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Middle-Eastern music is a style that has fascinated and intrigued me for quite some time now… probably since around the release of Disney’s Aladdin movie (I was 8 years old at the time, give me a break). More recently, bands like Estradasphere and Indukti have resparked my interest in these exotic sounds. Well the latest group to fuel this love affair of mine is Orphaned Land.

Orphaned Land is an Israeli progressive metal group that, not surprisingly, is heavily influenced by middle-eastern sounds and Jewish themes. Their latest release is Mabool: The Story of the Three Sons of Seven, which was seven years in the making, according to Wikipedia. And to me it was worth the wait. This album displays some stylistic similarities to bands like Disillusion, Dark Suns, Scar Symmetry, and Dead Soul Tribe, but again, there is an almost ever-present eastern/middle-eastern influence. A big part of this is that instruments such as the oud, bouzouki, and saz are used - all stringed instruments prevalent in that part of the world. Also, like 60-70% of the lyrics are Latin, Hebrew, or some other Semitic language.

There are a variety of singing and playing styles present in Mabool. Like many of the aforementioned bands, the instrumentals exhibit a range from heavy metal to mellow acoustic. Vocals are a mix of male singing, female folk singing, and growling (although it’s a rather tame growl compared to most hardcore and death metal groups). The band also uses a choir sporadically throughout this album. Now I’ve heard prog rock/metal groups use choirs before, but for some reason it usually sounds cheesy or out of place to me. It really sounds right at home on this album though; it’s not overused, it blends right in with the musical style, and it adds a lot in my opinion. The lyrics are highly religious-based, which is usually a turn-off for me since I’m a non-believer, but they’re not overly preachy so I don’t find them annoying. And as is the case with most metal or rock bands, the lyrics are easy enough to simply ignore if one is so inclined.

I really don’t have anything negative to say outright about this album. I will however mention that I think the band would benefit from more technically-demanding writing. This isn’t something that really bothers me though, after all, not every group should be as ape-shit crazy technical as say Liquid Tension Experiment. Besides, Orphaned Land has managed to create a unique sound and interesting compositions, and that should be commended.

One final note - they have a new album due out this year, and it is being produced by Steven Wilson!