Hebron Massacre

AMG Review of Hebron Massacre

Ned Raggett
All Music Guide

Written and recorded in a one-day session shortly after the titular event -- the February 24, 1994 murders of a number of Palestinians by a crazed Jewish settler at Hebron's Cave of the Patriarchs -- the one-track Hebron Massacre remains one of the bitterest and most straightforward indictments of Israel ever recorded by Muslimgauze. Given that Bryn Jones' entire musical career concerned such indignation in one way or another, that's saying something, but here his cause isn't limited to the blunt design of the release, featuring news clippings about the tragedy. Mixing a number of samples from interviews in response to the killings, the song has a shrill edge to it, thanks to the chillingly sharp main keyboard synth line set against soft but persistent percussion beats, with a low bass rumble further propelling the track. Simple in comparison to his other works, it still retains a sharp musical and lyrical power with enough alien beauty to make it worth repeated listens.