Band:	Orphaned Land
Album:	The Beloved's Cry
Style:	Death metal, Melodic death metal, Death doom metal
Release date:	1993
Guest review by:	janhuss

01. Seasons Unite
02. Above You All
03. Pits Of Despair
04. The Beloved's Cry
05. My Requiem
06. Orphaned Land - The Storm Still Rages Inside...

After this Israeli band released the marvellous & monumental opus "Mabool", it got an immense attention from all the corners of the world. It was only after "The Flood" when I led myself in their previous albums of this band. And it was kind of surprise or revelation. I was wondering how their previous albums might sound like. Well, after digging in "El Nora Alilla" (my second favorite from their albums), I moved further into "The Beloved's Cry". It's not a whole full album, but a MCD. Anyway, good stuff, high quality.

Listening albums, I like to get more info on them. And I read others' reviews & interviews. Well, some used to say this album is doom/death. I don't know if it doom. From their official page, I found out they label this release as "oriental death metal". It is "oriental" for sure: plenty acoustic passages, lots of folk themes. It's a mark of this Israeli band. They employ not only acoustic guitars, but many other traditional instruments. You could hear these devices on "Mabool" and on their other albums. Especially on "El Nora Alilla". Whole passages of oriental folk music. Count here perhaps thousands of years of music & harmonies.

If you pay enough attention, you might find out what's the band's future direction or evolution: the last track, "The Storm Still Rages Inside" is like an introduction to their next album.
But well, let's start with the beginning. Don't expect a mellow album, because it's not so. It's much more than this: powerful riffs, rhythms, and grunts. I must say I really like his voice. Grunts and clean voice. There are no weak points in the parts he sings. Another thing surprised me, quite well: the rhythms I was telling about. These are changing for the whole duration of this mini-album, from rapid passages to the superb ballad "The Beloved's Cry". I bet they perform this song in their shows (as it is featured on the bonus disk for "Mabool"). Another very beautiful melody is on "My Requiem", a bit elegiac, I think.
Even persons who don't enjoy this genre (death metal, I mean) might like this album. Count here the perfect mix between powerful riffs and oriental/eastern melodies. Besides riffs, pay attention to the guitar solos, very diverse & inspired.
Plus, don't forget the female voice's appearance. This pleasant voice is present on the first song, on the title track, and also on the last song of this album.

The "philosophy" that abides behind this album seems to follow the classic concept of this band: duality (and a sort of dualism) white/black, good/bad, God/evil. From this point of view, of a concept clearly expressed, I still prefer the two other albums I have mentioned already. "The storm still rages inside..." I guess the feeling of this album could be resumed by this.

The highlights of this album are the title track, the first two and the last one. But don't get me wrong, you should listen to the album as a whole. It's a solid album that deserves your attention.
My only complain for this album is that it is too short. Listen carefully to it as it shows the great potential this band has.