In Mesopotamian mythology "Arallu" is the underworld kingdom ruled by the goddess Ereshkigal and the god Nergal where the dead are judged.
Arallu was created as the solo project of Moti "Butchered" Daniel, a bass guitarist who has performed live with Melechesh. The debut album The War on the Wailing Wall arrived in 2001 and featured "a drum machine programmed to ludicrous speed". In 2002, Arallu released their "iconoclastic" second album Satanic War in Jerusalem. Nir Nakav from the band Salem was responsible for the drums and the traditional Goblet drum while Daniel performed on all other instruments and vocals. The album featured a cover version of Slayer's "Evil Has No Boundaries". Daniel expanded the band's line-up after the release of this album and a DVD Visual Chaos Invasion was released in the following year.
In September 2003, Daniel's brother was kidnapped and held to ransom by guerrillas from the Colombian organisation Ejército de Liberación Nacional. Daniel was successful in negotiating for his brother's release.
The year 2005 saw the release of Arallu's third album The Demon From The Ancient World with guest performers from various Israeli acts including Zeev Tananboim of Salem. Daniel returned the favor with a guest performance on Salem's chart-topping Strings Attached album.
In September 2007, Arallu opened for Mayhem's concert in Tel Aviv. The footage from the performance was filmed and is scheduled for release in 2008 as the band's second DVD. Their fourth album Desert Battles - Descending to the Sands was released in 2009.
Battleground
Arallu Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
To witness the horror from the top of the cliff
As my warriors form a mighty line of swords
We shall never depart, we shall never retreat
And for sure we shall never, never lose!!!
The wine I'm drinking has the taste of blood
On the theater of war stands the army
The army of the underworld
Just waiting for my sign
Murderers attack!!!
Jordan- Palestine
Iraq- Mesopotamia
The sound of the steel is echoing inside my head
Look at them slay the enemies force
Like sand and water my demons are flooding all
From Babylonia to Jerusalem
You will see a river formed by blood
As cadavers float above
Within the Wailing Wall the army celebrates
TELAL's victory
Celebrates TELAL's victory
The genii are marching on the battlefields
Holding the flag of war upon their hands
The Butchered seats on the throne
He cleans the bloodstains from the sword
And thinking of another war he left behind
The number of fatalities is never, is never enough
The lyrics of Arallu's song Battleground paint a vivid picture of a scene from a battlefield. The singer is positioned atop a cliff, watching as their warriors form a line of swords. The lyrics suggest a fierce determination, with the warriors never retreating or losing. The imagery of the wine tasting like blood adds to the sense of violence and impending battle. The army of the underworld waits for the singer's signal, and the sound of steel echoes in their head. The section of the song which lists Jordan-Palestine and Iraq-Mesopotamia implies that this battle has a real-world geopolitical context.
The tone turns even more gruesome in the next section, with the demons flooding like "sand and water" across the region from Babylonia to Jerusalem, leaving a bloody river in their wake. The song takes on a religious context when it mentions the Wailing Wall, which is an important site of Jewish religious observance. TELAL's victory is celebrated here, suggesting that this is a triumph or conquest over enemies of the Jewish people. The genii, or spirits, are marching on the battlefield with the flag of war. The final lines suggest a cyclical nature to warfare, with the Butchered leaving behind thoughts of the next war and the number of fatalities never being enough.
Line by Line Meaning
What a perfect sight it is
The singer enjoys seeing the horror of war from a distance
To witness the horror from the top of the cliff
The singer observes the violence and destruction from a safe distance
As my warriors form a mighty line of swords
The singer's soldiers stand in formation with their weapons ready for battle
We shall never depart, we shall never retreat
The artist's army will never retreat or give up
And for sure we shall never, never lose!!!
The artist is confident that his army will win the battle
The wine I'm drinking has the taste of blood
The singer is preparing for battle by drinking wine that tastes like blood
Now I know I'm ready for the battle
The singer feels prepared for battle after drinking the wine
On the theater of war stands the army
The artist's army is assembled and ready for the battle
The army of the underworld
The artist's army is made up of demonic or supernatural beings
Just waiting for my sign
The artist's army is waiting for the signal to start the battle
Murderers attack!!!
The singer's army begins the attack on their enemies
Jordan- Palestine
The battle takes place in the region that includes Jordan and Palestine
Iraq- Mesopotamia
The battle takes place in the region that includes Iraq and Mesopotamia
The sound of the steel is echoing inside my head
The singer hears the sound of swords clashing in his mind
Look at them slay the enemies force
The singer's army is killing the enemy forces
Like sand and water my demons are flooding all
The artist's demonic soldiers are overwhelming the enemy forces
From Babylonia to Jerusalem
The battle takes place across a wide area, including Babylonia and Jerusalem
You will see a river formed by blood
The ground will be covered in blood from the many casualties
As cadavers float above
The dead bodies of the soldiers will be visible during and after the battle
Within the Wailing Wall the army celebrates
The artist's army celebrates their victory at the Wailing Wall
TELAL's victory
The victory is attributed to Telal, who may be a deity or leader of the artist's army
The genii are marching on the battlefields
The artist's army includes supernatural beings known as genii
Holding the flag of war upon their hands
The genii are carrying the flag that represents the violence of war
The Butchered seats on the throne
The leader of the artist's army, called The Butchered, takes a seat of power
He cleans the bloodstains from the sword
The Butchered cleans his sword after the battle
And thinking of another war he left behind
The Butchered is already considering the next battle he will fight
The number of fatalities is never, is never enough
The singer's army has a thirst for violence and death that can never be fully satisfied
Contributed by Declan E. Suggest a correction in the comments below.