EL NORRA ALILA

On their second album, Orphaned Land show that they have developed the skills to accomplish their vision of eastern death metal. They display a clever mix of death metal and middle-eastern folk, growls and clean vocals, which at the time both were a rare addition to the music world. In a world where there are more folk metal bands than bible copies nowadays, it's easy to overlook this album. However, that would be a shame. Orphaned Land has always been a band with a vision, trying to push the boundaries of their music as well as their upbringing. The music itself must have been very innovative at the time (1996). Their blend of western extreme music with eastern traditional music was not only unique, in times of conflict it's also a political statement that we are all united. Normally I don't care for spiritual lyrics, but Orphaned land has found a concept that transcends a lot of boundaries.

History shows that as songwriters, Orphaned Land will keep on growing. The music is good and innovative, but the songwriting itself isn't as breathtaking as it is on their next record Mabool. The production isn't very good, but it adds to their charm of being a metal pioneer. My only real beef with the production is that the distorted guitars are too loud in the mix. The musicianship is good without being outstanding.

Orphaned Land has created a good record, an essential addition for people interested in the short history of heavy metal in the middle-east. However, it is completely overshadowed by their following album, Mabool, like the Hobbit is by the Lord of the Rings.

3,5/5*