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(More customer reviews)The Never Ending Way of ORwarriOR is the much-anticipated successor to Orphaned Land's highly acclaimed 2004 release Mabool. Much like its predecessor, this is also a concept album about the battle between light and darkness, but truth be told, I haven't fully explored the lyrics and story of the disc, as I've always been more interested in the band's music rather than conceptual ideas.
Musically, the album sees Orphaned Land growing into a tighter musical force, capitalising on their foundation of heavy meets light in the form of myriad traits. Be it Kobi Farhi's bestial death growls or his melodic clean singing, the wonderful female vocals of Shlomit Levi, or the marriage of traditional instruments with the metallic thunder of bass, guitar, and drums, the songs are distinctly marked by the Orphaned Land sound we all know.
Of course there are the shorter, slower-paced numbers like the acoustic-based "Bereft in the Abyss" and "Olat Ha'tamid", combining Hebrew singing with a catchy, Middle Eastern main melody; however, they have been carefully integrated into the flow of the album in order to provide sharper contrasts to the more progressively tinged pieces like "Treading Through Darkness" and "The Pilgrimage to Or Shalem", which are basically the two parts of a single composition. The former features soft, lullaby-like clean vocals atop a neat acoustic melody, a discreet symphonic element, and a sweet string section before gaining momentum and building towards a heavier finale with plenty of growling and harmony vocals. On the other hand, the second piece places heavier focus on nimble instrumentation, without ignoring the achingly beautiful female vocals. From its syncopated drum patterns to the spoken parts to the dense, chaotic rhythm sections, the song proves Orphaned Land have certainly refined their songwriting abilitities.
The guitar work on the album is possibly Orphaned Land's best, not only from a technical standpoint but also melodically. Being the result of many years' of work, The Never Ending Way of ORwarriOR boasts some of their most melodically driven songs. The guitar theme that appears in the second half of "Treading Through Darkness" or the long yet truly enchanting solo on the amazing "The Warrior", complete with some of the best singing on the whole album. The main melody is offered first via the vocals and then through Yossi Sassi Sa'aron's guitar and climaxes with an intense run-out passage.
"Disciples of the Sacred Oath II" is arguably the band's most diverse song to date, as it mixes a plethora of chants, both Yemeni and Hebrew, death growls, fierce double bass drums, complex instrumental passages, traditional instruments such as the saz and chumbush, as well as film score-like melodies that attest to the band's indisputable interest in 70's Turkish music. Those of you who will get the special edition with the DVD can also hear the band's cover version of Turkish rock giant Erkin Koray's classic piece "Estarabim".
The album's finest duet between Kobi Farhi and Shlomit Levi is definitely "New Jerusalem". Unlike many others, I do not think that the album opener "Sapari" is among the album's highpoints, as it places too much emphasis on the melodic chorus. "New Jerusalem", on the other hand, despite its slow pace, is a great accomplishment in that it is characterized by a wonderful melody which never gets in your face, or the excellent trade-off between acoustic and electric instruments.
Porcupine Tree mastermind Steven Wilson is present in a mixing capacity. He also contributes amazing keyboards to the songs, lending pieces like the aforementioned "The Warrior" an extra dimension -- it is his atmospheric synth line that heightens the scope of Yossi's guitar solo. Also, you can feel his presence on "M I ?" which eerily recalled Opeth the first couple of times I heard it, mostly due to the mixing -- the shift from the silent singing to the doubled vocal part is simply astonishing.
I've heard this disc maybe twenty times in only two days and it just keeps getting better. It is going to be a personal favourite of 2010. Highly recommended.
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ORPHANED LAND's unique sound explores the various shades that metal has to offer mixed with the band's Middle Eastern roots. "The Never Ending Way Of ORwarriOR" is a sophisticated concept album taking ORPHANED LAND's unique brand of exotic, heavy music to soaring new heights in terms of complexity and catchiness. It is exactly this duality that makes "The Never Ending Way Of ORwarriOR" so special: you can delve into the profound arrangements or you can simply enjoy its accessible melodies and captivating riffs. The album itself is musically and lyrically divided into three parts providing a structure that is essential to fully understand the highly elaborate story of "The Never Ending Way Of ORwarriOR". Welcome to the ambitious art of ORPHANED LAND, a musical adventure awaits all that are brave enough to enter their world.--This text refers to an alternate Audio CD edition.
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