ORPHANED LAND

Album highlights: the choir-assisted "Building the Ark" (5:02) (10/10); the acoustic guitar based instrumental "The Calm Before the Flood" (4:25) (8/10); the heavy "Mabool (The Flood) (6:59) (9/10), and; the gorgeous melodies of "The Storm Still Rages Inside" (9:20) (9/10).

never have i ever heard such great fuse of styles before , fusing death metal with arabic falvour and jewish folk... well it's not folk it is jewish sinagog singing. i got this album the year it came out and have been a real fan of the band ever since ( i also love the fact that they are from my home town ), i must say that all the hardcore fans consider this album as the best one in their catalogue and of course i do too , in their concerts people always shouting "old songs , old songs" , that doesn't mean the new stuff isn't worth 5 stars too , but this one is special.

i really don't think orphaned land tried to make progressive metal music because they knew some bands from the west and said that's cool let's do that too , i think they just loved metal but felt they want to fuse it with some of their family origins music and the music they grew up on going to the sinagog hearing everybody singing those prayers that time, the sinagog music has such beauty but i think maybe it speaks to israelis more than others of course. that's why the music on the album has such a great falvour to it.

the band doesn't play some death metal riffing and then stop and have an arabic interlude , this is fusing from the lower degree. the metal riffing is based on arabic jewish scales which creates riffing from another planet top that with some more folky instruments like tablas , oude , kanoon and you have a real 100% progressive metal music from the highest degree . the keyboard is set perfectly to the music and adds so much to the atmosphere even if it is a small part, it's not keys a la spock's beard the sound is more folky totally interesting. what i love most about this album is that the main riff is played few times and never returns ( most of the time ) it evolves to something else and this transition is no less than perfect , sometimes i can't believe it, they are masters!!! all instruments come in the right time doing exactly what they need. drums are not just backing the band they are part of the music . everybody have those cd's that the music is a whole every drum roll is in the right place every note is essential and if you could you wouldn't change anything , for example ( and not comparing of course ) wish you were here, king crimson - red and in the court..., solar fire and more, well this one is no different IMO of course

sound....well this is one is the strangest mixed albums i heard , the old version has an overall muddy sound like was noted before but still you can hear every instrument , guitar distortion is also different which gives the music it's touch. the new version got out the mud a little bit and the album sounds better.

the first half of the album is slightly better, the second half are songs from the demo tape came out one year earlier only had been recorded again and are better played then on the demo, here they are complete!! the second half fuses the arabic element a little bit less but music is still changing and progressive. oh i like how the album ends ,when the last bang switches to clean guitar and then canoon joins in , beautiful emotional stuff , amazing!! i also have to comment on two things kobi farhi singing is amazing , growling have power and energy like they should he fuses it with clear vocals as he goes along and see fit. and of course the master of all yossi sasy ( sounds funny! ) - guitars , he just seems to have it all , the great metal riffing and the lead guitar which is played through out the entire album on top of the rhythm guitar . always phenomenal!! and of course the solos this guy is all about the feeling , check out " ornaments of gold " guitar solo at the end of the song, i feel like crying - so sad and emotional and it's only 30 seconds long , and of course " the beloveds cry" guitar solo! you should see this guy in concert he just can't get his smile off his face is so happy playing this music , he doesn't have that death metal look at all and that explains a lot. bonus tracks include 2 songs from the demo tape that wasn't rerecorded they are shorter tracks still interesting but not up par with the rest of the album , the sound is rawer , not a problem for a fan to like but doesn't show the band's potential. don't go for this album if you are a non metal fan.

i hope i managed to get through the essence of the album which is also the essnce of this band. i can't speak highly enough about this album or band, the music is engaging , brilliant, beautiful kicking ass inovative and essential!! like i said before most of the fans that knew the band before they got more famous , thinks that this album is their best and strongest , the third and forth albums that marks the band's comeback and rated here as higher are still great but doesn't have that first album vibe and magic!! for you that already know and love the band please don't let the low rating put you off at least give it a few spins you will not regret!! i think i speak for all hardcore fans here! i hope i got you curious enough, if one of you readers discover this jewel my job is done.

my rating of course is 5 stars for this exceptional debut totally essential prog music. orphaned land rules!!

The concert is mostly built upon the songs from the last album The neverending way of OR-warriOR, and exceptionally performed. Great stage stance by all the band, with the singer Kobi Farhi able to guide the crowd into a happy journey. Excellent guitar axe performances by Yossi Sassi and Matti Svatitzki who provide beautiful solos and licks, and Uri Zelha, with a very death metal attitude, banging on the front stage. Matan Shmuely plays a very dynamic show, with powerful and brilliant drumming.

The band is helped on stage by classical instruments and the great female voice of Shlomit Levi, who support the band in the best folk metal songs which give the special touch to the performance: Sapari cannot get out of my head now, and the final properly accorded to Norra el Norra, the hymn of the Metal Synagogue, is just the perfect "summa" of the true nature of Orphaned Land.

But even the heaviest songs are excellent: Disciples of the sacred Oath and From broken vessels - to name just two - are very "proggy" in their eclectic riffing and various powerful atmosphear. Seriously, Orphaned Land are for me now what Dark Tranquillity were in the 90s, or Opeth in the 2000s. A death metal band with high technical skills, providing a very deep and emotional music, original and with great impact on all the emotions of the listener.

3 special guests, among whom the prog fans will expecially appreciate Steven Wilson, who performs a band classic - "The beloved's cry" - with a funny touch.

A great live show capturing the essence of one of the most interesting band in the prog metal world. We just hope that their album production will increase in the future!

The EP starts with a conceptual piece with narratives and all. Not much music though. The name fo this piece is The Calm Before The Flood and the sound is OK. Next out is the demo version of Building The Ark. Very bad sound ruins this song. A very good song, it is. But the sound is really bad. The Kiss Of Babylon has a lot better sound, but is not really that impressive. The cover version of Paradise Lost's Mercy is good, but nothing more.

Does anyone really need this EP ? Those who really love this band, yes. The rest of us who really think their albums are great, but does not have any deeper relationship with this band than that will only regard this as a collector's item and just that. I am not impressed by this EP and hence my two stars for the bother.

2 stars

Sahara is officially the debut album from this band. But this demo is clocking in at forty minutes and has a good sound. Then again, Sahara is such a legendary & influential debut album that I think we leaves it as it is.

Beloved Cry is forty minutes of dark death metal with some hints of what to come on Sahara. But the songs on Beloved Cry is very much more straight forward death/doom metal than their official albums. But it is pretty evident that this band was going places with this demo and it caught the attention of the metal world.

The quality is OK, but not really anything more than that. This is a purchase for the Orphaned Land collector and nobody else. I frankly finds the music competent delivered, but rather dull too. Which explains my rating.

2 stars

I generally try to avoid criticising artists too much that stick to same tried and tested formula. Whilst it's always nice to hear something different, such as the direction which the likes of Opeth and Pain of Salvation are taking at the moment, there is also a reason why you listen to a band in the first place, and so more of the same is generally no bad thing. However, after Orphaned Land released one of the best albums of the decade back in 2004, I really wondered where they would go next, as for me a lot of the enjoyment I got from 'Mabool: The Story of the Three Sons of Seven' came from how unique and refreshing the sound was.

'The Never Ending Way of ORwarriOR' brings an almost identical blend of metal and middle eastern folk to the table, it might be ever so slightly heavier, but nothing obvious. Straight away this album has lost its impact (through no fault of its own) and must rely solely on outstanding songwriting. Unfortunately, its not quite there either. There are some really great tracks, especially towards the end, but there is also less memorable filler, something which 'Mabool' didn't even come close to. Like its predecessort 'The Never Ending Way of ORwarriOR' is also a concept album, but it does not flow in the same way as 'Mabool', and is also a bit too long.

Standing back and pretending I had never heard 'Mabool', I still don't feel that 'The Never Ending Way of ORwarriOR' does enough to make me want to explore this band further.

The Verdict: A class act in its own right, but I could easily live without it.

If you are planning on composing a concept album, you should first think of a theme. Let's say, water. You'd include sounds tipical of water, maybe the current of a river, rainfall, or crushing waves. Maybe you'll write dreamy acoustic riffs reminiscent of underwater exploration, or heavy metal passages resembling a storm. Then, you'd add lyrics common throughout the album, and some kind of musical fanfare that are recurrent in the songs.

Well, these guys, instead of water, chose the biblical story of the Flood.

Kiss of Babylon is one of the greatest examples of this. If you add salt and water in a cup, you'll have a cup of salty water, but you won't be able to distinguish between each substance. Orphaned Land did the same with prog metal and eastern-arabic folk. And also with the lyrics.

And to top it off, the technicality is amazing, the solos, the double bass drum, everything.

All in all, I think this is a surprising album, that needs to be known in prog circles worldwide - a true prog metal gem.

PS: the beginning of "Mabool (The Flood)" is simply mezmerizing. These guys are genius.