Orphaned Land – ‘A Heaven You May Create’ (2023)
Rating: 9/10
Release: 1 December 2023
Label: Century Media Records
Orphaned Land – A Heaven You May Create – is it hard to believe that Orphaned Land is celebrating the band’s 30th anniversary! How do you celebrate such an occasion, put out a live album! This was a very special show for the band and to make it more special they were accompanied by an ensemble of symphony orchestra and vocal choir totaling 60 players. The concert was filmed and recorded in 2021 during the Covid-19 pandemic and will be available as a second DVD disk accompanying the CD.
This is also special since this was done during a gap between COVID –19 lockdowns, where the world seemed somewhat “normal” enough to allow Orphaned Land to play this celebratory special show in “the hall of fame” of Israel, the Heichal HaTarbut in Tel Aviv. Total attendance this night was 2.500 people, to enjoy the progressive sound that is distinctively Orphaned Land.
The set list spans their career, playing classics from their earliest albums such as 1993’s ‘The Storm Still Rages Inside’, to 2004’s ‘Mabool’ (one of my personal favorites), to current songs off the 2018 album ‘Unsung Prophets and Dead Messiahs’, such as ‘The Cave’ and ‘In Propaganda’.
The recording captures the celebratory atmosphere, and the band showed such maturity and perfection as they played each song. The orchestral accompaniment enriched each song and the choir was a great addition to really emphasize the choral parts when needed.
For the new listener, this would be a great first album to listen to in order to get a glimpse of the band’s musical history and style. For the longtime fans, it is the equivalent of curling up next to a warm fire on a cold winter day with a good book.
Tracklist
Disc 1 (DVD)
- Disc 1
- Mabool – Overture
- Mabool (The Flood)
- The Storm Still Rages Inside
- Like Orpheus
- The Kiss of Babylon (The Sins)
- Sapari
- The Cave
- In Propaganda
- All Knowing Eye
- Brother
- A Never Ending Way
- Ocean Land (The Revelation)
- Birth of the Three (The Unification)
- All Is One
- In Thy Never Ending Way (Epilogue)
- Norra El Norra (Entering the Ark)
Disc 2 (CD) - Mabool (The Flood)
- The Storm Still Rages Inside
- Like Orpheus
- Sapari
- The Cave
- In Propaganda
- All Knowing Eye
- Brother
- Ocean Land (The Revelation)
- Birth of the Three (The Unification)
- All Is One
- In Thy Never Ending Way (Epilogue)
- Norra El Norra (Entering the Ark)