We sometimes like to think that the Middle East is like a bottle of J.D, looks pretty dry from the outside but you never know until you have the first sip. The first smooth glide of liquid refreshing you, the head trip that follows. And to be honest that’s what we felt when we first stumbled upon this band from Israel!

Amaseffer is a band that’s a black sheep right now in the world of metal and has been for some time. With a music style that is best described as a mix of progressive and folk metal, an outstanding musicianship and an evocative and intriguing central theme of the Old Testament, Amaseffer is definitely an artist worth the auditory voyage.

Today The Backdoor brings you an exclusive interview with Erez, Yuval and Hanan of Amaseffer.

Interview conducted by – Yazmin Yousuf

1. An Introduction to the band?

Erez- Amaseffer is a band from Israel collaborating with some international artists in order to form a unique musical vision. We have released our debut album “Slaves for Life”, which is the first part of a planed trilogy, via our record label “InsideOut Music”. The concept of the trilogy is recounting the Biblical story of Moses and the Exodus from Egypt. Our music is a blend of Metal, Movie soundtracks and Oriental music based on philharmonic orchestrations.

2. Your band story, how did you guys come together?

Erez-I had started working on the first drafts for the concept back in 2004 and I was looking for a guitar player to join me in the writing process. The first guy who came to meet me was Yuval Kramer and we hit it off instantly, we connected in so many aspects it was scary! After a few months Yuval suggested that we will bring in his friend Hanan Avramovich in order to help us so we tried and the vibe between the three of us was just amazing.

3. The journey from 2004 till now must have been something, care to spill on how you guys managed to stay for so long?

Erez-Well, first of all, we are the best of friends and support each other in every aspect of our personal and professional lives. We have such creative freedom between us for the main reason that we have managed to “kill” the ego factor, which i think is the backbone of every band, but in Amaseffer it dose not exist at all. I think that is the key factor for us being together for such a long time now without even getting into an argument over “stupid” things like, song structures, guitar lines, drum licks or vocal lines, regardless, each of us knows his roll in the mission so we don’t step on each other’s toes, we have huge respect for each other, both musically and personally!

4. Erez, the combination of genres and especially the theme behind your band could just about puzzle anyone, could you tell us why you guys went ahead instead of forming the sort of band anyone could relate to in a very everyday sense? Did you have a vision from God?

Erez-I must tell you Yazmin that I did not think of forming Amaseffer in order to puzzle anyone, it just turned out to be this way, our destiny lead us to this path. I’m a strong believer and I believe that everything happened for a reason. I always knew that once I write a concept album it will be based on a story from the Holy Bible. The music we write comes from the deepest corner of our soul and not being influenced by any band while writing music for Amaseffer just makes it more special.

5. Out of curiosity, how has the response been from religious critics?

Erez-The response to Amaseffer is overwhelmingly supportive, even though we write metal music, mainstream critics are loving the album and I think that is what makes our music so unique, the mix of so many flavors and yet keeping it in a structure.

6. What really happened with Andy Kuntz, was him falling off the band due to him devoting time to his solo project at the time?

Erez-Unfortunately he was caught up with is personal career and we just could not wait any longer. Our album was ready and we wanted to go ahead so both sides decided that it would be the best to look for a new singer, so that’s what we did. Andy is still a good friend and I’m in contact with him so I truly hope to collaborate with him again in the near future.

7. Mats Levén’s vocals are really something! But he is a bit of an odd choice for a band like yours, did the thought ever occur to you, why him and why not other singers from Israel?

Erez-We looked for a singer that will be very theatrical in order to present our music in the best way possible so I did not care if he came from Mars or Saturn, as long as he fits Amaseffer musical vision I’m fine with it! It just turned out to be that Mats was chosen for this job and we could not ask for a better lead singer to front Amaseffer. For us Mats Leven is the best singer in the solar system!!! (I truly mean that)

8. Now that we are on the topic of Israel, how is the metal scene there?

Erez-The Israeli Metal scene is relatively very small. We are a small country and therefore everything is smaller in relation to the other. Israeli metal bands are very talented and nowadays record labels are starting to look at Israel as a good source of new and fresh music.

9. Have you guys worked or toured with Orphaned land?

Erez-No we didn’t but as I met OL’s guitar player, Yossi, the other day at the local drums store we just talked about that option, so I believe that once Amaseffer and Orphaned Land will be ready for that it will be very unique experience, both for the bands and the audience coming to the shows.

10. Could you tell us about your beauties? (your guitars/drums/bass and other equipment that you use)

Erez-Actually i don’t have a drum kit, I’ve sold it and did not buy a new one yet. Yuval is playing a custom made Parker guitar. Hanan plays a custom made ERG guitar.

11. Recommend listening? (your band picks from your homeland)

Yuval – Prey for nothing, Xenolith.

Hanan – Amaseffer.

Erez – 195dB, Edgend.

12. Any final message to your fans here in Sri Lanka and the world over?

God bless you and all your loved ones!