Israel is one of the most exciting countries in the world - not only if you are interested in history or geography. The country is a cultural melting pot which fuses European influences with an oriental philosophy of life. The band Amaseffer comes from Israel – and their music features a homogeneous mix of rock, metal, world music and the magical sound of the Middle East. Their debut album, entitled Slaves For Life, with its Old Testament story about the exodus of the Israelites from Egypt must be one of the most unusual and innovative albums of the year. Slaves For Life consists of sophisticated compositions in terms of content and musical skill, which make most generic terms appear too restrictive. “We don’t want to limit our music by categorising it or restricting it to any specific kind of genre,” says the band’s spokesman and drummer, Erez Yohanan. “Our music is inspired by the scenes that we see in our visions. We try to concentrate on the feel and atmosphere of a ‘scene’ and play what we feel. That’s why our music is so ‘film score’-oriented.” Next to Yohanan, Amaseffer’s nucleus consists of the 24-year-old guitarists, Yuval Kramer and Hanan Avramovich.