I
fell in love with Orphaned Land after seeing them live and I've been pretty
much obsessed with them ever since. The oriental vibe might put a lot of people
off, especially in a country where the epitome of bad taste is genre that draws
its roots from Turkish and Balkanic music, but I like the combination between metal
and oriental music and Orphaned Land pull it off perfectly (especially since
it's actually a part of their culture and identity and they aren't just doing
it because it sounds cool).
Sapari
is EXTREMELY catchy, I simply can't stop listening to it and it's one those
songs that makes you move, headbang, tap, dance, anything but stay still.
Shlomit Levi has a very interesting voice and her presence is always welcomed
in Orphaned Land songs. My favourite part is the bridge in English, I had it on
repeat for ages. Fortunately, it's nothing like the rest of the album. It's a
pretty jolly song, but I wouldn't give up the marvel that their prog-death-folk
mix is for anything in the world.
Even
though Orphaned Land seem to be giving up grunts more and more each album, the
first half of From broken vessels is
dominated by grunts and a darker sound and I love it. The mix between the warm
clean voice and the harsh clear grunts is great and Kobi is an excellent singer.
I'm completely in love with his voice and versatility.
Bereft in the abyss
is beautiful, this is what I love about this band, how musical and full of
emotion their songs are. There is so much meaning and depth in the middle of
such simplicity and everything flows and makes you feel and dream...
The
same can be said about the first part of The
Path and I'm fascinated with how it grows and the instrumental becomes more
burdening and the vocals turn into grunts and the drumming is faster and there's
that red wire that goes throughout both parts and no matter how much they play
around, they keep coming back to it.
And
after a song that's more metal then folk, of course comes a song more folk then
metal (Olat Ha'tamid).
I always appreciated bands that take music from their country and incorporate
it into an already established genre (even if they're not necessarily a folk
band) and especially those that sing in their native language, no matter how
many potential fans that might cost them. In fact, that's one of the things I
like about Orphaned Land, that they're clearly proud of their culture and don't
seem to be using it only as a gimmick to draw more attention.
The warrior
is again beautiful, Orphaned Land seem very genuine and put a lot of soul in
their music and for me that means more than original chord progressions and
orchestras and hitting high notes. I appreciate those too, but this is a music
that you feel, not analyse (which is not to say that it's mediocre musically,
just that its main strength is somewhere else).
His leaf shall not wither sounds
more like a reprise then an actual song, but it's pretty.
Disciples of the sacred oath
has those grunts I really love again. I'm not usually a fan of growling and
especially not when they dominate a band's sound (the occasions where too much
growling doesn't become monotonous are very very rare in my book), but Orphaned
Land use them perfectly. Just enough to change the pace and condiment the song,
but not so much that they become boring. I love the violins in the back as well
and the speaking and how melodious and grabbing the main line is and the
changes of pace and I am completely in love with the "lay down your
sword" and "Land. Faith. Revenge" parts. I'm also completely in
love with how different those parts can be and yet they are part of the same
song and it still sounds coherent and the transitions feel natural. It's a very
memorable track, I found myself singing parts of it for days to come after
first listening to it.
New Jerusalem
is another sad and longing melody that anoints your soul, a message of love and
peace, in good Orphaned Land tradition. I love the calmness and sensitivity of
this song and Shlomit's vocals between verses simply break your heart. When you
think of everything this people has gone through, you can almost feel their
pain and you can feel once more how genuine they are in expressing themselves
and how dedicated they are to their message of peace.
Vayehi
or is another good song, but I don't find anything worth mentioning about it.
There's singing in Hebrew, speaking on top of the instrumental... the regular.
After
a more "lively" song (as lively as Orphaned Land can be when they're
not singing Sapari), M I 1 2 comes back to the melancholy
and gentleness that make me love this band. No matter how simple it is
musically, there is so much sorrow in it that I can't be anything but touched
by it.
I
like how the songs keep alternating, after a ballad comes a more aggressive
song, then another ballad, then another heavy song... Barakah is one of the heavier ones, of course, but it still has
those melodic choirs that break the rhythm and calm the grunts. I love the
instrumental in the beginning, especially the violins, I love how there's
ALWAYS a traditional motif in every song of theirs, though always taking a
different form and I love how I can't stop tapping my foot and my head to it.
Codeword: Uprising
is one of the most memorable songs of the albums, even if it's shorter than the
other "epics". The part where the chorus grows and explodes into the
"a holy fire burns in your mind" is to die for. I keep coming back to
replay it, I think it's my favourite moment of the whole album, if not of their
whole discography. It's just perfect! The fast grunts on top of that very
present and yet minimalistic bass and then coming back to the same choir, this
time completed with grunts on top... ah love!!!
In thy never ending way
could almost pass for a positive song, but there's still that tint of sadness
that defines Orphaned Land's music. It's a lovely song, though and that piano
at the end is just beautiful, a bittersweet ending for a bittersweet album.
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