Mabool - The Story of the Three Sons of Seven

It took 8 years for 'Orphaned Land' to return after their mighty 'El Norra Alila' with this shiny produced album, this time way more influenced by progressive rock and a bit distant from their metal roots.

The main problem of this album is the soft edge of the production. The keyboards increase different sounds and depth in 'Mabool', and that's a plus. However, the guitars have a really bad tone. It has a sound of a really cheap multi effect which producing some fragile distortion with extra middle frequencies. It causing the riffs to lose some necessary depth and often get lost in the mix, underneath the drums and vocals.

Another problem, which is a quite serious one, is the presence of fillers between the good songs. I personally prefer 30 minutes length albums which are topnotch all the way then 60 minutes length albums which make you to press the skip button too much. There are some really brilliant songs here, take for example the opener 'Birth Of The Three'. It starts with a fluid melodic, oriental riff which repeats itself quite much each time with a slightly different touch and varying instruments behind it. The vocals are just incredible, varying from simply spoken texts to clean vocals, oriental chants and harsh growls, all delivering the exact feeling of the lyrics. 'The Kiss Of Babylon' and 'Halo Dies' are the heavier tracks of this album, with some quite heavy riffs and catchy guitar leads, espically 'Halo Dies' which is a real progressive masterpiece.

However, there are too many weak tracks which just ruin the continuity of the good stuff.

'A Call To Awake' is plain bad. It has an Iron Maiden worship guitar theme which sound dumb and repeat itself too much. The vocals just don't reach any peak and so is the riffing which trying to be power metalish but just fails. The ending of the song is just awkward, some pretty bad technical keyboards masturbation that goes absolutely no where. 'A'salk' is a shitty interlude with some flat female trilling vocals in Yemen language. 'The Calm Before The Flood' is a boring overlong ambient track, like these you can hear in elevators. 'The Storm Still Rages Inside' is one long irritating guitar solo that leads to 'Rainbow' which is a nice and calm clean guitar theme, but a bit overlong.

Overall, the good songs of this album are really deep and worth listening, but there are just too many bad ideas here that could have been cut and make this album less frustrating. 'Mabool' has some really great material, it's just overlong and full with fillers. I do hope though, that their next album will be better, just like their old classics.

More proof that progression doesn't always make something better. Orphaned Land are an Israeli Prog Metal band who really don't sound like anything you've ever heard before, and they've been getting a lot of press for this album in particular. However, like most bands of their ilk; those Super-Prog outfits who sacrifice integrity and staying power for things such as originality and conceptual plotlines, Orphaned Land fall short of the immense praise bestowed upon them.

Don't get me wrong, this is very involving and challenging music, with layers upon layers of dense musical mastery, and pretty much everyone here is giving a 100% performance - this IS a Prog album, and thus it would not have been let out of the recording studio without every single note polished to perfection. There are a lot of Middle Eastern folk instruments here, and a lot of different vocal styles - ranging from a one dimensional blackened rasp to a choir of clean male voices, some deep voiced narration, and finally to the ever-original Clean Female Vocalsâ„¢, which seem to be a universal mark of the "Progressive" bands of today (you're not a member of the club if you don't use 'em!) - along with a lot of time changes, bouncy Folk Metal riffs and guitar-less atmospheric sections that make me wonder how this is even considered "metal" in the first place. The whole thing is extremely sterile, though, sadly enough, and completely lacking in balls or heaviness, clashing with the wide array of instrumentation utilized here. This is still a metal album, so what's the deal, guys?

My main problem with Mabool is that it is boring and unmemorable. There are no choruses here, for one, and anyone who loves a good, juicy hook or a catchy riff will be starved while listening to this album. Orphaned Land have tried so hard to create an epic, stirring masterpiece for the ages, yet in doing so they have forgotten one of the key elements in Heavy Metal music: the hook. This album is ornate and at least somewhat beautiful, and it has diversity and progressive tendencies throughout its entire duration (and this is a long fucking album), yet I cannot remember even one note of it after the last song finishes. Even that could be excused if the music here was energetic and soulful, but it isn't! Mabool sounds contrived and stale, despite the obvious good intentions of the band members, and the pre-processed, squeaky clean production job doesn't help. The songwriting here is just too meandering and uncatchy, even for Prog. Too many songs here just drone on and on without anything exciting happening at all. I used to wonder why I never got the incentive to play this album more often, but now there's no doubt about it: Orphaned Land are simply a lackluster band.

People will flock to bands like this as if they're the reincarnation(s) of Jesus Christ, but why? People will act as if bands like this are the saviors of modern music, as if the metal scene is so starved for originality that it needs bands like this, who pile on so many outside influences that the band in question no longer even sounds metal a lot of the time. Pfft, the metal scene doesn't need bands like this, no matter how far from the norm it sounds to some people. "Unoriginality" is marketed as an unforgivable sin by many, but is it really that bad? It's like how we're taught to fear the Bogeyman as little children. We fear blindly, and we fear without questioning, but as we get older, how many of us retain this childlike mental block? We grow up and we learn about the world, and we're not afraid anymore, as we can see that there is nothing to worry about. I sure wish the modern metal community would do the same, or at least the portion of it that blindly worships anything "new" sounding, without actually stepping back and objectively viewing the quality of the release in question. Maybe then we wouldn't have so many bloated carcasses of albums like this one.

This album doesn't sound like all that much else, musically, but when you get down to brass tacks, Orphaned Land are not actually doing much new or exciting, contrary to popular opinion. They're a metal band disguising their music with odd instrumentations and time signatures and varying vocal approaches, so what's exactly "original" here? The approach is different and pretty cool (with the aforementioned Middle Eastern instruments used instead of the regular old "spacey keyboard" approach or the "Tolkien fanfare" one), but that just means Orphaned Land is using a slightly different path to reach the same destination, if you catch my drift. They're not aiming for anything here that hasn't already been done. This is a familiar style dressed up in a new outfit, but it doesn't fool me one bit. This album sounds like Anubis Gate, Ayreon or Pain of Salvation with folk elements instead of the "cleaner" Prog approach used by those bands. And their folk influences have been done way, way better by Angra in recent years, too. And Angra knows how to write good hooks along with their Prog, which further renders this obsolete.

All that aside, Orphaned Land is a pretty decent band, not terrible, yet certainly unworthy of the praise they've been receiving. Mabool might be a choice cut if you can't get enough of this style of Prog, but do not expect anything too mindblowing or "out there," and even then, you could do far better when looking at Prog bands. Perhaps they will improve their songwriting faults next album, as all the pieces are certainly there; only time will tell. I do hope they don't get arrested at an American airport, though.

Originally written for http://www.metalcrypt.com

Sifting through some music that a friend had recommended me, I eventually came across this bonus CD for an album called 'Mabool', and checking it out, found a few live acoustic tracks with a good dose of middle eastern folk sound, as well as cover of a Paradise Lost song, Mercy. It sounded cool, and I remember making a mental note to try find the actual album sometime. It wouldn’t be till about a year later when I finally got hold of it, and found myself blown away.

One thing’s for sure – Mabool is definitely much more than the sum of its parts. Vocalist Kobi Farhi has a good voice, even though it’s not that extraordinary. Even his growling seems a little timid too often, like he’s never going to let loose in a full-throated roar. Axemen Matti Svatitzki and Yossi Sassi are far from being guitar heroes, the rhythm section is nearly always understated and the keyboards exist solely for the ambience and rich sound. But if I only placate you with the reassurance that the songs work, it’s one hell of an understatement.

This is a full blown concept album, telling of the struggle between Judaism, Islam and Christianity, and the urgency to resolve differences before the titular flood comes and washes all their asses away. This should tickle several people’s fancy, but the music is just so great that I find it a little tricky paying attention to any of the lyrics while it’s playing.

I’ll have to forgo a detailed song by song dissection, since most of the time, they bleed and flow into each other without you realising it. The band effortlessly shifts between heavy, complex, usually lengthy songs and shorter ambient passages, which better showcase their ethnic orchestration.The folksy feel is maintained throughout the album, even when there’s a full-blown metal section tearing out. One of the more unique parts of the album is on A’salk, where guest female vocalist Shlomit Levi is belting it out over an exotic acoustic rhythm. I can imagine some of my aunts coming in at this point and asking “When did you start listening to classical music?” and then fleeing in terror once Halo Dies erupts to life.

Truth be told, there’s hardly anything I’d change about any song. When I hear Yossi take a guitar solo, I can think of any number of guitarists who could handle it with better chops, but for the life of me, I can’t imagine anything fitting better than he’s already played. Similarly, you could probably get a vocalist with better range and power than Kobi, but no one is probably going to suit the sound better.

If there’s one thing that bothers me, it’s that the album ends up being a little too long for its own good. Yeah, I know it makes me an ingrate complaining about too much good music, but for me, the flow would have been a huge deal better if they jumped from Building the Ark to The Storm Still Rages Inside. I guess that would have been cutting a big chunk out of the story and messed up the narrative, but musically that would have been just about perfect for me.

That aside, Mabool is a truly special album, and even if it did take 6 years to make, it was worth the wait. Well, I couldn’t really testify to that since I didn’t actually wait out the 6 years; I’m just making an educated guess here. I can’t wait for the next album, where Steven Wilson of Porcupine Tree is going to be handling the production, and I’ve got to breathe a sigh of relief that they’re not going to take another half-decade to see it out.

http://www.kvltsite.com

I was still discovering the metal genres at the time I purchased this album (in fact I ordered it at the same time I ordered Haste The Day's debut album) and so hearing all ethnic sounds and instruments in metal seemed quite foreign, and frankly, quite annoying. I heard the song "Ocean Land" and read many praising reviews of this album and thought it could be a good addition. However, my ignorance towards ethnic sounds in metal caused me to give up on the album halfway through. I rated it roughly 8/10, put it on my CD stand, and there it lay for about a year and a half.

Luckily in that year and a half I immersed myself in many genres of metal and all sorts of experimental music. It was then I brought "Mabool" back out to listen. What a turning point that would turn out to be.

Half way through I realised, "wow, this is amazing". A few more listens in the coming weeks and I came to the conclusion this was one special and terribly original album. Never before have I heard musicians blend in such elements into their music making it sound so normal and effortless.

Right from the first track, the music endures many changes in vocals, riffs and instruments. It is an indication of what is to come. The first three tracks are predominantly filled with metal and alterations between rough and (very good) clean vocals. So all metal heads will enjoy the beginning of the journey. It is when things start to calm down that the real test begins. "Ocean Land" contains an amazing guitar solo and "The Kiss of Babylon" incorporates infectious chants near the end that fold out into the beautiful voice of a female. This only highlights the diversity of "mabool", and once the Latin choirs begin in "Building the Ark" you can truly appreciate the magnitude of originality to be found here.

"Building the Ark" is the turning point of the album. After this, the aggression and metal aspects begin to diminish. The mid point of "Mabool" showcases the softer more artistic side to Orphaned Land and then comes the two epics of the CD: The title track and "The Storm Still Rages", Clocking in at 16 minutes between them. For me, "The Storm Still Rages" is the highlight of the whole album, as it is a continuation of the title track and flows into a gigantic 4 minute guitar solo. When the line "hear your orphaned child..." is repeated by Kobi, you realise that the majority of people are missing out on one of the greatest musical experiences available. The CD finishes with an acoustic instrumental that reminds one of nature and is a fitting conclusion to the journey of "Mabool".

So, after listening to the album with a much more open mind than previously, I can only praise the Israeli's work. I often hear bands attempting to mix various sounds into the music, but it generally comes off as amateurish or forced. Orphaned Land has no problem here, as it feels like music is supposed to flow in this manner. With an open mind, I believe anyone can appreciate what the band as to offer with "Mabool" for it showcases everything metal stands for... talent, originality, aggression, expression and most importantly on this album, harmony between instruments, people, culture and religion. The original 8/10 does no justice... only a perfect score will suffice for the greatest 70 minutes of music created.

Forget everything you know about genres. I'm used of talking about the sound of a band at the beginning of a review. But this album can't be described just by mere genre definitions. They are said to play a mixture of Progressive Death Metal with arabic folk. But, what it's exactly Progressive Death? It sounds like Death? Opeth? This band sounds , at core, like Progressive Metal, with unusual song structures, technical use of instruments, and no choruses at all. Add to that a constant use of arabic folk music, with male and female chanting, use of local instruments and riffing that resembles their music. Then add that minimal death mixture, used as some growling, which doesn't stop the beauty of the album, and the sound of some riffs, making them extremely thick and heavy.

Only with that description, anyone that loves diverse music should order this album. But what about the songwriting? This is a concept album about three sons, each one representing each monotheistic religion trying to warm humanity of a flood that will punish the world. So their music manages to match the lyrics. A proof may be the song "Halo Dies (The Wrath Of God)", where they use growls to represent the fury of God.

Also notice how the album begins strong, with songs like "Birth of the Three (The Unification)", "The Kiss of Babylon (The Sins)" , and "Halo Dies (The Wrath Of God)" , which are able to make you headband 'till death, even with arabic chanting at the same time. I don't know what people say, but the chanting on "The Kiss of Babylon (The Sins)" it's amazing, and one of the best moments of the album.

But the direction of the album changes completely at "Building The Ark". That it's an acoustic song, featuring an amazing vocal delivery, ending with an outstanding acoustic guitar outro. "Norra El Norra (Entering the Ark)" it's the most arabic song, and believe me: I hate arabic music, yet I really like this song. Even though it has the last heavy riff, it doesn't have any growling. It ends with an amazing piano solo. So the album begins heavy to take your attention, and ends softer. "Mabool (The Flood)" still has some growls, but in my opinion it's the most melodic song. That guitar riffing, along with those amazing vocals are really haunting. They really saved the best song for the end. After that, it comes "The Storm Still Rages", which flows perfectly with the previous song. To me, it's like a big outro, along with the last song.

Really, this it's a musical journey you can't avoid. Musically and lyrically, it's almost perfect. If you aren't very openminded, songs like "A'salk", "Norra El Norra (Entering the Ark)" and "The Calm Before the Flood", which may feel a bit overlong, may annoy you. This album it's far beyond ordinary metal. Death metal fans, avoid this: it's not for you. Folk metal fans: this it's very different of typical folk metal, probably because there is almost no arabic folk metal, so you may like this, or maybe not. Progressive metal fans: Take this. Now.

Be prepared for the best oriental metal made by the orientals they self. Ethnic sounds “flood” completely this masterpiece making it one of the best releases of the year (and I guess that it will take a long time to other bands to make a major masterpiece than this jewel). The traditional instruments and choral arrangements give the whole album the special atmosphere to be hailed for everyone. And the concept (the Flood and the coexistence of three religions is the main theme).

Birth of the Three is aggressive, despite of the use of clean and rough vocals, and the folkish chorus at the end followed by a children chorus is the perfect climax for the opening track. Ocean Land maintains the heaviness of its predecessor with an awesome solo, hard too listen from a between a bunch of solos that exist in the world and the sitar on the entire song is enough to hail this track. The Kiss of Babylon has some pretty guitar ideas and the vocals are the best on the grunting side but then it turns into a more oriental mid-paced song, breaking into a quite singular but a bit long choral ending line that follows with A’salk… I can go on and on describing each song but I think that this is an album that must not be described nor can be because of how magnificent it is. All the songs have their own characteristics and highlights between the metal, the classical and the folk parts. Halo Dies is one of the best songs. Norra El Norra is the perfect mix of oriental riffs with metal rhythms. And the major effort comes at the end with Mabool, and when you think all is over… The Storm Still Rages Inside! Talking about the band I must recognize that the guitars are one of the best I have heard in execution and in musical ideas and the keyboards can be compared with the ones from great bands, even though they don’t need solos to be mentioned as great. The drums and bass are well driven and work the way they must work for a masterpiece such as Mabool.

If you are skeptic because Mabool is about a passage from the Bible, I guess you’ll change your mind when you hear it. It’s interesting how religion can be attached to metal without trying to sell and idea or opinions. Mabool is a story, just that. You won’t be forced to become christian, jewish or muslim just because you have this album on your shelf. It doesn’t means that you agree with those religions. Beware of that, you must have this album. It’s one of those releases that make history, so go and search for it. The long waiting ended with splendid results.

Epic/Progressive/Folk-Inspired/Neo-Classical Death Metal with the perfect, extremely unique blend of heavy guitars, traditional middle-eastern instruments, clean singing, calm instrumentals, death growls, female vocals, choirs and chants, and a tinge of technicality - there is even some singing in Hebrew. I'd agree with anyone who says you simply can't put a label on something like this, it is just music. Ethnic Metal? That seems fitting. Additional instruments include piano, keyboard, cello and violin. This album probably reminds me mostly of Symphony X's "V," because of that album's Egyptian themes, except this has death growls and is less cheesy. This album really doesn't contain much death growls at all, which is perfect - I really wouldn't be surprised if they totally abandon them on their next album or maybe two albums from now (I'm actually expecting it) and it would be a logical and natural progression. Of course, they certainly don't ruin this album or anything. I've never heard any of their other albums and unfortunately they seem a little hard to find.

The album flows beautifully from one song to the next, with very good transitions from soft to heavy parts that some bands don't accomplish very well. The best part is when there is heavy guitar riffing and the folk instruments (I wish I actually knew what they were called) atop it with either vocal type, they really don't keep alternating between this in the songs too much, and when they do, it is very smooth The CD clocks in at 68 minutes, and I really don't understand when people complain that that kind of length is too much. It is only too long if it starts getting repetitive, which this album definitely doesn't do. I mean, there are 20-minute recordings that can be "too long" because they ran out of ideas. With Orphaned Land, the ideas and great musicianship never dry up and it's certainly not pretentious or over-the-top.

When some people find out Religion is the lyrical theme they get totally repelled and automatically hate the band. That really shouldn't be the case, it is more of a story that involves religion and is put together nicely, not preaching to the listener, and even if they were preaching, the music is so good I wouldn't care. Lyrics never mattered to me that much as long as they aren't ridiculously silly, and if they happen to be good, it's an extra bonus. Some of this is sung in Hebrew which I already mentioned, which definitely adds to the theme and provides an interesting touch.

The album starts out with "Birth of the Three," with a nice powerful riff, quickly adding death growls and traditional folk instruments. It turns out to have a good combination of all the vocals, occasional piano, and nice rhythm changes, and at the end there is an angelic choir singing with melodic heavy riffing in the back... probably the first time I've heard that in any music. "Ocean Land" is one of the best songs, it starts out with fast-paced strumming, I think it's a sitar, and then suddenly goes into the main song, contains excellent clean vocals in the "chorus," a little more choir vocals, and a perfect blend of heaviness with death vocals and a pretty nice solo. "The Kiss of Babylon" starts out with some of the heaviest material on here, and suddenly adds some more female choir vocals - so outrageous but it sounds perfect. Near the middle of this song, they abandon lyrics and just sing "Na na na na na na na" instead. It's not horrible, but they do it for a little too long for my tastes. Then there is a lone female vocalist singing in Hebrew, who has a gorgeous voice, but this also goes on for just a tad too long. Then begins the next song, "A'salk" which just has the folk instruments and also ethnic tribal hand-drums with the same vocals; it's a short song that brings a nice refreshing direction to the album and foreshadows a series of a few songs like this.

"Halo Dies" is heavy again, using a traditional instrument that sounds a little different at the beginning, then containing some of the most aggressive vocals for a while, before breaking down into a little keyboard and acoustic section then containing some of the best metal riffs in the CD. "A Call to Awake" isn't too much different from the heavier tracks, but then "Building the Ark" suddenly begins with some ethnic hand-drums, acoustic instruments, and male + female chanting type vocals and continues this way, it's a beautiful, encompassing track with great atmosphere. The next song "Norra el Norra" has some excellent male singing in Hebrew, and is one of the calmer tracks with distorted guitar, containing a great mixture of heavy and soft. Near the end a brilliant mini-piano concerto is added to the upbeat strumming in the background. "The Calm Before the Flood" is the album's calm breath of air with slow acoustic playing and strings, very lonely and eerily troubling. The band is knows how to make tracks like this just as well as heavy tracks, it truly sounds like the calm before the flood. At the end, the sound of rain quickly arrives, transitioning into the title track which adds some thunder and truly apprehensive sounding fast-paced strings, slowly adding the guitars, turning out to be another quality metal track. This turns right into "The Storm Still Rages Inside," the longest song. A good chunk of it is a metal instrumental with a long, winding solo, finally ending with a few female choir vocals and the sounds of water. But there is still more, after the flood is a "Rainbow", a calm, simple acoustic track with the sounds of birds chirping. It might seem like this drags on too long from my explanation, but I don't think it does, it seems like a good length.

All in all, this is one of the most unique, diverse and excellent metal albums I've ever heard, and will be in anyone's collection; it's one of my very top purchases of 2004. I really have no other bands to compare it to besides that Symphony X album which is kind of a stretch, so if you like your metal unique and thought-provoking, this is for you.

Having picked up both of Orphaned Land's previous releases before Mabool was released, I couldn't wait to get my hands on this album. I was expecting great things but was never even close to being ready for what they had in store this time around. It is impossible to put in words how blown away I was by Mabool. The evolution that Orphaned Land made since Sahara and El Norra Alila is gigantic. First off, the musicianship and songwriting, which the band has always been good at, is better than ever. Amazing riffs, drumming, singing all mixed in that classic middle eastern formula which Orphaned Land specializes in. The album murders you from the second you put it on and takes your spirit through a journey of epic proportions. Secondly, Kobi's vocals have improved an enormous amount. He still holds his fierce demonic growl and his clean singing is twenty times more powerful than on the previous albums. The band also now has a keyboardist which sure knows how to do his job, putting layers of atmosphere into the godly music. Also, the female vocals once again appear on this album, except, as everything else, they are so much better. The production is nothing short of perfect. This is the way an album should be produced. The guitars are warm and crunchy, the vocals fit right into the music along with the keys, choir, drums, and any other things that contributed to the music on Mabool. Mabool is a must buy not only for metalheads, but for anybody who has the slightest taste in music. Buy it now or miss one of the greatest albums recorded in a long time.

Well, this was the first metal album I have ever bought with my own money. Was it worth it? Every penny. This album is one of the greatest progressive metal albums I have ever heard, I think it is even better than "The Odyssey" by Symphony x.

Because it was my first, I decided that it will be my first review.

My technical vocabulary is really poor, so I am not going to analyze this album musically, but emotionally.

When the first song started, I was a little disappointed... it started with this chants in an unidentified language, and nothing close to metal, at the 00:16 second, the music started. And it overwhelmed me (from there to the end of it)
Usually the first time I hear an album I don't read the words during the playing of the CD. So was with this CD. I was completely surrounded by the opening song, I didn't need the words. It was so good... (At the second time I heard it, I did read the words, and I understood how stupid I was- it was even better with the words!).

Anyway, the other songs continue with the spirit of this song, in every one of them you will fill the power of this masterpiece, the music will bind you to it, it will surround you completely, with great vocals- changing between great growl that comes in the proper moments, great English singing which completes the growl, some Hebrew singing (which is totally awesome!) and parts from the bible in Hebrew, which come in great moments and are just hypnotic. The music level is between "genius" and "even more genius", all the tools are played extremely well, and there is quite a range of them (Chellos, violin, oud, buzuki, all kinds of guitars, drums keyboards and more...).

This piece sounds like a one great track instead of 12 different tracks. Each track comes in the right place and in the right time, and they all sound different, and each has ups (and it always gets up). The album have tracks in which you can relax a bit, listen to something new, think a bit, wonder and more...

I think that there are 2 great songs that are better then the rest- "Mabool" and "Halo Dies", which are just perfect, but the others are also genius.

If you like music you have to purchase it! This album is for every music lover! It is just perfect!

I gave this album a 100, because it was my first purchased metal album, and I'll always have a warm place in my heart for it, besides, it deserves it.

I should start this review by saying that this is not an album for those among ye who like a healthy dose of brutal arse kicking served with their metal. In fact, describing this album as metal would only be about 30% correct, because a good 70% of it is not metal at all. Which is one of the things about this band that completely floors me...
Orphaned Land do not adhere to any rules or recognize and boundaries set by any genre of metal. This is because they transcend them. What Orphaned Land is playing here is not 'metal' per se, nor is it 'folk' or rock or any such thing. They are simply playing music, in it's finest and (to me) most attractive form. The entire journey -and indeed, Mabool is truly a journey- is filled with excitement, twists, and uncertainties. The music is unpredictable, yet once you hear it and ponder it, it follows such a smooth and logical course. It is truly mindblowing how these guys compose their music. There are over 30 instruments played on this cd, and each one is played masterfully, and not one of them is there just for the sake of being 'there'. Each element, no matter how small, is crucial. This music is both progressive conceptually, and technically. There are no 'WTF is this riff (or melody) doing here? How did it get here?' moments; everything is delicately interwoven to form one beautiful and breathtaking piece of art.
There is nothing that particularly stands out on Mabool, because the album isn't so much a conglomeration of songs, but one complete piece of music divided into movements. To remove one of those movements would be to remove a good deal of the emotional and musical impact that the following movement would have.
The interplay between the guitars and vocals is so complex and yet so smooth that one cannot help but be caught up and completely lose himself in the atmosphere that Orphaned Land creates. This is some musically challenging and demanding stuff, but they somehow manage to never make you conciously 'listen' for what is demanded...It all just comes and washes over you, and you absorb what you can on this journey through. And once you have dried off, you can jump back in again and absorb more of this great flood of musical genius and inspiration.
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On a note, it should be said that -as mentioned in the title of this review- Mabool is a concept album dealing with the Biblical tale of Noah's Ark and the great flood. Amazingly, and much to Orphaned Land's credit, they manage to tell the story without being untrue to the Torah's lesson. While the facts may have been slightly different, the underlying theme is perfectly nailed, and they get a big thumbs up for that.

This album rocks !!!

I ain't speaking in normal meters - this one is surely to nominated as one of the best metal releases of 2004. It's so chormatic and have so many levels that is un-fucking-beliveble !

If you knew OL before - from albums as El Nora Alila or from Sahara - forget it... I mean - it was a different stlye of OL. They played Doom/Death metal back in 1996 - when Paradise lost where probably the vest british offer since Napalm death and Iron maiden - and when bands like Anathema, Katatonia and My dying bride where THE SHIT !... didn't like much any of Orphaned land early matirial - disincluding some takes like the beautiful Beloved's cry - or the nasty Pits of despair.

But now it's a whole new Orphaned land. The same players (most of them) but with a new and important addition - Eden Rabin on the Keyboards. Not related to Itzach Rabin (the dead prime-minister, ya all know) this young fellow gives a whole new dimension to OL - makes them a hell lot of prog-metal then they used to.

In matter of fact - the album proof that the band has lost any roots to thier doom metal influences - much like Amorphis - only insted of Finnish-folk you get mystical oriental charms - not that Melechesh shit - but real Oriental music.

Orphaned Land of 2004 reminds me a nice mixture of Dark Tranquillity's Projector with Symphony X's Twilight. It's not as complex as Symphony X, and it's much lighter than Dark Tranquillity - but hey - hear it for yourself - ofcourse don't forget the nice Oriental riffage (The first band ever to use it as a base for their career. Yep - much before Nile)

The best offers here runs from the catchy open-track "Birth of the three" which quite delivrer the entire musical concept of the album - through some heavy riffing turns Arabic female chants in "The kiss of Babylon", There is even a little Meshuggah-ish riff in the ending of "Halo dies" - probably the heaviest piece here - and the most proggressive too.
Ocean land is nice melodic-death metal in the veins of late At-the-gates pomped with some Darbuka (It's that little arabic drum, fellas) - and a nice choir singing (where did they get all the choir to sing in Latin - and in Israel ?)
A call to awake is nice slice of chill singing from Kobi's voice - his clean vocals were approved greatly since 1996.
Buildin the Ark and Nora El Nora (Means in Hebrew, and probably in Yidish too - Oh Great and mighty lord - sort of) are too stops before the real thrill - and the best too trax (Not to be seperated !) are The Mabool itself - starting with brilliant classical symphony openning turning into metal (Much like At the gates - "The swarm" - only much more dramatic) with a barrage of beautiful riffs that switch after the 7:00 point to the next song - "The storm still rages" - that carry the best solo from Yosi Sasi's work ever - and also a nice bass-work from Uri Zalcha's - remind me of Opeth "Morningrise"...
After the climax - the outro of "Rainbow" is quite disposable - but if you like to chill out - it's like your cigarrete after an orgasm. Try it. The album I mean. Don't smoke. Smokes kill.