Metal and Classic are always a good match – and this is also the case with Strings Attached! The hard rocking band from Israel and the mini-orchestra harmonise perfectly.
The lion’s share of the presented song material is well known of the meantime four studio albums, so Strings Attached is kind of an overall review on the past 20 years, but a bare compilation of old stuff was not enough for SALEM obviously (and fortunately!). Therefore they invited the ICSQ String Quartet to upgrade their compositions additionally. The arrangements hold much space for the strings to prove their musical competence. The musicians in SALEM show capability in playing on their side to result in an egregious and homogenous unity. Sometimes the classical side takes the lead and dominates, before ably interlaced guitar riffs and more harsh vocal parts reconstitute the equilibrium again. A Moment Of Silence is an amazing opener, which gleams because of the use of different vocal styles. A raspy, Death Metal-like voice meets gentle female vocals; a melodic lead singer is replaced by mighty choirs. Every now and then some oriental melodies appear in the compositions and this stylistic device adds complementary condiment to the tone cosmos over and above. Not only the vocal parts are supremely diversified, but also the compositional aspects are like sitting on a roller coaster; docile songs are present in SALEM’s repertoire as well as heavier eruptions or even pop arrangements (Winter’s Tear). Whatever mood predominates, the musicians can realise all speeds tellingly and therefore the mixture reminds me of Therion and Rage in the time of the Lingua Mortis project.
In addition to musical brilliance the listener can find a lot of extra features, there is a multimedia part including videos, discography, picture gallery and some other gimmicks. The very well mixed sound and the CD’s packaging top off this complete works exceedingly. I’ll have a look at the further development of SALEM, the band still inheres a big artistic capability after a yet long lasting career.