Band:	Orphaned Land
Album:	Mabool: The Story Of The Three Sons Of Seven
Style:	Oriental folk metal, Progressive metal
Release date:	March 09, 2004
Guest review by:	Talvi

Disc I
01. Birth Of The Three (The Unification)
02. Ocean Land (The Revelation)
03. The Kiss Of Babylon (The Sins)
04. A'salk
05. Halo Dies (The Wrath Of God)
06. A Call To Awake (The Quest)
07. Building The Ark
08. Norra El Norra (Entering The Ark)
09. The Calm Before The Flood
10. Mabool (The Flood)
11. The Storm Still Rages Inside
12. Rainbow (The Resurrection)

Disc II [The Calm Before The Flood] [Limited Edition Live Acoustic CD]
01. The Evil Urge
02. A Never Ending Way
03. Mercy [Paradise Lost cover]
04. The Beloved's Cry
05. The Orphaned's Medley

Forget everything you know about genres. I'm used of talking about the sound of a band at the beginning of a review. But this album can't be described just by mere genre definitions. They are said to play a mixture of Progressive Death Metal with Arabic folk. But, what exactly is Progressive Death? It sounds like Death? Opeth? Orphaned Land sounds, at it's core, like Progressive Metal, with unusual song structures, technical use of instruments, and no choruses at all. Add to that a constant use of Arabic folk music, with male and female chanting, use of local instruments and riffing that resembles their music. Then add that minimal death mixture, used as some growling, which doesn't stop the beauty of the album, and the sound of some riffs, making them extremely thick and heavy.

With that description alone anyone that loves diverse music should order this album. But what about the songwriting? This is a concept album about three sons, each one representing each monotheistic religion trying to warm humanity of a flood that will punish the world. So their music manages to match the lyrics. A proof may be the song "Halo Dies (The Wrath Of God)," where they use growls to represent the fury of God.

Also notice how the album begins strong, with songs like "Birth of the Three (The Unification)," "The Kiss of Babylon (The Sins)," and "Halo Dies (The Wrath Of God),", which are able to make you headband 'till death, even with Arabic chanting at the same time. I don't know what people say, but the chanting on "The Kiss of Babylon (The Sins)" it's amazing, and one of the best moments of the album.

But the direction of the album changes completely at "Building The Ark." That it's an acoustic song, featuring an amazing vocal delivery, ending with an outstanding acoustic guitar outro. "Norra El Norra (Entering the Ark)" it's the most Arabic song, and believe me: I hate Arabic music, yet I really like this song. Even though it has the last heavy riff, it doesn't have any growling. It ends with an amazing piano solo. So the album begins heavy to get your attention, and ends softer. "Mabool (The Flood)" still has some growls, but in my opinion it's the most melodic song. That guitar riffing, along with those amazing vocals are really haunting. They really saved the best song for the end. After that, it comes "The Storm Still Rages," which flows perfectly with the previous song. To me, it's like a big outro, along with the last song.

Really, this it's a musical journey you can't avoid. Musically and lyrically, it's almost perfect. If you aren't very open minded, songs like "A'salk," "Norra El Norra (Entering the Ark)" and "The Calm Before the Flood," which may feel a bit overlong, may annoy you. This album is far beyond ordinary metal. Death metal fans, avoid this: it's not for you. Folk metal fans: this it's very different than typical folk metal, probably because there is almost no Arabic folk metal, so you may like this, or maybe not. Progressive metal fans: Take this. Now.