Ilia recalls, “We were in shock. All of us were in shock. We didn’t believe that we would get to a point where we were playing shows, that people would actually stand there and then, that they would even come up to us after, saying we were good!?

Excessum (now The Fading)
Vocals: Ilia Badrov

Guitars: Jonathan Bar-Ilan

Guitars: Arie Aranovich

Bass: Elad Manor

Drums: Shaked Furman

Excessum weaves its own razor sharp web sure to slice the skulls open of anyone lucky enough to get caught in its mosh. Intense precision blends with fluent melody, hardcore aggression with technically proficient guitar. Says Jonathan Bar-Ilan, “We’re heavily influenced by all of the Swedish metal but we are in Israel, so of course there’s no escaping the Oriental influence as well.�?

“It’s funny he says that, he’s really the least Swedish influenced of all of us,�? notes Ilia. Ilia’s vocal influences include Michael Stanne and Glen Benton.

Excessum also draws its venom from acts like Darkane, Hatesphere and The Haunted while spinning their own trademark innovative sound.

The band was spawned in a small town near Ben-Gurion International Airport by Ilia and Arie’s brother, Boris, under the name Dark Suicide.

Boris reminisces, “Ilia and I met in school.�?

“No man, I wouldn’t talk to you in school,�? interjects Ilia, jokingly. It was still during the time they were attending the same high school, they were both waiting for their bus when Ilia remembered that Boris played guitar and asked him if he wanted to play together, and that was that. At some point Boris left the bad, Arie stayed, and after some lineup changes in late 2002 Excessum burst onto the tightknit Tel-Aviv circuit to the shock of, well, themselves.

Ilia recalls, “We were in shock. All of us were in shock. We didn’t believe that we would get to a point where we were playing shows, that people would actually stand there and then, that they would even come up to us after, saying we were good!�? Opening for acts like Eternal Gray and current Roadrunner artists Betzefer generated heavy word of mouth on the Internet and in the streets. And after two years, the first headlining show they ever had nearly sold out to a crowd of 650 people.

Excessum entered the studio in August 2005 to record “Instruction for Self Destruction�? in Groove Studios of Hod-HaSharon with Daniel Varfolomeyev (Arafel, Acropolis). Varfolomeyev recorded and mixed the five symbiotic tracks while longtime scene fixture Maor Appelbaum (Vultures, IWR) mastered the EP. During the mixing sessions guitarist Leon Notik parted ways with the band and Jonathan was pilfered from Israeli metal scene veterans Dissonant by drummer Shaked Furman. “His participation was very natural because we were always close friends,�? asserts bassist Elad Manor. The EP was released in the first week of October 2006 and the band is now anticipating their official release party/performance to be held November 16^th.

THE BAND NAME:

“The word is Latin and the translation of Excessum is simply Death. It was good at the time when the name was chosen. It sounds good, it looks nice and back when we started, we played a mix of melodic death-metal with some black-metal so it fit well,�? explains Boris.

“It’s a Latin word and it has nothing to do with excessiveness or whatever,�? adds Arie.

This may be true in sound. Their new EP is focused intensity made audio. Technically laudable without being flamboyant, Excessum boasts a tight rhythm section, copacetic guitar cooperation and a vocalist whose presence and skill fills the post in fine capacity. But they are still pretty funny and crack excessive jokes.

“Well, it was better than Dark Suicide,�? states Boris, who is not an active part of the band although he is often with them, supporting and helping when possible.

WHAT EXCESSUM SOUNDS LIKE:

E: Shakshuka-core (note: Shakshuka is an Israeli dish made up of eggs and all sorts of vegetables. It’s also a term that delineates when something is really mixed up).

I: A cross between flying cows and a hurricane.

ISRAELI SCENE:

Arie describes the scene as a lot of potential unfulfilled.

Jonathan disagreed. “No man. What about all the bands, love and brotherhood in the scene? Because the scene is so small it’s very united. It’s non-competitive; there are a lot of friends.�?

“You can’t make it big in the Israeli scene. You have to go to Europe and the States,�? states Elad.

Shaked adds, “We’re all like one big band: Dissonant, Acropolis, Arafel, Solitary.” Elad and Shaked were in Solitary at different times, Shaked and Jonathan are still in Dissonant and Ilia is in Arafel.

“We’re like one big family,�? adds Ilia.

MOVIES:

I: Don’t watch Miami Vice. These were the worst two hours of my life.

E: Our manager PT watched the movie and grew a mustache.

THE KURSIK FESTIVAL:

E: We played the Kursik Festival a month ago at the Kinneret (note: Sea of Galilee). It’s a Russian-Israeli rock festival. We were supposed to start at 1:30 AM. Eventually we went onstage at 4AM because of long delays.

B: And after four songs they turned off the electricity. It was really amusing, first they disconnected the guitars, then the bass, then the mic.

A: When they turned off the power we played an Iron Maiden cover without any amplification on the outside.

FUTURE:

When asked where they want to be in five years professionally, Ilia is honest about the summation of his dreams. “We want the chicks screaming Excessum. Personally, I don’t need money. Give me every day a different chick and it’s fine,�? he laughs. “No, seriously, I want to record another disk or two with the band, to play large festivals like Wacken, maybe play in Japan.�?

“In five years we want to be still playing our music that we like, and advancing as much as possible with it, even if it means we will be considered a ‘commercial’ band. But we will not change our style for anyone. We want to play Wacken, be on a major metal label, you know. We want to be living off of our music and still enjoy playing,�? Elad answers.

“We just want to go to shows, drink some vodka, kick some ass, and get laid maybe. It’s not too complicated. We want to kick ass! We still want to be giving it to them in the head!!!�? adds Jonathan jokingly once again.

“For some people that might mean the same thing,�? says me.

“That doesn’t really work the same in English as in Hebrew,�? says Arie.

“But it could sound like something better in English!” laughs Shaked.

“We just wanna kick ass!�? yells Jonathan again in a good imitation of an Israeli “Butthead�? with more oomph.

Then we start talking about Cypress Hill and their song “Rock Star�?.

I ask, “Are you going that way?�?

“No,�? says Ilia. “Well, maybe someday.�?

“He’s lying! Why are you listening to him?�? yells Elad.

“Yeah, he just brings the towels,�? laughs Shaked pointing at Ilia.