Orphaned Land - El Norra Alila (1996)^{Release ID: 2685}

A rare if flawed gem of Oriental and Middle Eastern influenced death metal.

If there's one thing I appreciate more and more these days, it's a band that does something out of the ordinary. With most albums I pick up these days sounding like a rip-off of other bands that came before them, it really is wonderful when one comes out of the woodwork that could be confused with no other. It's clearly apparent that Orphaned Land are such a band just by looking at the genre labelling for El Norra Alila on this very site. At the time of this review, it has no primary genres listed as no-one can agree on what it is. The only thing anyone seems to be able to agree on is that it has an element of folk metal, but for every primary genre vote of any sort there is one negating it. So, with all this confusion and indecision, what chance do I have of describing this band’s sound? Well, I'll do my best.

Orphaned Land play Middle Eastern and Oriental influenced death metal. Before you start thinking of other entities that contain such labels (Nile for example), this isn't some American death metal band that have integrated other cultural musical stylings to be unique. The influences here often take centre stage, meaning the term death metal hardly seems fitting for most of the album. Tracks seamlessly integrate traditional Jewish and Arabic melodies with very distinctive sounding drum patterns and wavering clean vocals with chunky death metal riffs and death growls. Instrumental tracks and traditional hymns fill the gaps between the more metal compositions and it all results in an extremely unique and captivating experience, albeit one that will take some time to adjust to.

But that's not where Orphaned Land's individuality ends. The lyrics are almost entirely devoted to God and spirituality. While this may seem a paradox among the more blasphemous realms of death metal and while I personally do not believe in a creator in any way, I can honestly say that the themes work perfectly within the musical expressions on offer here. This isn't some sort of gimmick, nor is it a bunch of Christians tainting the spirit of black metal with arrogant, farcical announcements of eternal pain and suffering. It's a group of men from Israel, for whom spirituality and worship are a large part of their culture. They're also not taking the opportunity to simply ram their beliefs down the listeners throats and are instead discussing the common message that can be found among the three major Abrahamic religions, being Christianity, Islam and Judaism. Regardless of your own take on religion, this is an interesting subject to delve into and the magical music that accompanies the education makes it even more worthwhile.

Sadly, El Norra Alila is not a flawless album. As others have stated before me, its length is daunting to say the least. At just under 70 minutes it does perhaps overplay its hand and there are instances where a little bit of restraint would have made for a more consistent listen. As I've mentioned earlier, I very much enjoy the traditional aspects of the album but tracks such as the five minute Shir Hama'Alot are pushing it. One- or two-minute interludes are one thing, but whole sections devoted to Arabic instrumentation and wailing is another. But this criticism can't come close to ruining what is an amazing achievement. Orphaned Land would go on to create an even better album with Mabool and anyone that enjoys that masterpiece should find a lot to enjoy here too. I may not be thanking God for Orphaned Land, but I'm certainly appreciative of the music they have brought to the world.