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After an 8-year long break, Orphaned Land is back with their finest disc to date. I was sceptical about buying this album but when quite a few friends of mine whose recommendation I always care for praised it to no end and since Orphaned Land is going to play on a festival here in Istanbul next week opening for Pain of Salvation I decided to give them a chance... I'm glad I did. It's one of the better albums of year so far and the best thing Century Media has released in 2004.

While listening to Mabool, I am reminded of three bands in particular. The first one is Opeth circa Morningrise. The way they're using the twin guitars and somewhat blackish death growls is quite reminiscent of the Swedish prog-death act. Then there is Nile for their technical side and Middle Eastern elements in their music. Last but not least there is Mezarkabul, a great band from Turkey with accented Middle Eastern melodies. Although Orphaned Land is no where near as progressive as Opeth; as heavy as Nile or as traditional sounding as Mezarkabul, they certainly share some common characteristics with these bands. On the other hand they also have their own unique edge to them and they're almost addictive in this sense. I've also heard people comparing them to Pain of Salvation but I don't necessarily hear it myself. Then it's all subjective opinion; you may as well think that my comparisons are off quite a bit.

Mabool is a concept album and memans "The Flood". It is inspired by the biblical flood story of Noah and the Ark but represents the band's views on what's going on in the Middle East. The story is about three heroes who share the same soul on a spiritual level. The soul is divided into three human beings: one Jew, one Christian and one Muslim. When they unite, they realise that a flood is going to come and cover the Orphaned Land with a big ocean because of the sins of mankind. The name Orphaned Land symbolises Israel itself which is a holy place for most people. This holy place is corrupt because of the endless wars and bloodshed that took place because of religion and beliefs. So now it's time for nature to clean the sins and purify the land with the waters of the flood. This is basically what the concept is about: there are three individuals all from different religions coming together in order to stop the wars and save this sacred place. All three of them try in vain to warn their own people against killing each other in the name of God. As a matter of fact, this is exactly what is happening in the Middle East nowadays. People are getting killed day by day for no real cause so Orphaned Land's lyrical statements are quite solid and reflect reality. This album by no means is a 'religious' album where the band members are trying to impose their own beliefs onto the listener; on the contrary Mabool just draws attention on the senselessness and atrocities of war where thousands of innocent people of ALL religions lose their lives in this bloodshed.

Musically there is a dichotomy present as well. All kinds of heavy metal instruments are side by side with traditional Arabic instruments such as the 'oud', 'saz' and 'buzuki'. Moreover the mixed ethnic identity of the 'Orphaned Land' is successfully characterized with the inclusion of Hebrew, Arabic, Indian and Latin texts as well as the language of "gibberish" which is a made-up language created by the Orphaned Land members themselves. Kobi Farhi's meticulous attention in the production shows and the vocal harmonies are some of the most original harmonies to have been recorded. Farhi not only does the clean vocals, but he handles the death growls, spoken passages, chants and back vocals as well. The lead guitar work is stunning; you can tell that Yossi Saharon spent a great deal of his time, energy and creativity to write those killer melodies, riffs and solos. I'll leave the rest of my comments about the music for myself since each listener should intrepet it himself best.


A Middle-eastern Gem   May 22, 2004
 9 out of 9 found this review helpful

After purchasing 100's of alternative and death metal cd's from many different bands, it was this disk by Orphaned Land that prompted me to write a review. Every track is simply flawless. The music more closely resembles a middle-eastern biblicaly inspired Iced Earth meets Opeth then anything else. "Mabool" takes the listener on an unpresedented voyage through the notoriously religious and mysterious land of Israel by combining elements of ancient judaic scripture with catchy death metal guitars. Kobi Farhi provides the majority of the vocals in a style similar to Opeth's Akerfeldt, switching between the standard death metal growl and high-quality singing. The backup female vocals provided by Shlomit Levi are incredible as is the performance by the Moran Ensemble. The catchy guitars played by Matti Svatizki, Yossi Saharonare, and Uri Zelecha on bass are awesome as is the backing piano played by Eden Rabin. Mabool is a must have cd especially for fans of melodious death metal, Opeth or Iced Earth, worth every penny and much more.

1. Birth of the Three: Track one opens up strong with middle-eastern chanting fading into incredibly catchy guitars and death metal vocals desribing the three sons of seven on which the cd is based. death vocals are perfectly complemented by beautifuly clear, harmonious singing. Guitars are amazingly catchy and the piano backing them makes this song an absolute must hear!

2. Ocean Land: Middle-eastern style guitars place the listener in an ancient desert land to open the track, powerful melodic death metal soon takes over. While the guitars are great, the astoundingly soaring and catchy vocals are key to this songs success.

3. The Kiss of Babylon: My favorite song on the cd. The guitars in this song are incredibly catchy and powerful. The array of vocals ranging from angry death growl to beautiful singing make this song perfect. The song fades into beautiful female hebrew chanting/singing.

4. a'salk: an interesting continuation of the last song. beautiful female vocals along side middle-eastern style guitars mark this song as slow but very melodic.

5. Halo Dies: Well played metal guitars are combined with biblical singing for the first part of the song, then death vocals take over backed by extremely catchy guitars characteristic of bands like Iced Earth.

6. a call to awake: Great Iced Earth style catchy guitars, very powerful, narrative vocals.

7. Building the ark: Incredible song! The melodic middle-eastern instrumentals are amazing as is the singing.

8. Norra El Norra: Judaic singing backed by powerful guitars. Amazingly Beautiful contrast. Fades into wonderful accoustic and piano. Another of my favorites!

9. The Calm before the Flood: Soaring instrumental, well placed in the cd.

10. Mabool: Another Favorite. Wonderful use of orchestra, powerful guitars and vocals. fastest, loudest song on the cd. A truly epic title-track describing the great flood.

11. The storm still rages inside: Continuation of the last track. Loud, fast and melodic. great narrative vocals, soaring guitars.

12. Rainbow The Ressurection: Amazing instrumental. Perfect way to end the cd.


Welcome to the Ark   April 6, 2004
 5 out of 5 found this review helpful

While I've had Orphaned Land's first album, Sahara (and quite liked it), I didn't really know what to expect when I got this album. But, since I bought it at a friends recomendation, I thought it also would be quite good. Man, was I wrong! IT'S AMAZING! There is nothing, and I mean nothing, wrong with this album. So diverse and powerful. Absolutely breath-taking.
It begins with "Birth of the Three", and right at the get-go you can tell how great this album is. Very good song, that changes alot throughout it. Begins with almost narrative singing and headbanging riffs, but then goes on into beautiful singing by Kobi. He also showcases his great death-growl, which can't be more fitting to the verses he sings. There is also a part that the singing goes into an arabic yodeling thingy, and I just can't help myself but sing along. Great song
The second song is "Ocean Land", and this a definite favorite among fans, myself included. After a cool little intro, the song begins with heavy riffs and singing, but again changes into beautiful singing. I particularly like the vocal line near the end of "Here are we, servants three, flesh and blood". Also very worthy of a sing-along. Also, Matti the guitarist, shows his skills with a very cool solo.
The next song is "The Kiss Of Babylon", and this begins with one of the heaviest parts of the album, and then, as usual, goes into beautiful singing, and so more yodeling that goes with the excellant riffs, and this time its even better than the first time! It ends with only female vocals,singing in Yemen, and while I usually can't stand this stuff, on this album it just adds to the atmosphere.
The next track "A'salk" continues the solo singing and also has some very nice classic guitar stuff in the background. While I like this part and find it a nice break, many will probably skip this track.
Next comes one of the highlights of the album, "Halo Dies", and this is probably the heaviest song on the album, though probably not at first. It begins with a Hebrew sentence spoken by Kobi, and then the melodic guitars, and shortly after come the melodic singing. By the middle, it all changes and the aggresiveness comes in. This part is very death-metally and very cool and worthy of headbanging and moshing. Also used in this heavy part, is some sort of unusual sound affect that I don't know whats its called, but is used very well to seperate the verses (I can't explain it better than that - when you hear it you'll understand). After all this heaviness, enters very beautiful work by the band music wise, and they create a wonderfu melodic feeling by the end of this song. This song is a perfect example of how Orphaned Land managed to mix harshness and aggressiveness with lovely melodies that make you want to cry. Just magic!
Next song "A Call To Awake" continues the story with a great main riff throughout. Near the end of it, there are some very cool vocal plays throughout the last verses (again, if you hear, you'll understand). This track end with a very Dream Theater-esque feel, and fans of this band will feel right at home.
"Building the Ark" is a laid back track, that for the most part is in Latin, except the last verse. Nice break.
"Nora El Nora" is originally some kind of Hebrew folk song, I think, and this track is a very good adaptation to it. Never thought I would headbang and sing along to something like this.
"The Calm Before The Flood" is just what the title says... a calming instrumental. Sort of gives us a breather before the finale.
The last two tracks "Mabool/The Storm Still Rages Inside" go hand in hand and are definately the highlight of the album, in my opinion. Mabool has the best singing (and lyrics) of the album, and some of the best music of it too. The Storm Still... is a just the most beatiful song I've heard in a long time. Wow. I just love this song so much. Yosi really displays his talents on this one with amazing solo's. I can't think of such and end to an album as good as this (even though techincally this isn't the last track), aside from Iced Earth's "Question Of Heaven". Absolutely breathtaking.
The last track "Rainbow", is another instrumental, on a classic guitar. Very nice and ends the album with a smile.

Now, on to the concept. Very original idea. It tells of the three sons of seven - while seven represents God and each son one of the religions (Christianity, Islam, Judaism). They have a task to warn the world of the flood that will come if they don't change their ways. Sort of a modern day Noah. Once you know the idea, it's very easy to follow along the concept with the lyrics. Speaking of which, this album uses 5 languages: English, Hebrew, Yemen, Latin and Gibberish (a language that the band made up). If you are not fluent in these languages, don't worry. Each has a translation into English in the booklet.
All in all, the best album I've heard in a long time, and will probably stay that way.

The second disc on the limited edition is almost half an hour of an unplugged show, where the band showcase their older songs. Again, very good and this album alone is worth it, let alone the other Masterpiece. The album has beautiful re-enditions of their songs, highlight being "The Beloved's Cry, when the audience sings.

A MUST ALBUM FOR EVERYONE!!!


PROGRESSIVE ARABIAN: A New Twist   April 12, 2004
 5 out of 5 found this review helpful

WOW. That's all I can say after soaking in a few listens of Orphaned Land's Mabool. This has to be one of the greatest progressive metal albums of all time. Superior songwriting, awesome musicianship, and a very well-produced sound that is all their own. This basically unknown band, hailing from war-torn Israel, really took me by surprise. I had read a few raving reviews on various metal websites so I took my chances and bought Mabool right here off Amazon. It was one of the wisest purchases I have ever made.

Now, just 5 or 6 listens in, I can tell that this album will stand the test of time. It is all over the place in terms of musical styles and tempos, and not a single opportunity for the listener to get bored. One minute they're thrashing out some progressive Children of Bodom-ish riffs with harsh vocals and the next minute some chick is vocalizing these spine-chilling middle-eastern folk melodies with nothing but a piano, acoustical string instrument, or a chanting choir accompanying her. I normally don't care much for the growling vocals, but on Mabool they are used sparingly (briefly in about 3 or 4 songs) and only in context to what's going on in the story. (Oh, did I mention that this is a concept album as well?)

The production on Mabool is beyond reproach. Considering the amount of instruments and various vocal tracks, everything is mixed almost to perfection. All elements of this roller coaster ride of music are seamlessly blended together giving the listener a true "departure from reality". This is not background music, this is a soundscape that must be embraced by the listener. You must lose yourself it in Mabool, which is very easy to do even from the very first listen. It's that damn good.

I highly suggest doing a search for Orphaned Land on the internet, you'll find further reviews and even a complete song available to download from their American distributor, Century Media. This is an album that truly crosses genre boundaries, pleasing fans from Children of Bodom-ites, to Savaholics to (Dream) Theatre-heads.

Really, I can't recommend this album enough. It is truly a work of art.