — maqam scales, oud and darbuka — rather than a Western impression of it.

Active years
1995 – present
Origin
Israel / Middle East / North Africa
Family
Folk / Viking / Pagan
Bands here
20

Start here

Three records in order of how easy they are to get into — which is not the same as best first.

  1. Mabool Orphaned Land, 2004 The landmark

    An Israeli band writing a flood narrative shared by Judaism, Christianity and Islam, with Arabic and Hebrew singing and a stated aim of getting Jews and Muslims into the same room. They have largely managed it.

    Listen to Mabool

  2. Emissaries Melechesh, 2006

    Mesopotamian rather than religious — Ashmedi builds black metal riffs out of Middle Eastern scales, so the exoticism is in the notes rather than in an added instrument. The most metal record here.

    Listen to Emissaries

  3. Legacy Myrath, 2016

    Tunisian and the most accessible, which is why it is worth knowing about. Progressive metal with a real string section and pop instincts; barely heavy and completely charming.

    Listen to Legacy

What it sounds like

The maqam scale, and instruments most metal listeners have never heard. Middle Eastern modes contain intervals that Western tuning does not, so the melodies bend in ways that sound immediately unfamiliar, and the oud, saz, darbuka and qanun are played as lead instruments rather than decoration. Vocals move between Arabic and Hebrew ornamentation and metal delivery. Compared with folk metal, which mostly borrows European dance music, this draws on a living classical tradition — the complexity is in the melody rather than the rhythm. It is the strand of metal where the folk element is least a costume and most a genuine musical inheritance.

  • Heaviness 3 out of 5
  • Speed 3 out of 5
  • Aggression 3 out of 5
  • Technicality 4 out of 5
  • Darkness 3 out of 5
  • Melody 5 out of 5

Where the name came from

Coined around Israeli band Orphaned Land, whose Sahara (1994) and El Norra Alila (1996) fused Middle Eastern melody with death and doom. The term has always sat awkwardly — 'Oriental' is a Western framing — and some bands prefer 'Middle Eastern metal'.

The bands

Hear these first

  • Orphaned Land Israel
  • Melechesh Israel
  • Myrath Tunisia
  • Arallu Israel
  • Salem Israel

And 15 more

  • Distorted Harmony Israel
  • Scarab Egypt
  • Massive Scar Era Egypt
  • Crescent Egypt
  • Wyvern Egypt
  • Dark Phantom Egypt
  • Kaoteon Egypt
  • Slave to Sirens Egypt
  • Blaakyum Egypt
  • Kimaera Egypt
  • Oath to Vanquish Egypt
  • Nervecell United Arab Emirates
  • Smouldering in Forgotten Bahrain
  • Acrassicauda Iraq
  • Master of Persia Iran

Where it happened

Counting this genre and everything descended from it.

If you liked this

Closest in sound outside this family, leaning towards the similar or the gentler rather than straight into the deep end.