Arsames is an Iranian

death metal Death metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music. It typically employs heavily distorted and low-tuned guitars, played with techniques such as palm muting and tremolo picking; deep growling vocals; aggressive, powerful drumming, feat ...

band based in

Mashhad Mashhad ( fa, مشهد, Mašhad ), also spelled Mashad, is the List of Iranian cities by population, second-most-populous city in Iran, located in the relatively remote north-east of the country about from Tehran. It serves as the capital of R ...

. It was originally formed in 2002 by Ali Madarshahi.Band braves ban for a blare – Iran metal musicians to rock Gangtok on Sunday
, ''

The Telegraph (Kolkata) ''The Telegraph'' is an Indian English daily newspaper founded and continuously published in Kolkata since 7 July 1982. It is published by the ABP Group and the newspaper competes with ''The Times of India''. The newspaper is the eighth most-wid ...

'', 20 November 2010. Retrieved 28 January 2011 Arsames has had many lineup changes; vocalist and first drummer Ali Madarshahi is the only original member remaining. The band took their name from a king of the

Persian empire The Achaemenid Empire or Achaemenian Empire (; peo, wikt:𐎧𐏁𐏂𐎶, 𐎧𐏁𐏂, , ), also called the First Persian Empire, was an History of Iran#Classical antiquity, ancient Iranian empire founded by Cyrus the Great in 550 BC. Bas ...

during the

Achaemenid dynasty The Achaemenid dynasty ( Old Persian: ; Persian: ; Ancient Greek: ; Latin: ) was an ancient Persian royal dynasty that ruled the Achaemenid Empire, an Iranian empire that stretched from Egypt and Southeastern Europe in the west to the In ...

Arsames Arsames ( peo, 𐎠𐎼𐏁𐎠𐎶 Aršāma, modern Persian:،آرسام، آرشام‎ Arshām, Greek: ) was the son of Ariaramnes and the grandfather of Darius I. He was traditionally claimed to have briefly been king of Persia during th ...

. The band plays

despite this genre being illegal in Iran and, according to them, considered Satanic by the government. Wilkinson, James (2010)
Iranian metal
, ''

Time Out Dubai ''Time Out'' is a global magazine published by Time Out Group. ''Time Out'' started as a London-only publication in 1968 and has expanded its editorial recommendations to 328 cities in 58 countries worldwide. In 2012, the London edition becam ...

'', 30 March 2010. Retrieved 28 January 2011

History

Arsames was formed in 2002. They recorded their debut single "Adiposere" in 2005 in their home studio. In 2006, they independently released the EP ''Cyclopia''. In 2007, Malaysian documentary maker Zan Azlee interviewed the band as part of ''I'm Muslim Too!'', a documentary on youth in the Middle East. In April 2010, the band played at Metal Asylum in

Dubai Dubai (, ; ar, دبي, translit=Dubayy, , ) is the most populous city in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the capital of the Emirate of Dubai, the most populated of the 7 emirates of the United Arab Emirates.The Government and Politics of ...

. In November, they played the metal festival Sikkim Fest in India. They released their debut album, ''Immortal Identity'', the same year. In July 2011, Arsames announced that they would release an EP of covers titled ''Persian Death Metal Tribute to Warriors of Metal'' through the summer of 2011.

Arrest, persecution, and escape

In 2017, Madarshahi, Mokari, and Kheradmand were arrested on charges of Satanism and taken to

Vakilabad Prison Vakilabad Prison (زندان وکیل‌آباد), also called Central Prison of Mashhad (زندان مرکزی مشهد), is a prison in Iran, located in the city of Mashhad in the northeast of the country. The prison has reportedly been the site o ...

. They were later released on bail and ordered to stop their activities, an order which they did not heed. The Iranian government eventually sentenced the band members to 5 years in prison each. In August 2020, all three escaped from Iran. Two members of another Iranian metal band,

Confess A confession is a statement – made by a person or by a group of persons – acknowledging some personal fact that the person (or the group) would ostensibly prefer to keep hidden. The term presumes that the speaker is providing information th ...

, had been similarly persecuted and sentenced to prison time before fleeing the country in 2015. They were later granted asylum in Norway.

Band members

Current members * Ali Madarshahi - vocals * Saeed Mokari - bass * Soroush Kheradmand - drums Former members * Levik Yeremian - guitar * Morteza Shahrami - guitar * Saeed Shariat - drums * Ahmad Tokalou - guitar * Hamed "Fetusgrinder" Azizi - vocals * Hamid Yousefi Faverani - guitar * Hamid Alizadeh - guitar * Ali Sanaei - bass * Rouzbeh Zourchang - bass

Discography

EPs * ''Cyclopia'' (2006) * ''Persian Death Metal Tribute to Warriors of Metal'' (2011) Studio albums * ''Immortal Identity'' (2010)

References

External links

Bandcamp

Instagram

YouTube

Facebook
{{DEFAULTSORT:Arsames (Band) Melodic death metal musical groups Iranian death metal musical groups Oriental metal musical groups