Orphaned Land – A Heaven You May Create (30th Anniversary / Live in Tel-Aviv)
Orphaned Land – A Heaven You May Create (30th Anniversary / Live in Tel-Aviv)
Century Media
Release Date: 01/12/2023
Running Time: 01:07:48
Review by Mauro B. Fonseca
8/10
It took me some time to start to write about this album from the most famous Israeli pioneers of Oriental Metal. I do not want to mix up all that shit happening in Gaza with my favourite music genre, Heavy Metal. I tried to focus only on the music. I hope I got it!
Let’s start with the technical part. Orphaned Land is an Israeli Metal band that blends (majestically) Heavy Metal and Eastern Music sounds. They were formed in 1991 in Petah Tikva under the name Resurrection then in 1992 became Orphaned Land. From 1992 untill now, the band has released 6 albums, this is the 7th. They are no novice at this and surely know what they are doing. Even though I’m not the number one fan, I appreciate very much the sound of their music.
The album is a setlist of the gig they did in Tel-Aviv in 2021. This selection covers the most beloved songs of the band’s career. So, it’s a good album to start listening to them. Despite being a live album the quality of recordings is very, very good. It is possible to listen to everything clearly. Congratulations to the sound engineers. Must been a very exciting gig to watch. Wish I was there!
Tracks are collected from several albums from their career. As follows: ‘The Storm Still Rages Inside’, ‘Mabool’, ‘Birth of the Three’, ‘Norra el Norra’ and ‘Ocean Land’ from “Mabool” album. ‘In Thy Never Ending Way’ and ‘Sapari’ from “The Never Ending Way of ORwarriOR” album. ‘All Is One’ and ‘Brother’ from “All Is One” album. ‘The Cave’, ‘In Propaganda’, ‘All Knowing Eye’ and ‘Like Orpheus’ from “Unsung Prophets And Dead Messiahs” album. So, I reinforce the idea that this is a good album to start knowing the Orphaned Land’s music.
To me, at first, it didn’t sound like a live album. Perhaps the fact of having only 2,500 people in the audience made it easier to hide the external sounds. But immediately at track 2 the people cheering and screaming makes the magic happen. This is really a live album. I felt a little lack of the weight of Metal, as the density of the songs was tinny diminished. Not a problem, only a sensation that I had.
I simply love the mix of the crystal-clear voices with ogre-guttural ones. Love it. Also, the alternation of male with female voices during some parts of some songs. Love it too. The guitars deliver everything here, weight, dirt, cadences, power chords and everything that makes them the stars of any Heavy Metal band. The orchestrations are wonderful, they give the songs a special touch. Mixing the particular way of chanting oriental songs with the raw and brutal way of singing Heavy Metal, the band makes the songs stimulating. The songs are so stimulating that I dare you to listen to this album and be quiet, without headbanging not even once, I dare you!
Finishing this review, I like to say that my favourite songs are those I have listened to for too long, are those presented in “Mabool” album, maybe my brain is already marked with those set of notes and sounds. So, have fun, lots of fun hearing this album. So, once more, have fun!
TRACKLISTING:
01. Mabool
02. The Storm Still Rages Inside
03. Like Orpheus
04. Sapari
05. The Cave
06. In Propaganda
07. All Knowing Eye
08. Brother
09. Birth of the Three
10. Ocean Land
11. All Is One
12. In Thy Never Ending Way
13. Norra El Norra
LINE-UP:
Kobi Farhi – Vocals
Uri Zelcha – Bass
Idan Amsalem – Guitars
Chen Balbu – Guitars, piano, backing vocals, bouzouki, saz, oud
LINKS:
Disclaimer: This review is solely the property of Mauro B. Fonseca and Ever Metal. It is strictly forbidden to copy any part of this review, unless you have the strict permission of said party. Failure to adhere to this will be treated as plagiarism and will be reported to the relevant authorities.
