Orphaned Land
Encyclopedia
Orphaned Land is an Israel
i progressive metal
band, formed in 1991, that combines Death/doom
, Jewish
and Arabic influences.
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 main 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
. Despite their songs drawing on biblical themes, the band have said that they are not religious.
On January, 2010, Orphaned Land released the follow-up to Mabool, entitled The Never Ending Way of ORWarriOR. OrWarrior means "Warrior of Light," and the concept is the battle between light and darkness. The album has a different sound than Mabool, and was mixed by Steven Wilson
of Porcupine Tree
. The first single from the CD was entitled Sapari and was put on MySpace
with two other tracks, Vayehi OR and Disciples of the Sacred Oath II. In early 2011 ORWarriOR was rated the Metal Storm
#1 progressive metal album of 2010 by users with 421/1130 total votes.
In 2008, Orphaned Land was featured in the documentary Global Metal
, a film by the creators of Metal: A Headbanger's Journey
.
On May 22, 2010, Orphaned Land performed as the opening act to Metallica
's show in Israel
. Following this, the band went on a festival tour in the summer of 2010, promoting their latest album The Never Ending Way of ORWarriOR
with appearances at such festivals as Wacken Open Air
, Summer Breeze Open Air
, Sonisphere Festival
, Gods of Metal
, Rock Hard Festival
and more. After the summer festival tour, the band will go on a North American tour in support of Katatonia
, along with Swallow the Sun
. This will be followed by a tour of Europe supporting Amorphis
along with Ghost Brigade
.
Orphaned Land has performed in Riviera 2011, the inter-collegiate fest organized by Vellore Institute of Technology University(VIT), Vellore(Tamil Nadu), India on February 1, 2011. That was their first visit to India.
They performed on June 19, 2011, at the French Metal Festival Hellfest
held in Clisson, near Nantes.
Documentaries
Former members
Touring members
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
i progressive metal
Progressive metal
Progressive metal is a subgenre of heavy metal originating in the United Kingdom and North America in the late 1980s...
band, formed in 1991, that combines Death/doom
Death/doom
Death/doom, sometimes writes as death-doom or deathdoom, is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal. It combines the slow tempos and pessimistic or depressive mood of doom metal with the deep growling vocals and double kick drumming of death metal...
, Jewish
Jewish music
Jewish music is the music and melodies of the Jewish People which have evolved over time throughout the long course of Jewish History. In some instances Jewish Music is of a religious nature, spiritual songs and refrains are common in Jewish Services throughout the world, while other times, it is...
and Arabic influences.
History
In 1992, the band changed its name from the original Resurrection to Orphaned Land.Orphaned Land fuse progressive
Progressive metal
Progressive metal is a subgenre of heavy metal originating in the United Kingdom and North America in the late 1980s...
, doom
Doom metal
Doom metal is an extreme form of heavy metal music that typically uses slower tempos, low-tuned guitars and a much "thicker" or "heavier" sound than other metal genres...
, and death metal
Death metal
Death metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal. It typically employs heavily distorted guitars, tremolo picking, deep growling vocals, blast beat drumming, minor keys or atonality, and complex song structures with multiple tempo changes....
as well as Middle-Eastern
Middle East
The Middle East is a region that encompasses Western Asia and Northern Africa. It is often used as a synonym for Near East, in opposition to Far East...
folk music
Folk music
Folk music is an English term encompassing both traditional folk music and contemporary folk music. The term originated in the 19th century. Traditional folk music has been defined in several ways: as music transmitted by mouth, as music of the lower classes, and as music with unknown composers....
and Arabic traditions in a form of Oriental metal. Each album has some concept related to two extremes: a meeting of east
Eastern world
__FORCETOC__The term Eastern world refers very broadly to the various cultures or social structures and philosophical systems of Eastern Asia or geographically the Eastern Culture...
and west
Western world
The Western world, also known as the West and the Occident , is a term referring to the countries of Western Europe , the countries of the Americas, as well all countries of Northern and Central Europe, Australia and New Zealand...
, past
Past
Most generally, the past is a term used to indicate the totality of events which occurred before a given point in time. The past is contrasted with and defined by the present and the future. The concept of the past is derived from the linear fashion in which human observers experience time, and is...
and present
Present
Present is a time that is neither past nor future.Present may also refer to:- Time and timing :* Present tense, the grammatical tense of a verb* Before Present, radiocarbon dates relative to AD 1950* Presenting, a medical term* Presenteeism...
, light
Light
Light or visible light is electromagnetic radiation that is visible to the human eye, and is responsible for the sense of sight. Visible light has wavelength in a range from about 380 nanometres to about 740 nm, with a frequency range of about 405 THz to 790 THz...
and darkness
Darkness
Darkness, in contrast with brightness, is a relative absence of visible light. It is the appearance of black in a color space. When light is not present, rod and cone cells within the eye are not stimulated. This lack of stimulation means photoreceptor cells are unable to distinguish color...
, and God
God
God is the English name given to a singular being in theistic and deistic religions who is either the sole deity in monotheism, or a single deity in polytheism....
and Satan
Satan
Satan , "the opposer", is the title of various entities, both human and divine, who challenge the faith of humans in the Hebrew Bible...
.
The band’s first album was Sahara (1994) which was originally released as a demo. The second album, El Norra Alila
El Norra Alila
El Norra Alila is the second full-length studio album by the Israeli metal band Orphaned Land, released on July 18, 1996 by Holy Records. The album was reissued as a deluxe edition in July, 2006 as a 10-year-anniversary for the album and contains extras; the song "Disciples of the Sacred Oath" and...
(1996), had many eastern/oriental influences, such as "El Norra Alila" ("Illustrious God"), based on a poem sung during Yom Kippur
Yom Kippur
Yom Kippur , also known as Day of Atonement, is the holiest and most solemn day of the year for the Jews. Its central themes are atonement and repentance. Jews traditionally observe this holy day with a 25-hour period of fasting and intensive prayer, often spending most of the day in synagogue...
as a plea of forgiveness. It also included songs with traditional oriental Jewish piyyut
Piyyut
A piyyut or piyut is a Jewish liturgical poem, usually designated to be sung, chanted, or recited during religious services. Piyyutim have been written since Temple times...
and Arabic melodies. The album explored the themes of light and darkness, as well as conveying the message of commonality between the three main Abrahamic religions (Judaism
Judaism
Judaism ) is the "religion, philosophy, and way of life" of the Jewish people...
, Islam
Islam
Islam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
, and Christianity
Christianity
Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...
).
The third album, Mabool: The Story of the Three Sons of Seven
Mabool
* As of 07/08/2011 Metal Storm has a rating of 8.99 based on 420 reviews. This average ranks Mabool as the 34th best album of all time on Metal Storm.-Track listing:# "Birth of the Three " – 6:57# "Ocean Land " – 4:43...
(the Hebrew name for the Deluge, depicted in the Bible
Bible
The Bible refers to any one of the collections of the primary religious texts of Judaism and Christianity. There is no common version of the Bible, as the individual books , their contents and their order vary among denominations...
and Noah
Noah
Noah was, according to the Hebrew Bible, the tenth and last of the antediluvian Patriarchs. The biblical story of Noah is contained in chapters 6–9 of the book of Genesis, where he saves his family and representatives of all animals from the flood by constructing an ark...
’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
Yemenite
Yemenite may refer to:*Yemenite, a person from Yemen*Yemeni Arabic, dialect of the Arabic language*Yemenite step, an Israeli folk dance step originating from Yemen*Yemenite Jews...
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
Mount Ararat
Mount Ararat is a snow-capped, dormant volcanic cone in Turkey. It has two peaks: Greater Ararat and Lesser Ararat .The Ararat massif is about in diameter...
. Despite their songs drawing on biblical themes, the band have said that they are not religious.
On January, 2010, Orphaned Land released the follow-up to Mabool, entitled The Never Ending Way of ORWarriOR. OrWarrior means "Warrior of Light," and the concept is the battle between light and darkness. The album has a different sound than Mabool, and was mixed by Steven Wilson
Steven Wilson
Steven John Wilson is an English musician, best known as the founder, lead guitarist, singer and songwriter of progressive rock band Porcupine Tree...
of Porcupine Tree
Porcupine Tree
Porcupine Tree is a progressive rock band formed by Steven Wilson in 1987 in Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire, England. Their music is difficult to categorise, being associated with both psychedelic rock and progressive rock, yet having been influenced by trance, krautrock and ambient due to Steven...
. The first single from the CD was entitled Sapari and was put on MySpace
MySpace
Myspace is a social networking service owned by Specific Media LLC and pop star Justin Timberlake. Myspace launched in August 2003 and is headquartered in Beverly Hills, California. In August 2011, Myspace had 33.1 million unique U.S. visitors....
with two other tracks, Vayehi OR and Disciples of the Sacred Oath II. In early 2011 ORWarriOR was rated the Metal Storm
Metal Storm (webzine)
Metal Storm is a webzine specializing in various forms of heavy metal music. It is based in Tallinn, Estonia but caters to an international audience, symbolically recognized by the acquisition of an EU domain in 2008...
#1 progressive metal album of 2010 by users with 421/1130 total votes.
In 2008, Orphaned Land was featured in the documentary Global Metal
Global Metal
Global Metal is a 2008 documentary film directed by Scot McFadyen and Canadian anthropologist Sam Dunn. It is a followup to their successful 2005 documentary, Metal: A Headbanger's Journey. The film's international premiere took place at the Bergen International Film Festival on October 17th 2007...
, a film by the creators of Metal: A Headbanger's Journey
Metal: A Headbanger's Journey
Metal: A Headbanger's Journey is a 2005 documentary directed by Sam Dunn with Scot McFadyen and Jessica Wise. The film follows 31-year-old Dunn, a Canadian anthropologist, who has been a heavy metal fan since the age of 12...
.
On May 22, 2010, Orphaned Land performed as the opening act to Metallica
Metallica
Metallica is an American heavy metal band from Los Angeles, California. Formed in 1981 when James Hetfield responded to an advertisement that drummer Lars Ulrich had posted in a local newspaper. The current line-up features long-time lead guitarist Kirk Hammett and bassist Robert Trujillo ...
's show in Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
. Following this, the band went on a festival tour in the summer of 2010, promoting their latest album The Never Ending Way of ORWarriOR
The Never Ending Way of ORWarriOr
The Never Ending Way of ORwarriOR is the fourth full-length studio album by the Israeli metal band Orphaned Land. The album was released on January 25, 2010, after many delays. ORwarriOR means "light warrior" or "warrior of light", representing a conceptual hero of the battle of light versus...
with appearances at such festivals as Wacken Open Air
Wacken Open Air
Wacken Open Air is a summer open air heavy metal music festival. It takes place annually in the small town of Wacken in Schleswig-Holstein, northern Germany...
, Summer Breeze Open Air
Summer Breeze Open Air
Summer Breeze Open Air is a heavy metal music festival in Germany. It takes place annually in Dinkelsbühl, Bavaria. It was first held in 1997. The festival had been held in Abtsgmünd until 2006 when it was moved to its new location of Dinkelsbühl. The festival draws around 40,000 attendees annually...
, Sonisphere Festival
Sonisphere Festival
The Sonisphere Festival is a touring music festival which takes place across Europe between June and August. The festival is owned by John Jackson and Kilimanjaro Live. It is jointly-promoted by K2 and Kilimanjaro Live...
, Gods of Metal
Gods of Metal
Gods of Metal is the biggest Italian metal festival, held annually since 1997. It takes place in early summer, usually on the first or second weekend of June...
, Rock Hard Festival
Rock Hard Festival
Rock Hard Festival is a metal festival sponsored by the Rock Hard magazine. It is held annually in Gelsenkirchen, Germany since 2003. Its seventh edition will take place on June 10 – June 12, 2011....
and more. After the summer festival tour, the band will go on a North American tour in support of Katatonia
Katatonia
Katatonia is a Swedish metal band formed in Stockholm in 1991 by Jonas Renkse and Anders Nyström .-1991-1993:The early Katatonia releases, such as the EP Jhva Elohim Meth.....
, along with Swallow the Sun
Swallow the Sun
Swallow the Sun is a Finnish melodic death / doom metal band.- Biography :Swallow the Sun was formed in early 2000 by Juha Raivio, joined soon by Pasi Pasanen came along . They rehearsed a couple of songs, one of them being "Through Her Silvery Body" which would end up on their first demo,Out of...
. This will be followed by a tour of Europe supporting Amorphis
Amorphis
Amorphis is a Finnish heavy metal band started by Jan Rechberger, Tomi Koivusaari, and Esa Holopainen in 1990. Initially, the band was a death metal act, but on later albums they evolved into playing other types of genres, which include heavy metal, progressive metal, and folk metal...
along with Ghost Brigade
Ghost Brigade (band)
Ghost Brigade is a five-piece Progressive Death Metal band from Finland, formed in 2005.-Band members:* Manne Ikonen - Vocals* Tommi Kiviniemi - Guitar* Wille Naukkarinen - Guitar* Veli-Matti Suihkonen - Drums* Janne Julin - Bass...
.
Orphaned Land has performed in Riviera 2011, the inter-collegiate fest organized by Vellore Institute of Technology University(VIT), Vellore(Tamil Nadu), India on February 1, 2011. That was their first visit to India.
They performed on June 19, 2011, at the French Metal Festival Hellfest
Hellfest
Hellfest started as a hardcore punk music festival during the summer of 1996 in Syracuse, New York. Named for the intense summer heat at the show, it soon became a staple festival for the hardcore and punk rock scene...
held in Clisson, near Nantes.
EPs
- The Calm Before the Flood (2004)
- Promo Split MCD (2005) – (with Sentenced)
- Ararat (2005)
Studio albums
- Sahara (1994)
- El Norra AlilaEl Norra AlilaEl Norra Alila is the second full-length studio album by the Israeli metal band Orphaned Land, released on July 18, 1996 by Holy Records. The album was reissued as a deluxe edition in July, 2006 as a 10-year-anniversary for the album and contains extras; the song "Disciples of the Sacred Oath" and...
(1996) - MaboolMabool* As of 07/08/2011 Metal Storm has a rating of 8.99 based on 420 reviews. This average ranks Mabool as the 34th best album of all time on Metal Storm.-Track listing:# "Birth of the Three " – 6:57# "Ocean Land " – 4:43...
(2004) - The Never Ending Way of ORwarriORThe Never Ending Way of ORWarriOrThe Never Ending Way of ORwarriOR is the fourth full-length studio album by the Israeli metal band Orphaned Land. The album was released on January 25, 2010, after many delays. ORwarriOR means "light warrior" or "warrior of light", representing a conceptual hero of the battle of light versus...
(2010)
Videography
Music videos- "Ocean Land" (2004) – Mabool
- "Norra El Norra" (2004) – Mabool
- "Sapari" (2010) - "The Never Ending Way of ORwarriOR"
Documentaries
- "A Heaven You May Create" - the Never Ending Way of Orwarrior Limited Edition DVD (2010)
- The Road To OR-Shalem (2011)
Band members
Current members- Kobi Farhi – leading chants, growls, narrations, choir & backing vocals (1991–present)
- Yossi Sassi (Sa'aron) – lead electric & acoustic guitars, oud, saz, bouzouki, chumbush, piano (1991–present)
- Matti Svatitzki – rhythm electric & acoustic guitars (1991–present)
- Uri Zelcha – electric, acoustic & fretless bass (1991–present)
- Matan Shmuely - drums, percussion (2007–present)
Former members
- Eden Rabin – keyboards, backing vocals (2001–2005)
- Yatziv Caspi – percussion (2004–2007)
- Avi Diamond - drums, percussion (2004–2007)
- Itzik Levy – keyboards, piano (1991–2000)
- Eran Asias – drums, percussion (2000–2004)
- Sami Bachar – drums, percussion (1991–2000)
Touring members
- Chen Balbus - guitars, backing vocals (2011–present)
- Shlomit Levi - female vocals (2004–present)
- Steven WilsonSteven WilsonSteven John Wilson is an English musician, best known as the founder, lead guitarist, singer and songwriter of progressive rock band Porcupine Tree...
- keyboards (2010)