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Review Summary: The Never Ending Way of ORwarriOR takes heavy metal and middle eastern influences and decides to totally screw with me. Orphaned Land has always been a tad overrated in my eyes since I first heard them in October of last year. The praise that Mabool garnered was extraordinary so obviously I had to give that a listen first. It was a nice fresh listen in a relatively stale metal genre and I understood why it gained this praise. Finding out about a month later that they were releasing a new album after six years, I was a bit intrigued, especially with Stephen Wilson on board with the album. The combination of the gorgeous sound of Middle Eastern instruments and melodies combined with heavy metal has always been the main selling point of this band. The Never Ending Way of ORwarriOR takes those two elements and decide to totally screw with me, but in both a good and bad way.
The first, and main, nag that I have with the album is that many of the songs aren’t that great and do not go anywhere. “Bereft in the Abyss” for instance is just three minutes of filler. Yeah the little twanggy middle eastern influences are ok, but it just seemed forced and rushed; something that should not have happened since it did take six years to make this thing. “His Leaf Shall Not Wither”, “Vayehi Or”, and “Mi” are the same exact way as well. Honestly these songs should not even be on here because they provide absolutely nothing of value to the album, and in the end, they deteriorate from the overall quality of the record. The endless chugging and wankery that goes on throughout is quite ridiculous as well. “From Broken Vessels” is the perfect example of both at finest form. Everything about it just screams boredom, and the actual minute and a half that the awesome melody shows itself (2:05, 4:54), the song went from being a wank and chugfest to somewhat decent. As for the solos, don’t get me going on these. “The Warrior” is exactly what Tyler said in his review “….little more than hair-blowing-in-the-wind soloing” and was both a chore and annoying to get through; it’s totally disappointing.
When it comes to total disappointment with this album, look no further than “The Path Pt 2 The Pilgrimage To Or Shalem.” Continuing on “The Path Part 1” (More on that later), the second part starts off in arguably the best way of any song this year. Everything that has made Orphaned Land unique and special throughout the years is shown in the first three minutes of the song. From the great riffing to the unique growling/crooning combo of Kobi, this is the moment which makes the band good in the first place. It all changes with the three minutes of soloing followed by a final two minutes of lackluster and forced material.
There has to be something redeeming about this album, right? Well it is present and it overshadows the nuisances to make the record at least good. Like I said previously, the first three minutes of “The Path Part 2” are stunning. “The Path Part 1” is the best song on here by stabilizing each instrument and vocal line perfectly. Nothing feels rushed or forced and it actually fits in the scope of the band. “Disciples of the Sacred Oath” and “New Jerusalem” both have that irritating chugging that pisses me off so much, but they aren’t the focal points of the songs. The latter is even the most Middle Eastern influenced song present and when the metal is dropped completely from the song about four minutes in, it is nothing short of beautiful. “In Thy Never Ending Way” finishes the disc in extraordinary fashion. This song definitely is not the best case of how good Orphaned Land can be but this is still my favorite song of the year; which is downright strange because the song contains the chugging and wanking that drags the album down in the first place. Problems aside, the emotion portrayed in the song just struck a chord with me and I fell in love. All the parts, from the smooth and eerie vocals of Kobi, to the chugging/wanking, and that gorgeous piano outro are perfect.
Sadly, “In Thy Never Ending Way” is only a glimpse of the potential this band can achieve. As a lover of the exoticness of Middle Eastern music, I am pleased by the influences that Orphaned Land portray in The Never Ending Way of ORwarriOR. The constant guitar chugs and uninspiring solos drag down the quality of the album by a wide margin. Add to the fact that most of the shorter songs are useless and half of the long ones are more annoying than good, and we get an album that is trying to be too epic for its own good. As a whole, Orphaned Land has shown me the potential of being great. The bad part about it is that for this to happen they need to drop the metal act almost completely. Since that is not going to happen, I get stuck listening to mostly forgettable songs surrounded by moments of greatness.
| other reviews of this album |
Tyler EMERITUS (2)
A lack of direction and discipline makes The Never Ending Way of ORwarriOR both a massive disappoint...
IcedEarthaholic (4.5)
From the beginning to the end, this is a solid album. It is not Mabool Part 2, but what it is, is a ...
eyesofapocalypse (5)
The epitome for progressive folk; the standard by which all bands should be held to....
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Album Rating: 3.0
Probably reads like a 2.5 but this is really a 3 for me. Felt like I could have wrote this a bit better, but meh.
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After listening to Mabool I'm sooooooo disapointed by this.
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Yeah, this sucks. One of the only albums I've deleted in a LONNNNNNG time.
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same here.... and I even kept white pony...
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band wasn't good to begin with
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the mabool thing was good
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Mabool is awesome.
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Too good*
Fixed.
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I love the rating distribution. All the fanboys giving it a 4.5 to make the rating appear higher than it is (face it guys, this is more in 2.5-3 territory).
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Band was overrated to begin with.
| | | Album Rating: 1.0
This and the new Sigh receive "Worst Metal album of the Year" honours. Me likey the review!
| | | Album Rating: 4.0
^Your opinions are wrong. Next you'll say that the new Immolation is the third-worst.
This album is disappointing, but a 1? Really?
| | | Album Rating: 5.0
The Never Ending Way of ORWarriOR will separate the true fans of Orphaned Land from those who simply jumped on the bandwagon. Everything about this band's intent is amplified to the max...
Like all OL albums, it should be listened to as a whole. If heard in tracks, or if the listener does not look at every element of the songs - lyrics, guitars, folk instruments, orchestration, vocals - ORWarrior WILL NOT WORK. Every element is integral.
The concept itself is integral to enjoying this record, and will explain many of the "complaints" about the record. All fifteen songs have their place.
"From Broken Vessels" meanders for a couple minutes because the ORphan is lost in his world, unable to find the light. Like "Sapari", the song won't make sense if the listener doesn't understand its meaning. Once the album starts with two apparently directionless tracks, it seems to affect the rest of the record.
"Bereft in the Abyss" is a bridge between the darkness and the light: the character is saved from the edge of darkness and called towards the light. Note that the next few songs have a much more unified theme as his confidence grows...
"The Warrior" has four minutes of solos because...the character has been reborn into a new life.
"His Leaf..." belongs in front of "Disciples...", which is the ORWarriOR's mission to save the Orphaned Land. Note the lyrics of the song: "And whatsoever he do it shall prosper..."
"Vayehi Or", meaning "Let there be Light", notes that there is still work left to do: the light must be brought to the rest of the world.
"M I ?" is a conversation between the ORWarriOR and the source of light (ie: God). The Warrior, as the final battle is approaching, becomes deeply unsure about his mission and the heavy burden that falls onto his shoulders as the ORWarriOR.
Okay, any more and this will be a full review...you must understand the full picture.
| | | Album Rating: 4.0
Like all OL albums, it should be listened to as a whole. If heard in tracks, or if the listener does not look at every element of the songs - lyrics, guitars, folk instruments, orchestration, vocals - ORWarrior WILL NOT WORK. Every element is integral. Part of the album's probelm is that it's way too fucking long for it's own good, so...no.
You are being the most stereotypical pretentious prog fan right now.
| | | Album Rating: 5.0
It's about the universal battle of light versus darkness...it pretty much has to be very long.
Music as an art form has so many layers that any complete analysis is "pretentious". Orphaned Land's mission behind their music is just as important as the music itself. Without understanding the band, how can you hope to understand their music?
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"The Warrior" has four minutes of solos because...the character has been reborn into a new life.
This is priceless.
| | | Album Rating: 5.0
The Warrior is one of the turning points of the album, so something dramatic is necessary. Slow solos against some fast ones with a cinematic background is absolutely perfect to me...
If it isn't perfect to any of you, what would you have put in this song instead?
| | | Album Rating: 3.0
I love long songs/albums that are too epic and cheesy for their own good.
This is WAYYYYYYYYYYYYYY TOOOOOOOO Long and Way Too Epic for it's own good and that's a terrible thing.
If it isn't perfect to any of you, what would you have put in this song instead?
Take it off the album.
| | | Album Rating: 5.0
If The Warrior were taken off the album, then Disciples of the Sacred Oath II would sound horribly out of place...and then you'd start complaining about THAT.
Last thing...have you never heard people talk about albums that you have to be in a certain frame of mind to appreciate? How about with specific atmosphere or weather for the day? Classic BM albums might demand that. Also common are albums that "have" to be listened to from beginning to end.
My question...aren't THOSE claims just as pretentious?
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Sounds damn interesting. Even though you bashed the majority of it I'll have to check it out, or at least the purported gems.
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