Title: The Never Ending Way of Orwarrior
Artist: Orphaned Land
Genre: Oriental Metal, Progressive, Death Metal, Folk Metal
Release Date: 22nd January 2010
Label: Century Media
Album Review
Merging progressive, death and doom metal with Middle-Eastern folk music, this Israeli band made a peculiar style called oriental metal. The uniqueness of the formation using in its music such traditional instruments as the oud, the saz, the bouzouki, also consists in the lyrics written in several different languages and containing some aspects borrowing from three religions. ORPHANED LAND, founded in 1991, released two rather successful albums and in 1997 signed with Century Media. After that the band preferred to remain in the shadow and only in 2004 the new work entitled ‘Mabool’ appeared. The CD was followed by a big tour during which ORPHANED LAND visited four continents and thirty countries.
And again the musicians kept a low profile for almost 6 years to come back this time with a brand new album, called ‘The Never Ending Way of Orwarrior’. The CD containing 15 compositions is divided into three parts and tells us a story about the endless battle between good and evil, light and dark. It starts with ‘Sapari’, an interesting and a bit leisured song, with both female and clean male vocals and a rather amusing melody yet all these features are presented on most of the songs on the album. So the first track already brings us into the intricate world of ORPHANED LAND. The next piece is getting heavier with its solid guitars and here the music gains strength, but then there comes pensive and a bit gloomy ‘Bereft in the Abyss’ which fully immerses a listener into a specific enigmatic atmosphere. But the CD proceeds and in your head there appear new pictures and the story gradually unfolds before your eyes.
All the songs are great and meaningful slowly discovering their secrets but sometimes it seems that the album is too complicated and versatile to listen to and it’s almost lost in its own concept. On the other hand the band managed to implement all the ideas into this work and everyone will be able to find songs suiting his or her taste. I can mark out such compositions as ‘New Jerusalem’ and rather rough yet melodic ‘Disciples of the Sacred Oath II’. So ORPHANED LAND created a sincere and intriguing album captivating you from the beginning.
Tracklist
01. Sapari – 4:04
02. From Broken Vessels – 7:36
03. Bereft in the Abyss – 2:45
04. The Path Part 1 – Treading through Darkness – 7:27
05. The Path Part 2 – The Pilgrimage to Or Shalem – 7:45
06. Olat Ha’tamid – 2:38
07. The Warrior – 7:11
08. His Leaf shall not Wither – 2:31
09. Disciple of the Sacred Oath II – 8:31
10. New Jerusalem – 6:59
11. Vayehi Or – 3:27
12. Mi? – 2:41
13. Barakah – 4:13
14. Codeword: Uprising – 5:25
15. In Thy Never Way (Epilogue) – 5:09
Line-up
Kobi Farhi – Vocals
Uri Zelha – Electric & Acoustic Bass
Yossi Sassi Sa’aron – Electric & Classic Guitars, Saz, Bouzouki, Chumbush, Choir Vocals & Piano
Matti Svatizky – Electric & Acoustic Guitars
Shlomit Levi – Vocals
Matan Shmuely – Drums
Steven Wilson – Keyboards (guest member)
Website
http://www.orphaned-land.com / http://www.myspace.com/orphanedmyspace
Cover Picture
Rating
Music: 8
Sound: 8
Extras: -
Total: 8 / 10
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