DISCLAIMER: This is the unedited version. The version actually printed in the Jerusalem Post was changed quite a bit by the editor.

They have yet to release their debut album but Matan Cohen, Avital Tamir, Roey “Bear” Berman and Rotem “Glida” Inbar, known collectively as Betzefer, are about to be living the life that many aspiring local musicians can only dream of.

Already a well-known entity on the local heavy metal scene, Betzefer¹s path to success seems to have already been signed and sealed. The band inked a contract last month with international record label Roadrunner Records. The label has made the band¹s promotion a top priority. A European tour and major summer festivals are all on the horizon for the Tel Aviv based quartet.

The band¹s first disc Downlow, set for a June 6 release, was recorded in Belgium under Kris Belaen of CCR Studios and was produced by Denmark¹s Tue Madsen. Madsen is considered an expert producer in the heavy metal field and has worked with noted acts like The Haunted, Mnemic and Aborted.

“Nothing can get us down anymore,” says Inbar, the band¹s bassist. “When I’m at work, and I’m about to drop dead, I think about it, and I get in a good mood. Going to work is kind of funny but really, it¹s temporary. Everything feels like the last day of school.”

Inbar’s reference to school is ironic, as the band¹s very name is a tribute to the high school where the group shares its origins. The band’s founding members, vocalist Tamir, guitarist Cohen, drummer Berman and former bassist, Evil Haim, first played together at a 1998 high school gig in Maccabim Reut High School (MOR). It was supposed to be a one-time gig covering songs by bands like Black Sabbath and Metallica, but they clicked so well that the four had no choice but to head off and seek their fortune together, creating their own earthy, neck-wrenching groove in the vein of AC/DC, Pantera and Slayer.

They independently released 200 copies of their demo “Pitz Achbar” in 2000. This planted them on stages across the country and scored them a live gig on Israeli mainstream radio station Galgalatz. A compilation of live material,”Some **, But No **” was released a year later in 2001. All 500 copies quickly sold out.Betzefer’s stronghold on the Israeli metal underground was becoming more and more established.

There was one problem. Evil Haim had been moonlighting as bassist for grindcore act Lehavoth as well. His recording and touring obligations in Europe would occasionally leave Betzefer bassless for six months at a time. So about a year and a half ago, current bassist Rotem Inbar, a friend and fan of the band, was asked to fill in for Evil Haim: first temporarily, then permanently.

And since then, Betzefer has gained the reputation as an insanely energetic live act both here and abroad. It was a gig at the Bousil in Weert, Holland opening for gold-selling industrial metal act Fear Factory that garnered them a deal with Roadrunner.

“It’s the biggest thing that has ever happened to us,” says Cohen.

“From the minute Roadrunner contacted us to the minute we signed the contract, it took two really long months. Negotiating the contract took much longer than we expected. And we couldn’t tell anybody!”

What added to the thrill of being discovered by Roadrunner is that the label also represents what Betzefer hold as one of their most beloved influences, the Brazilian heavy metal band Sepultura.

“I don’t think people in this country realize how big it is for a local band to be signed to such a major label,” says Inbar, who, along with the rest of Betzefer, considers the entire concept of the band to be unabashedly Israeli, from its name to its “digging man” logo.

Adds Cohen, “Because we are from Israel it will be very interesting for people. People are always going to have prejudices about Israel and Jewish people, but it¹s also very exotic and I think the media is going to be very interested in it. A band from Israel will make a lot of noise.”