Salem is a band hailing from the Holy Land of Israel. When we think of Israel, the first band which comes to our mind is Orphaned Land but Salem has been around more than Orphaned Land infact they have been around since 1985 and have a number of demos and releases under their belt. ‘Collective Demise’ is the latest effort by this band which has been released by the Germany based label System Shock. The band basically plays Death metal with thrash elements in their compositions. The vocals are a blend of black and death metal with screams more than the growls. The music arrangement is nice with special instruments like the African drums used in between the songs which make the songs sound quite unique. The different musical instruments used give the songs a touch of the Middle Eastern sound which is makes the songs musically appealing. There are occasional backing female vocals but not like the ones used by gothic metal bands. The production is very good with clean vocals, clear and fast guitars work and excellent technical drumming. The songs also show a diversity throughout the album. Overall, a very good album highly recommended for fans of death metal with a difference.