Orphaned Land's 'Unsung Prophets & Dead Messiahs' - Album Review

The Middle East is not known as a hotbed of hard rock and metal, but Israel's Orphaned Land have been flying the flag for heavier music from that region since their formation in 1991. The band's melting pot progressive sound often draws comparisons to Opeth, but I feel that that comparison actually does Orphaned Land little favours. While it is true that both bands write long songs that mix melancholic sections dominated by clean vocals with flat out death metal-inspired sections that feature harsh vocals; this is where the comparisons really end. While Opeth's sound is deep-rooted in 1970s European progressive rock and the early death metal acts, Orphaned Land turn to their homeland for inspiration. As a result, Orphaned Land's brand of progressive metal is tinged with the sounds of the Middle East, with the DNA of that area's folk music constantly interwoven with the band's Western metal influences. While bands like Tunisia's Myrath have successfully incorporated more Arabic sounds into their largely Western-influenced metal, Orphaned Land's music is a true hybrid that takes just as much from their homeland as it does from their metal heroes. My history with Orphaned Land can be traced back to 2015, when I saw the band support Blind Guardian in London. I was familiar with the band's then-new release, 2013's All Is One, at the time but it has only been relatively recently that I have gone back and fully immersed myself in both 2004's Mabool: The Story of the Three Sons of Seven and 2010's The Never Ending Way of  ORwarriOR. While I enjoy both of these albums a lot, I still feel there is much me to still discover. Like Opeth incidentally, Orphaned Land are a band you really have to be in the right mood for. They are not a band, for me at least, that I can just listen to at any time. While this means that they do not feature on my iPod as often as they probably should, when they do I can fully embrace what they are doing. My go-to album of theirs until recently was always All Is One, which is an album that reigned in the band's more progressive influences somewhat in order to create a more concise and melodic sound. While this understandably upset longtime fans of the band, it proved an excellent entry point for me. Now, five years later, the band's sixth album Unsung Prophets & Dead Messiahs has been released to an expectant fanbase and, it is fair to say, it has well and truly 'hit the spot'. The progressive influences are back in force here, as are the more extreme metal elements that also took a backseat on All Is One, but the more overall melodic nature and soaring production of the 2013 release has been retained. As a result, Unsung Prophets & Dead Messiahs feels like the best of everything Orphaned Land has done in the past summed up in just over an hour's worth of music. Experienced producer Jens Bogren has once again worked with the band to achieve a beautifully lush sound throughout, which allows the band's metal and folk influences to really shine. Interestingly, this is the band's first album without founding guitarist Yossi Sassi, who was replaced by Idan Amsalem in 2014. I always assumed that Sassi was one of the band's main songwriters, so was interested to hear whether or not the band could still write great songs without him. It seems however that Sassi's departure has not affected the band's sound or style at all, and Amsalem has slotted in to fill the void perfectly.

After a subtle opening, with delicate female vocals backed by swelling strings, the album's first number The Cave gets properly underway in style with a strong mid-paced riff driven Matan Shmuely's shuffling drum beat and traditional folk instruments providing the main melodies atop the heavier guitar rhythms. Frontman Kobi Farhi soon takes over with his floaty, accented vocals that fit with the music perfectly. He is often backed by choirs throughout the album, and the chorus of this song heavily features one. This gives the song a somewhat spiritual feel, which is soon shattered when Farhi unleashes his harsh vocals during the second verse to devastating effect. While Orphaned Land do not rely on the heavier side of their sound as much here as they did in the early days of their career, the mix of light and shade is still highly effective. Sections of barrelling riffs from Amsalem and fellow guitarist Chen Balbus break the folky overtones, and help to create a diverse sound that does not rely too heavily on one trope to form an identity. While the Eastern influences dominate here, the Western side to the band is also displayed by a fantastically melodic guitar solo part way through the piece which showcases the instrument perfectly and allows it to stand apart from the traditional sounds that dominate elsewhere. The song, which takes influence from Plato's Allegory of the Cave writings, is the perfect album opener and contains everything which is great about Orphaned Land's sound. Up next is We Do Not Resist, a much shorter song that focuses on the band's heavier side. Farhi delivers much of the song with his throaty harsh vocals, which sits perfectly atop the melodic death metal cacophony created by the rest of the band. While not exclusively a flat out metal piece, as the choral vocals do resurface - especially during the short chorus sections - this is a song that revels in all things heavy. Shmuely in particular turns in a great performance here, with a strong drumming display. Much of the time he is driving the band's exotic mid-paced sound, but here he gets to show off his fast footwork with plenty of double kick drumming to match Amsalem and Balbus' riffs. There is an interesting moment of self-censorship part way through too which sees the band choosing to 'bleep out' a word. This word is also redacted in the printed lyrics in the album's booklet, and this strange style is revisited elsewhere in the album. Despite a fairly chaotic intro, In Propaganda is mostly a slower song, with swirling Middle Eastern strings and some gorgeous wordless vocals from Farhi. While the pace does pick up occasionally, with playful Eastern melodies that make great use of the acoustic stringed instruments from that region to create some highly infectious melodies, this is a song that is happy to largely take a step back and reflect on the simple things. It soon transitions directly into All Knowing Eye which is sonically quite similar and one could be forgiven for thinking the two were one longer song. Keyboards dominate here rather than the orchestral sounds, with enveloping progressive rock-style organs filling the voids while the band create a somewhat mournful sound with their instruments. The highlight of this piece for me is a lengthy guitar solo that really oozes from the speakers. Orphaned Land are not particularly known for their technical showboating, but this is a moment that throws all that to one side and allows one of the band's guitarists (sadly the album's guitar solos are not specifically attributed in the booklet) to really shine with a slow-burning and melodic collection of notes. It is this solo that dominates the song, as it is a largely instrumental piece, and it continues to impress even as the song slowly fades out.

The short Yedidi, which is sung entirely in Hebrew, follows. Written by Judah Halevy, the band's version of the piece is fairly rocky but it is over almost as soon as it begins. Orphaned Land have always included lots of languages other than English in their lyrics, so it is good to hear them using Hebrew once again here. After a handful of short pieces, the progressive epic Chains Fall to Gravity comes in readdress the balance and sees the band really pushing the boundaries of their sound. To match a progressive song of this size, the band have employed the skills of a true legend of progressive rock in Steve Hackett (Genesis; GTR; Squackett) to add some additional guitar to the piece. Despite the band's association with the metal world, this is a song that is distinctly un-metal. There seems to be a big influence here from 1970s British progressive rock, which is then mixed in with the band's usual Middle Eastern folk sounds. There is constant symphonic backing to the piece, as well as the use of subtle keyboard textures, which certainly brings to mind the work of bands like Yes. Farhi sings the song beautifully and uses his fairly simple style to really bring the lyrics to life. He does not possess a particularly big vocal range - his ability to unleash some strong harsh vocals aside - but his emotional vocal style always manages to draw the listener in. With Hackett on board for the piece, there is plenty of excellent guitar work throughout. There a couple of standout guitar solos here, as well as plenty of subtle leads and textures throughout, really create the song's progressive feel and keep things interesting through the entirety of the piece. Lead single Like Orpheus follows and this shows a slight power metal influence, similar to what the band displayed on the title track for All Is One. Hansi Kürsch (Blind Guardian; Demons & Wizards) adds his distinct vocals to the song's chorus, and it is great to hear him singing with that strong Middle Eastern backing. Despite the powerful melodies here, with prominent guitar leads providing the main hooks during the instrumental sections, the song still possesses the band's signature sound. Orphaned Land have made a career on their longer pieces which take multiple listens to really get the hang of, but this is a song that makes an instant impact and would be the perfect introduction to the band for a potential new fan. A short and largely instrumental piece Poets of Prophetic Messianism follows, which again focuses on the Middle Eastern acoustic stringed instruments to provide the main melodies. Choral vocals, along with some wordless female vocals akin to those which started this album off, surface throughout but it is the instruments that really dominate here. Left Behind is another fairly simple song, and is built around a chugging guitar riff  that is backed by some dramatic strings. Written in collaboration with fellow Israeli musician Moran Magal, this is another song that I feel would act as a great gateway to the band's music. While largely a mid-paced piece, towards the end things start to speed up and one of the guitarists unleashes a shredding solo that comes out of nowhere which goes alongside a powerful metal backing. This is the heaviest the album has been since We Do Not Resist, and coincidentally this song also reprises that strange censoring technique, and it certainly introduces the last third or so of the album perfectly which places more emphasis on the heavier side of things.

My Brother's Keeper is a great mix of progressive metal riffing and soaring strings. Farhi really dominates this song however with some demonic grunts, slightly demented spoken word sections, and gorgeous cleans to create a diverse vocal performance that works well with the strange musical mix that is often dancing away behind him. Heavier sections sit alongside keyboard-heavy sections, including a part which is dominated by a piano. This is not something that Orphaned Land usually make use of, but it works well. Take My Hand opens with a spoken word section, before morphing into a song that mixes smooth Middle Eastern sounds perfectly with groove metal riffing that comes in at opportune moments to add an injection of energy when required. The thing that stands out the most throughout this song however is the chorus. It sounds a bit like something that would be found in a 1980s power ballad, but mixed with the band's trademark Middle Eastern sounds. Farhi's melodies are extremely memorable which helps the chorus become so powerful. If the band chooses to play this song live, I am sure that the crowd will really engage with it and it will become something very special indeed. The album's final 'proper' song, Only the Dead Have Seen the End of War, is probably the heaviest piece here. Another guest in the form of Tomas Lindberg (At the Gates; Lock Up; Nightrage; Sign of Cain; The Lurking Fear) adds his screamed vocals to the song, and his and Farhi's voices mix together perfectly in this extreme metal duet. Despite the overall heaviness of the song, the soaring strings that dominate the album are still present here, often adding a great counter melody to Amsalem and Balbus' snaking metal riffs. Lindberg's screams are much higher than Farhi's low growls, so the two men's vocals combine well to form a powerful team. The choirs also resurface here, adding a more melodic vocal counterpoint to the barrage of harsh vocals that features throughout, and help to diversify what would otherwise be a much simpler song. There is a brief silence after the song comes crashing to an end, before The Manifest - Epilogue creeps in with spooky strings and a gorgeously melodic guitar solo. The piece takes inspiration from the writings and music of Chilean activist Víctor Jara and features Farhi delivering a chilling spoken word piece before a choir comes in to take the piece to a powerful musical conclusion. Another spoken word section follows, which features quotes from George Orwell's seminal dystopian novel Nineteen Eighty-Four which seems to sum up much of the lyrical content found throughout the album. It is a powerful closing statement, which follows on from the largely instrumental epilogue perfectly. Overall, Unsung Prophets & Dead Messiahs is a fantastic piece of work from the Israeli band that shows a huge amount of scope and ambition. So rarely does the fusing of different cultural sounds work so well as it does here, but the marriage of Middle Eastern folk and West metal really works to create a rich sound and a powerful atmosphere which is often heavy both in tone and musically. This has replaced All Is One as my go-to Orphaned Land album, and has inspired me to really engage with their previous work in a much more meaningful way.

The album was released on 26th January 2018 via Century Media Records. Below is the band's promotional video for Like Orpheus.