Maximum Metal Rating Legend
5 Excellent - Masterpiece. A classic.
4.5-4 Great - Almost perfect records but there's probably a lacking.
3.5 Good - Most of the record is good, but there may be some filler.
3 Average - Some good songs, some bad ones at about a half/half ratio.
2.5-2 Fair - Worth a listen, but best obtained by collectors.
1.5-1 Bad - Major problems with music, lyrics, production, etc.
0 Terrible - Waste of your life and time.

Note: Reviews are graded from 0-5, anything higher or not showing is from our old style. Scores, however, do not reveal the important features. The written review that accompanies the ratings is the best source of information regarding the music on our site. Reviewing is opinionated, not a qualitative science, so scores are personal to the reviewer and could reflect anything from being technically brilliant to gloriously cheesy fun.

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Band
Orphaned Land
Title
The Never Ending Way of ORwarriOR
Type
LP/EP
Company
Century Media
YOR
2010
Style
Progressive
4/16/2010 - Review by: Raising Iron

Orphaned Land
The Never Ending Way of ORwarriOR

Company: Century Media
Release: 2010
Genre: Progressive, doom
Reviewer: Raising Iron

  • A real treat for those willing to invest the time into it



  • Well, after six long years Orphaned Land has finally released their follow-up to the genius that was Mabool from 2004. The Never Ending Way of ORwarriOR is the title of this latest release, and the band continue to seamlessly meld their authentic, middle eastern instrumentation with progressive metal ideals to great aplomb. The songs here are constructed with even greater depth than on Mabool (yeah, I know, hard to believe), and as such this release will probably alienate as many metalheads as they win over.

    Here's the crux of the matter: progressive metal in and of itself tends to alienate bangers due to the cerebral attentiveness required to enjoy such excursions; for many, they just want to sing and bang along to catchy hooks, driving riffs, etc., and of course there's nothing wrong with that, but as such many of our progressive purveyors go unappreciated by the mainstream punter. Enter Orphaned Land circa 2010; talk about rich song-writing, this 78 minute journey will leave the uninitiated completely bewildered, and it's taken me a good half dozen listens just to begin to hear everything that's going on. It's no wonder it took the group several years to complete this thing, every last note is painstakingly placed, there's no doubt these fifteen tracks were constantly evolving during the song-writing process. I tell ya fellow headbangers, this is pure genius. If you liked Mabool or any of their earlier works, you're definitely going to like this. It's tempting to suggest the disc runtime should've been shorter, but that would've only diminished the return on the invested listening. Let's face it, not enough people are going to delve into this to bring about huge sales and full-scale tours, which is a damn shame, but it's completely understandable.

    Orphaned Land continues to compose with their Middle-Eastern flair, and it's never been more dominant than here on ORwarriOR. The disc is rich with their countries musical roots, and the metal is really secondary here. The entire thing moves along as one large piece (as concept albums tend to do) instead of fifteen individual tracks, and Kobi Farhi's tender tenor never sounded so rich, augmented by the beautiful strains of Ms. Shlomit Levi, who also leant her voice to Mabool. Kobi only occasionally uses his death growls, but they are well placed. When things do get metal as on track 5, "The Path, Part 2", the leads are absolutely engaging, highly melodic, adding to their own telling of the story; see track 7, "The Warrior", for another example. Mabool contained a handful of songs that could obviously stand alone, great for stage fodder, but it's hard to say what those might be here. The lead track, "Sapari", is probably the only overt single, and it's already been released as such.

    Steven Wilson of Porcupine Tree produced, and his acumen for knob-twiddling now stands in high regard and unquestioned; just one listen to the acoustic instruments' authentic shine will reveal why he's quickly becoming such a highly sought after mixer/producer. Check out "New Jerusalem", the subtle layering of Ms. Levi's vocals intertwined with the bouzouki, saz, or oud (not sure which!) is pure bliss, the heavy staccato guitar riffing entering the fray not disturbing or pushing aside any of the notes expressed.

    The Never Ending Way of ORwarriOR is absolutely stunning from beginning to end, a real treat for those willing to invest the time into it, and Orphaned Land have excelled to the highest echelon of the progressive metal pantheon, as they are truly an original entity, not sounding like any but themselves. This very fact affords them a slightly greater appreciation among metal fans than many of their contemporaries, for, setting aside skill, talent, and deft musicianship, originality goes a long way in the battle for recognition in our often fickle and befuddling genre.


    • 1 :REVIEW COUNT
      5 :AVE RATING

    ALL REVIEWS FOR: ORPHANED LAND
    TITLE
    DOR
    COMPANY
    REVIEWER DATE MADE RATING
    Mabool
    2004
    Century Media
    Ken Pierce10/28/2005
    -
    The Never Ending Way of ORwarriOR
    2010
    Century Media
    Raising Iron4/16/2010
    5

    ALL INTERVIEWS FOR: ORPHANED LAND
    INTERVIEW INTERVIEWER DATE TAGLINE

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