Noise merchants bring about peace
Jewish Telegraph, March 2006
ISRAELI heavy metal band Orphaned Land should definitely be made ambassadors for peace.
The rockers, who play in England for the first time this week, are huge in Arab countries . . . and even had a neo-Nazi headbanging to their tune.
Singer Kobi Farhi explains: “In Mexico we bumped into a guy who wore a shirt with a swastika on. But we persuaded him to take off the shirt and wear an Orphaned Land shirt instead.”
Orphaned Land are not afraid to show pride in their roots. Kobi said: “We have played in 22 countries so far and, in most cases, the flag of Israel was raised high at the shows.
“We have had a few cases where people have shown anti-Israeli feelings. In Croatia ‘Jews out’ was written on our tour bus. We either just ignore these incidents or if we see a chance to communicate we try to talk. Fighting is just an easy option, while talking is difficult.”
He added: “But a lot of people from the Jewish communities come to see us too.”
The group arrived in England yesterday (Thursday) for two concerts. The first is at The Hub in Cheltenham tonight which will include a ‘pre-party’ acoustic performance.
The second concert is part of the ‘Prog Power UK’ Progressive and Power Rock Festival at the Centaur in Cheltenham tomorrow night (Saturday).
Orphaned Land play a blend of metal with Middle Eastern and traditional Jewish themes.
As well as being influenced by bands like Iron Maiden and Pink Floyd, they also claim inspiration from Book of Psalms.
Since releasing their first album in 1993 The Beloved’s Cry, the band has gained a fiercely loyal underground cult following in Israel and around the world.
The group’s treatment of oriental themes and incorporation of lyrics in Arabic and the Yemeni dialect has won them fans in predominantly Arab countries, such as Morocco, Iran, Turkey, Lebanon and Yemen.
In some of these countries, Israel is not recognised.
The band formed in 1991 as Resurrection, changing their name to Orphaned Land in 1992.
They signed to French label Holy Records soon after the recording of their demo The Beloved’s Cry in 1993.
Both of their first two albums Sahara (1994) and El Norra Alila (1996) became cult hits.
Kobi says their success in Arab countries is because the group’s music “reflects harmony and unity between East and West, light and darkness, Judaism and Islam”.
After a couple of years of silence, the band reunited with a huge show in Turkey in 2001 — filmed for a documentary — followed by a concert in Tel Aviv in 2002. A third show, an acoustic set, was added as a bonus CD to latest album Mabool.
Vocals on this album were sung in five languages, English, Hebrew, Arabic, Yemen and Latin.
Aside from the five band members, more then 30 guests appear on the album — including Indian street musicians.
The last time Kobi visited Britain was just after his barmitzvah when he was sent to summer school.
Orphaned Land have had plenty of coverage in the heavy metal press including a three-page interview in Metal Hammer.
Members of the band — Kobi, guitarists Yossi Sasi and Matti Svatitzki, bass player Uri Zelcha, keyboardist Eden Rabin and drummer Avi Diamand — are aged between 29–31.
