I just got the following comment on one of my old posts:

Hi. My name is Kadeem Ward. I'm the only member of Barbados' only Metal band, Its called Conrad. The project is based on Dark Barbadian Folklore as well as Afro-Religions & Caribbean Ancestry. Check out my band page - www.myspace.com/conradbb Also check out Orisha Shakpana - www.myspace.com/orishaoftheearth Its a Jamaican Black Metal band led by my friend and session vocalist Lord Ifrit. Similar themes, his being a bit darker. Thanks in advance!

Check out the two myspace pages: there's a lot to love here. I love that these bands exist at all. I love the irony that Burzum-style, one man band black metal - so apparently context specific - manages to be an effective vehicule for explorations of Carribean identity. I love it when lone individuals do something totally at odds with their environment.

Years ago I heard about a jewish metal band from New York that was active in the 1990s called Midbar. I couldn't find any other info so I posted a call for further info on this blog. Well finally my call was answered and Hershel Firbank sent me a couple of tracks by Midbar. Here they are:

Midbar - Aj Tzadikim

Midbar - Adon Olam

They're both metal covers of Jewish standards. I'm guessing that the band may have been Lubavitch or strictly orthodox. There's often a faint whiff of 'hey we're making the liturgy cool! we're down with the kids!' in this sort of thing but on the evidence of these tracks, Midbard appear to have been a decent metal band. To put it another way, the two tracks hold their own as metal, they have a reason to exist other than making Jewish tradition more palatable. So belated cudos to Midbar.