Mabool - The Story of the Three Sons of Seven

This album rocks !!!

I ain't speaking in normal meters - this one is surely to nominated as one of the best metal releases of 2004. It's so chormatic and have so many levels that is un-fucking-beliveble !

If you knew OL before - from albums as El Nora Alila or from Sahara - forget it... I mean - it was a different stlye of OL. They played Doom/Death metal back in 1996 - when Paradise lost where probably the vest british offer since Napalm death and Iron maiden - and when bands like Anathema, Katatonia and My dying bride where THE SHIT !... didn't like much any of Orphaned land early matirial - disincluding some takes like the beautiful Beloved's cry - or the nasty Pits of despair.

But now it's a whole new Orphaned land. The same players (most of them) but with a new and important addition - Eden Rabin on the Keyboards. Not related to Itzach Rabin (the dead prime-minister, ya all know) this young fellow gives a whole new dimension to OL - makes them a hell lot of prog-metal then they used to.

In matter of fact - the album proof that the band has lost any roots to thier doom metal influences - much like Amorphis - only insted of Finnish-folk you get mystical oriental charms - not that Melechesh shit - but real Oriental music.

Orphaned Land of 2004 reminds me a nice mixture of Dark Tranquillity's Projector with Symphony X's Twilight. It's not as complex as Symphony X, and it's much lighter than Dark Tranquillity - but hey - hear it for yourself - ofcourse don't forget the nice Oriental riffage (The first band ever to use it as a base for their career. Yep - much before Nile)

The best offers here runs from the catchy open-track "Birth of the three" which quite delivrer the entire musical concept of the album - through some heavy riffing turns Arabic female chants in "The kiss of Babylon", There is even a little Meshuggah-ish riff in the ending of "Halo dies" - probably the heaviest piece here - and the most proggressive too.
Ocean land is nice melodic-death metal in the veins of late At-the-gates pomped with some Darbuka (It's that little arabic drum, fellas) - and a nice choir singing (where did they get all the choir to sing in Latin - and in Israel ?)
A call to awake is nice slice of chill singing from Kobi's voice - his clean vocals were approved greatly since 1996.
Buildin the Ark and Nora El Nora (Means in Hebrew, and probably in Yidish too - Oh Great and mighty lord - sort of) are too stops before the real thrill - and the best too trax (Not to be seperated !) are The Mabool itself - starting with brilliant classical symphony openning turning into metal (Much like At the gates - "The swarm" - only much more dramatic) with a barrage of beautiful riffs that switch after the 7:00 point to the next song - "The storm still rages" - that carry the best solo from Yosi Sasi's work ever - and also a nice bass-work from Uri Zalcha's - remind me of Opeth "Morningrise"...
After the climax - the outro of "Rainbow" is quite disposable - but if you like to chill out - it's like your cigarrete after an orgasm. Try it. The album I mean. Don't smoke. Smokes kill.