Orchestral album will mark 30th anniversary
Jewish Telegraph, September 2023
ISRAELI rock band Orphaned Land will release their 30th anniversary live album, A Heaven You May Create (Century Media Records), on December 1.
The founders of Oriental Metal celebrated their three decades with a special show at Heichal HaTarbut in Tel Aviv, accompanied by a 60-strong symphony.
The concert was recorded in 2021 during a gap in Covid-19 lockdowns.
At first, the band — led by singer Kobi Farhi — were allowed to perform for just 1,000 people, but restrictions were lifted before the show and they were allowed a sell-out crowd of 2,500 .
A CD+DVD digipack of the concert features 13 audio and video live tracks.
A double vinyl edition and digital album will both feature 15 tracks.
The album opens with Mabool (The Flood) and features tracks from all stages of the band’s career including the last two albums which saw them achieve wider success.
Tracks include All is One, Brother, Birth of the Three (The Unification) and Norra El Norra (Entering the Ark).
To mark the album announcement, Orphand Land — who have huge followings in Arab countries — have released a live single Sapari, a 400-year-old song written by Sa’adia Ben Amram, a Jewish poet from Yemen, about his prayer to his soul.
The track originally featured on their 2010 album The Never Ending Way Of ORwarriOR and became one of their most beloved songs.
The orchestral version of Sapari sees Noa Gruman provide guest vocals, while Alon Stern conducts the Chamber Opera Orchestra.
As revealed in the Jewish Telegraph last month, Orphaned Land are heading out on a European tour in January.
UK dates are Rebellion in Manchester on January 14 and London’s Underworld the following day.
Watch the video for Sapari at tinyurl.com/OLSapari and stream it at tinyurl.com/OLstreaming while signed copies of A Heaven You May Create are available from tinyurl.com/OLsigned
