Mabool - The Story of the Three Sons of Seven

I should start this review by saying that this is not an album for those among ye who like a healthy dose of brutal arse kicking served with their metal. In fact, describing this album as metal would only be about 30% correct, because a good 70% of it is not metal at all. Which is one of the things about this band that completely floors me...
Orphaned Land do not adhere to any rules or recognize and boundaries set by any genre of metal. This is because they transcend them. What Orphaned Land is playing here is not 'metal' per se, nor is it 'folk' or rock or any such thing. They are simply playing music, in it's finest and (to me) most attractive form. The entire journey -and indeed, Mabool is truly a journey- is filled with excitement, twists, and uncertainties. The music is unpredictable, yet once you hear it and ponder it, it follows such a smooth and logical course. It is truly mindblowing how these guys compose their music. There are over 30 instruments played on this cd, and each one is played masterfully, and not one of them is there just for the sake of being 'there'. Each element, no matter how small, is crucial. This music is both progressive conceptually, and technically. There are no 'WTF is this riff (or melody) doing here? How did it get here?' moments; everything is delicately interwoven to form one beautiful and breathtaking piece of art.
There is nothing that particularly stands out on Mabool, because the album isn't so much a conglomeration of songs, but one complete piece of music divided into movements. To remove one of those movements would be to remove a good deal of the emotional and musical impact that the following movement would have.
The interplay between the guitars and vocals is so complex and yet so smooth that one cannot help but be caught up and completely lose himself in the atmosphere that Orphaned Land creates. This is some musically challenging and demanding stuff, but they somehow manage to never make you conciously 'listen' for what is demanded...It all just comes and washes over you, and you absorb what you can on this journey through. And once you have dried off, you can jump back in again and absorb more of this great flood of musical genius and inspiration.
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On a note, it should be said that -as mentioned in the title of this review- Mabool is a concept album dealing with the Biblical tale of Noah's Ark and the great flood. Amazingly, and much to Orphaned Land's credit, they manage to tell the story without being untrue to the Torah's lesson. While the facts may have been slightly different, the underlying theme is perfectly nailed, and they get a big thumbs up for that.