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| w/ZE'EV TANANBOIM |
| Dawn/The Metal Web!: It has been 4 years since your last release. What has kept Salem from releasing a new album until now? Ze'ev Tananboim: When we did "A Moment Of Silence" we were signed with an Israeli record company "BNE". When "A Moment Of Silence" was released, "BNE" got a deal from "Noise Records" (German label) for 5 albums. The reason that prevented Salem from signing and ruined the album distribution in Europe was a number of clauses in the contract that can fail the band in the future. Therefore the contract with "Noise" was cancelled. Salem's deal with "BNE" was for 3 albums. We tried to cancel the deal with them. it took a long time,almost 3 years, and that is why it took some time between "A Moment of Silence" and "Collective Demise". Dawn/The Metal Web!: Up until this point the band has had several label changes. What transpired with both Morbid Records and B.N.E Records to make the band cancel their contracts? Ze'ev Tananboim: "Kaddish" with "Morbid Records". Salem got a very good deal with an Israeli record company "BNE". The deal included bringing Colin Richardson, record in the best studio in Israel, and do the mix in England. That is why we changed our record label. Dawn/The Metal Web!: Speaking of labels, you signed a 3-album deal with KMG/System Shock Records. What made you decide to go with that label in particular? Ze'ev Tananboim: In early 2001 Salem was released from the contract with "BNE". We taped a demo and sent it to several record companies. The best deal we got was from KMG/ System Shock. Also, we heard good things about this label from people who knew them. KMG/ System Shock treats us great, They are doing a great promo. for "Collective demise", and they are very satisfied from the sales of the CD. If they are happy, we are happy. Dawn/The Metal Web!: Salem also has distribution through The End Records But I know they as well have a label. Is distribution all they do for the band and are they affiliated with KMG/System Shock and if so, how? Ze'ev Tananboim: “The End Records” are not affiliated with KMG/System Shock. They have their label with bands they sign. At the same time, they do license for bands from other record companies. In Salem case, “The End Records” are in charge on the distribution of Salem album "Collective Demise" in the USA. Dawn/The Metal Web!: Your current release “Collective Demise” has been doing extremely well in sales. What do you feel contributes to its achievement? Ze'ev Tananboim: I think that several elements are contributes to the big sales success. The fans like our music, we have a lot of interviews and great reviews, and our record company KMG/System Shock is doing great publicity in the world. Dawn/The Metal Web!: I always ask you this, when will Salem tour the states? I know a score of fans that would love to know this. Ze'ev Tananboim: KMG/ System Shock is planning a European tour for Salem in 2003. We don't have the exact details right now, but we will be happy to inform you when we do. I hope after this tour we will have another tour to the states. Dawn/The Metal Web!: What is Salem doing in Israel to support the album? Ze'ev Tananboim: The album was released in Israel on July 8th and we did a show to celebrate it. Since then we had 3 more shows, and all the shows were sold out,800-1000 people. We also did lot of interviews and got a lot of excellent reviews. Dawn/The Metal Web!: Are there any Salem videos from past or present that fans can purchase? Ze'ev Tananboim: Salem has released 3 new video clips from "Collective demise". The first one "Al Taster" deals with the pain of the people who lost their loved ones. The second,"Act of war" shows the absurd of suicide terrorists on buses in Israel. The third, "Broken Yet United" is dedicated to the Israeli Metal scene, to the audience and it shows the relationship between Salem and the fans. Dawn/The Metal Web!: Previous releases compared to this latest release were somewhat different musically. As an example, you brought in a female vocalist on a couple tracks. What made you decide to do this and do you see Salem moving into a different direction musically? Ze'ev Tananboim: On Salem's last album "A Moment of Silence", we had a combination of male clean vocals, so it wasn't that new for us. We think the combination of clean vocals and aggressive vocals is very unique. When Salem finished writing for "Collective Demise", we thought what we could add to the songs to make them sound as good as possible, and that is how the idea of female vocals, darbuka and percussions were born. Dawn/The Metal Web!: The title “Collective Demise”, what does this name hold for the band? Ze'ev Tananboim: "Collective Demise" is what we experienced the last years in Israel, and what may happen because of the suicide terrorists in the Middle East and the United States of America. Dawn/The Metal Web!: This album took a little while to be released. Exactly how much time was spent in the studio before you felt it was right? Ze'ev Tananboim: We did a lot of intensive rehearsals. When we felt complete and satisfied with the songs, we went to the studio to record them. We spent a few months in the studio. Dawn/The Metal Web!: What tracks do you feel are the strongest on the album? Ze'ev Tananboim: It is very hard for me to answer this question, because every track has a different meaning for me. I think all the tracks are strong in one-way or another. Dawn/The Metal Web!: Do you feel this is your best album to date? If so, why? Ze'ev Tananboim: As for today, I think it is one of our best albums, because it reflects the times we are living in, and I think that "Collective Demise" reflects certain adolescence of Salem. Dawn/The Metal Web!: How would you categorize Salem musically? Ze'ev Tananboim: It is very difficult for me to define Salem. In general, Salem playing Death Metal, but if you'll take the songs and separate them, you'll see that every song has its style. For example, take "Coming End of Reason" and try to compare it with "Slave", those are 2 completely different songs, and that is why this is so difficult. You have to listen to understand the difference between the songs. Dawn/The Metal Web!: Who does the majority of the writing for the material? Ze'ev Tananboim: Every member of the band is writing material. In most cases we are all meeting, listening to it and choosing what we like. Eventually we build a song and after that we are writing lyrics to it. When the song is ready, we can change it. So,a song is not really ready until we record it. Dawn/The Metal Web!: You guy’s have always written deep lyrically. The tracks “Broken Yet United”, “Act of War”, “Coming End of Reason” deal in war and correct if I’m wrong, terrorism. These particular tracks hit home to me with what happened in New York. What meaning do these tracks have for you especially being from Israel? Ze'ev Tananboim: Our lyrics are influenced by life itself. In Israel it's impossible to ignore the news since it has a direct effect on your daily life and as a result, you have songs. It's hard to cope with the fear of being somewhere crowded,like busses, restaurants, or even live shows without knowing how it will end. The fact that innocent civilians are dying gives you a helplessness feeling. It is difficult for us to see a solution for it right now, but we don't know what tomorrow will bring. Therefore we try to keep hoping. Dawn/The Metal Web!: In the track “Decadence in Solitude” you have the lyrics ”Serve The Master You Created, Paint the A. Dream, Washington Green, Decadence in Solitude, Time to Bring the EmpireDdown”. When played for several people there was mixed emotions as to what that exactly means. Some said it was putting down America. Now, I know it’s not true, you love The Metal Web! (laughs), so please dispel the rumors and set them straight. What’s this track about? Ze'ev Tananboim: First of all, I would like to say that America is very important to us and we identify oneself with you and appreciate your support in Israel for all of our existence. The track “Decadence in Solitude” is talking about the lost time in front of the computers and the disappearance in the virtual world. The specific sentence you quoted is talking about fulfilling the American dream and to make a lot of money. When we wrote “Time to bring the empire down” we meant to bring down the virtual world and to live in the real world. Dawn/The Metal Web!: I’ve known you for a long time and I’m comfortable in asking you this question. Being from Israel with all the terrorism and war, how do you stay so positive? I give you huge thumbs up. I don’t think I could be as strong. Ze'ev Tananboim: It is difficult for us to see a solution for it right now, but we don't know what tomorrow will bring. Therefore we try to keep hoping. In the situation we are living in,we don’t have much choice. We have to stay optimistic for continuing living our lives. I feel I have to stay optimistic because I have a family. I’m married and I have a little girl. I think I have to be optimistic for her. Dawn/The Metal Web!: Are you in close proximity to what is going on and have you experienced anything first hand? Ze'ev Tananboim: Israel is a small country, so everything is close. The thing I experienced was that my wife was very near to a terrorist attack on a bus. Luckily, nothing happened to her. But she saw all the horrifying things like blood, dead people and people with no legs and arms. Because we are a small country, you always knows someone that lost someone close to him. Dawn/The Metal Web!: Ok, back to the music. The title track “Collective Demise”. What is this track about? Ze'ev Tananboim: The track "Collective Demise" is talking about wars and terrorist attacks. Death does not distinguish anyone. When you lose someone close to you, you won’t be the same again. You feel "collective demise. Beyond your personal lost, you experience it again and again because you see the same event happening to other people, you see it on the news almost every day. Dawn/The Metal Web!: As musicians you guys are phenomenal. How long has everyone been playing? Ze'ev Tananboim: Thank you. All of us is playing around 20 years. Dawn/The Metal Web!: What key element do you think keeps this band so tight? Ze'ev Tananboim: Salem is a very unified band. The band members like the same musical direction that we are creating, and we are good friends personally. I think this is what kept Salem going through all these years. Dawn/The Metal Web!: Time for some fun. You guys have been around for a long time. And in that time I’m sure you’ve had your dose of craziness. Does Salem have any tour stories good or bad that you’d care to share? Ze'ev Tananboim: We experienced some shocking things over the years. Like receiving hate letters and things like that. But the two most shocking things that happened to us are, Burzum sent us the bomb after he purchased our Demo “Millions Slaughtered” and realized that our lyrics are against death, murder and Nazism. He wrote us a letter that he liked our music but not our lyrics. He also said that it's a pity that Hitler and Sadam didn't kill more Jews. I wrote him back correspondingly to his letter. After a while, he sent me a bomb. I didn't get it because in Israel we have very good security, so the police destroyed the envelope with the bomb. We had a problem when we did "Kaddish". We had an argument with some politicians because they thought that it isn’t appropriate to play "Ha'ayara Boe'eret" with Metal. This is a very sensitive subject and some people thought the music is too aggressive. But eventually we decided that it is appropriate to cover songs like that, and that is why we did it. After al, we have the freedom of speech and creativity. I Think we also accomplished a lot. The main things are with our first album we were relatively successful in Europe. In 1994, Salem the video clip "The Fading" was on MTV's show "Headbangers Ball ". Afterward, we were chosen in the magazine "Kerrang" that operated with MTV, as one of the best 10 promising bands in this genre. “Creating our sins” and “Kaddish” sold 40,000 copies. Salem shows have great energies. The audience knows and sings all the lyrics with me. Almost every show is sold out,800-1000 people. Until now, "Collective Demise" is getting great responses, excellent reviews and a lot of interviews. Dawn/The Metal Web!: You’ve also shared the stage through the years with some very influential Metal bands. We love gossip. What band(s) if any did you have the most fun playing with and what band(s) have you had the worst experience playing with and why? Ze'ev Tananboim: We enjoyed playing with all the bands. We had just few days with them, and with some of them we had just a few hours, so we don’t have any gossip. Personally, I befriended with Ancient Rites, Entombed, Cancer, and Rotting Christ. Dawn/The Metal Web!: Well, Zeev always a pleasure. The new disk slams! Do you have any final words for The Metal Web!? Ze'ev Tananboim: This is a good stage to say thank you to all of you for the support and for the good responses of the audience and the media. Keep metal alive! For more information about Salem, you can visit our web site. OFFICIAL SITE "SALEM": http://www.salemband.com HOME |
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