Orphaned Land - Mabool (2004) + Ararat EP

Oriental / Metal / progressive | LOSSLESS (Wv.Img+Log+Cue) | 475 MB | +Scans
Label: Century Media | Language: English, Hebrew, Arabic, Latin

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Mp3 @ 320 kbps

After a too long waiting of eight years, the oriental sun is finally shining again on your heads. My friends one of the most innovative and fantastic band from Israel is back with an album that we can already call legend. "Mabool, the Story of the Three Sons of Seven" is the fourth album of the band, and even if their others album are damn great, I must just say that this time the band knew how to do something that everyone can [must] like and fore sure will not be able to forget."Mabool" is a concept album, and talk about the story of the "Three", three originals heroes created by the band himself and put into the mythological story of the Flood on the Earth. During these twelve chapters you could see this original version created especially by the band, and believe me it's hard to find such original and good story. Really I can just congratulate the band again and yes damn it's good to have an epic story that don't talk about Fantasy or Middle Age.

If I must resume "Mabool" in one word, I could say "work", because it's certainly the first thing that you will feel when you'll listen that album in addition of beauty, sadness, perfection etc etc etc…
Yes, the work on that new Orphaned land album is just fantastic. It's very hard for me to find and remember albums, with such great musical arrangements. Great metal music with great metal musicians we already know the quality of the guys of the band. Yossi Saharon for example is this kind of musicians who, in addition to be an excellent guitarist, will also play a ton of instruments on the album like, Saz, Buzuki or Out [all oriental lute and mandolin]. Same with Kobi Farhi, one of the best metal singer actually, we can sing with a pure Death voice or do his fantastic and beautiful clean vocals and all that, in English but also Hebrew or Latin, just amazing….
If I can talk about the musicians of the band, I must also talk of all the guest musicians that we can hear on that album. A ton of Oriental choirs, percussions, violin, cello, and of courses the beautiful voice of the female singer Shlomit Levi. Here again even if the female vocals are maybe less present than on the old albums, I can just say that again Orphaned Land knew how to add to their music the magnificent voice of this great singer. Beautiful and enchanting again… At the end this album has a ton of influences and if it can sound Death or Gothic or Folk, I could say that is just a great musical mix with this beautiful Oriental touch, and personally I want more of such music.
The artwork [again and again and again…] is great too. The layout and the draws are excellent, same with the cover and the pictures of the band. Nothing to say again. The production of the album [I can also talk of the perfect sound of the cd…] is just perfect.


The quality of writing of this new Orphaned Land is perfect and well this time I will just say that we are with The masterpiece. Without any doubt this album will be one of the best of the year. When I see that in addition, with the limited edition, you also have an excellent acoustic live with 5 Orphaned Land classics like "The Beloved Cry" or "El Norra Alila" and a damn great Oriental cover of Mercy [Paradise Lost], well what can I say more?
I don't have the habit normally to give the maximal rating to a cd but this time, no way I will give it. This is beautiful, this great this is just a Masterpiece. With "Mabool" Orphaned Land gives to us one of the best Metal album ever.

Review On Metalstorm.ee

Band History

In 1992, the band changed its name from the original Resurrection (not to be confused with Resurrection, a Floridian death metal band) to Orphaned Land. Orphaned Land fuse progressive, doom, and death metal as well as Middle-Eastern folk music and Arabic traditions in a form of Oriental metal. Each album has some concept related to two extremes: a meeting of east and west, past and present, light and darkness, and God and Satan.

The band’s first album was Sahara (1994) which was originally released as a demo. The second album, El Norra Alila (1996), had many eastern/oriental influences, such as "El Norra Alila" ("Illustrious God"), based on a poem sung during Yom Kippur as a plea of forgiveness. It also included songs with traditional oriental Jewish piyyut and Arabic melodies. The album explored the themes of light and darkness, as well as conveying the message of commonality between the three Abrahamic religions (Judaism, Islam, and Christianity).

The third album, Mabool: The Story of the Three Sons of Seven (the Hebrew name for the Deluge, depicted in the Bible and Noah’s story), released in 2004, was seven years in the making. It tells the story of three sons (one for each Abrahamic religion) who try to warn humanity of a flood coming as punishment for their sins. Musically, the album contains oriental instruments, two choruses, traditional Yemenite chants sung by Shlomit Levi, and quotes of Biblical verses from the story of the deluge, read by vocalist Kobi Farhi. After Mabool, Orphaned Land released an EP, Ararat (2005) named after Mount Ararat.

Orphaned Land are currently working on the follow-up to Mabool, entitled The Never Ending Way of ORWarriOR. OrWarrior means "Warrior of Light," and the concept will be the battle between light and darkness. The album will have a different sound than Mabool, and will be produced by Steven Wilson of Porcupine Tree.

In 2008, Orphaned Land was featured in the documentary Global Metal by the creators of Metal: A Headbanger's Journey.




Line-up / Musicians
- Kobi Farhi / vocals, back vocals, growls, chants, reading
- Yossi Sassi / electric, clean, acoustic & classic guitars, saxohpne, buzuki, oud
- Matti Svatitzki / electric, clean & acoustic guitars, solos
- Uri Zelcha / bass, Fretless bass
- Eden Rabin / synthesizers, piano

Session members & guests:
- Avi Diamond /drums
- Avi Agababa / percussions
- Shlomit Levi / female vocals



Tracklist
01. Birth Of The Three (The Unification)
02. Ocean Land (The Revelation)
03. The Kiss Of Babylon (The Sins)
04. A'salk
05. Halo Dies (The Wrath Of God)
06. A Call To Awake (The Quest)
07. Building The Ark
08. Norra El Norra (Entering The Ark)
09. The Calm Before The Flood
10. Mabool (The Flood)
11. The Storm Still Rages Inside
12. Rainbow (The Resurrection)

Download Lossless (1 CD version) and Mp3 @ 320 kbps (2 CD LTD Edition)

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Ararat EP - 2005

Tracklist
01. The Calm Before The Flood (Ararat remix incl. new lyrics)
02. Building The Ark [Demo version]
03. The Kiss Of Babylon [Demo version]
04. Mercy [Paradise Lost cover]

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