El Norra Alila

[Chanakya]

With all the ORwarriOR talks going on, I thought of something different. Since some [most] of us have been around for less than two years, we haven't had much of a chance to talk about this wonderful album. Do share your views about the same. Probably Sahara could be included as well.


I really loved ENA a lot. Since Mabool came first chronologically for me, the rawness in the production of ENA took me a bit by surprise, but for the same reason it sounded more underground, more extreme and more ethnic as well.
Favourite songs as of now are El Meod Na'ala, Of Temptation Born and The Evil Urge.

 

[Bound2Fate]

I got into Mabool first as well. I didn't like El Norra Alila and Sahara at first either, but I listened to both of them a few months ago and I El Norra Alila automatically grew on me. I don't like Sahara that much because the songs just seem to keep going and it is obvious how they just keep adding sections to it. I found them both on ebay for around 8 dollars each a few months ago too. Find Yourself, Discover God, El Meod Na'ala, The Evil Urge, A Neverending Way, The Beloved's Cry...there are a lot of Orphaned Land classics on those albums, especially on El Norra Alila in my opinion.

 

[Messiakh]

ENA is my favorite album too, it's very oriental (more than Mabool if you ask me) and the lyrical theme is very spiritual, that and the music itself alone is alot heavier.

My favorites would be Find Yourself Discover God, Of Temptation Born, El Meod Na'ala and The Neverending Way.

Lately I've been listening to Sahara alot, and I've been wanting to suggest that the band make remakes of the classics from that album (such as The Sahara Storm). I mean with the band's skills today, they can improve that masterpiece to higher levels.

 

[Postmodernist]

El Norra Alila is my absolute favorite. Of this album I love all 15 tracks - either complete songs or some special sections of songs.

"Find Yourself, Discover God" for the winged riff santur vs. distorted guitar (got it as my ringtone) and for the message

"Like Fire To Water" for the wild ethnic percussion vs. death metal riff in the middle

"The Truth Within" for synagogue choir vs. distorted guitar intro and for its catchy aggressive main riff, and zen flute and the violin+chant violin

"The Path Ahead" for the heroic guitar vs. violin intro attack

"A Neverending Way" for its slow gothic pace and flavor so good for slow chillouts at a metal club, and for moody prayer-like chants

"Takasim" for its crunchy Middle Eastern authenticity and its spiritual flavor. It could serve as one of sountracks for my favorite movie "Baraka"

"Thee By The Father I Pray" - for its wonderful intro and cool main riff, and the epic prayer-like chant in the middle, and folk outro. Full comprehension of this song struck me at that memorable OL concert in Moscow - there I was growling along with "Goooooooood" and chanting along with the "la-la-la" part And the song is one of my favorite songs of Orpaned Land.

"Flawless Belief" for its total aggressive heaviness and the brilliant prayer piece in the middle "Ooo-ou, pray the Lord..."

"Joy" is my favorite danceable ethnic music piece by OL, bringing light and joy - I had it as my ringtone for a long time.

"Whisper My Name When You Dream" - great intro including inhumanely long growling and totally gothic female vocals "Sing for me... " and the passionate middle part with violin "I would die for you oh my lord... My kingdom of lust is yours.", and the song's acoustic outro which I consider worth being a separate full song.

"Shir Hama`alot" for its ethnic authenticity - the song really brings me to Middle East, and everyone hearing it assumes it's a Muslim prayer, tho its a Jewish one. If I want to demonstrate all versatility of my musical preferences this piece represents one of essential parts of them.

"El Meod Na`ala" - had it as my ringtone when living in a ultra-nationalist society, as a mean for self-expression and challenging of their xenophobic standards. About this ancient prayer in Hebrew, everyone assumes it's Muslim, and it's hell of heavy and aggressive, a true symbol of Orphaned Land. Tried to sing along with it at the concert in Moscow reading English transcription from a sheet

"Of Temptation Born" - perfect distorted and creatively overdubbed aggressive intro with santur and violin, a real anthem of oriental metal. And then another characteristic oriental metal passage with growling "foreveer ooorphaned!"

"The Evil Urge" - perfectly gothic, with a deep meaning text, great singing and violin, ending with a wonderful absolutely atmospheric minimalist violin riff having a mesmerizing effect on me.

"Shir Hashirim" - a unique creative collage including shofar sound, clean El Norra Alila liturgical chant, genuine muedzin's "Allahu akbar" chant and mysterious atmospheric effects bringing you to to some dark mysterious plains beyond religions and churches.

Ah, let the next OL's release be El Norra Alila vol. II

 

[Chanakya]

"El Meod Na`ala" - had it as my ringtone when living in a ultra-nationalist society, as a mean for self-expression and challenge for their xenophobic standards. About this ancient prayer Hebrew, everyone assumes it's Muslim, and it's hell of heavy and aggressive, a true symbol of Orphaned Land. Tried to sing along with it at the concert in Moscow reading English transcription from a sheet

I love all versions of this song, especially the one featured in Global Metal. You're really lucky that you've seen them! Maybe we all should take a video of ourselves singing this song, and then mix it all just for fun.

"Of Temptation Born" - perfect distorted and creatively overdubbed aggressive intro with santur and violin, a real anthem of oriental metal. And then another characteristic oriental metal passage with growling "foreveer ooorphaned!"

That's my favourite part of one of my all time favourites. That oriental melody always gives me the chills.

"The Evil Urge" - perfectly gothic, with a deep meaning text, great singing and violin, ending with a wonderful absolutely atmospheric minimalist violin riff having a mesmerizing effect on me.

The eeire sense of melancholy this song gives me is scary. It actually chills me to the bones.

Though one can't deny the great leap in terms of production, complexity and song writing skills in Mabool and even more in ORwarriOR, I miss the Orphaned Land of El Norra Alila. But that said, each and every album sounds so different it's weird comparing. Now that I'm drowned in ENA, I almost don't know how ORwarriOR sounds like.

 

[vittra6966]

El Norra Alila is a really unique album for me, musically speaking.
There are just so many riffs and breathtaking guitar leads everywhere and the vocals are atmospheric as well.
Drumming is also very old schooled and lively.
It has a realy unique overall feeling, quite mystic album, amazing sense of flowing, it's a perfect album I guess.
I don't think however OL can make another album like that again because it's probably captures their spirit and pictures of life back then.
I think drugs were used when they wrote this album, I think it's requries a really specific state of mind to compose an album like that.

 

[Postmodernist]

Heeheehee, drug trolling attempt?

If we follow your logics that creative means on drugs then bands like Dream Theater, The UneXpect, Diablo Swing Orchestra, Liquid Tension Experiment or The Merlons Of Nehemiah are just totally and helplessly on most serious drugs for many years already

 

[vittra6966]

Don't put words in my mouth.
But anyway, as for DT and LTE (I'm not familiar with the other bands you mentioned), I guess that stuides in Berklee are profitable.

 

[vittra6966]

By the way, what are the most similiar albums for El Norra Alila you know?

 

[Kenneth R.]

I loooove this album. It grew on me too!

 

[Morticia NL.]

Lately I've been listening to Sahara alot, and I've been wanting to suggest that the band make remakes of the classics from that album (such as The Sahara Storm). I mean with the band's skills today, they can improve that masterpiece to higher levels.

Actually, this is what they already do. When those older songs are played live, you can find they have a bit ,or even much, altered orchestration. And for the "Decade to El Norra Alila tour" all songs from the album where reworked to an "updated" version. This is one of the qualities that make this band unique: their ability to keep re-inventing their own music.
Actually, I have written on that subject in this forum before.
Track down some of he older songs on youtube and you can hear it for yourself. Decent quality videos can be found here:
http://www.orphaned-disciples.org/site/videos/

One day, when I have the time I might do something more on the subject like videos and maybe ask Yossi to explain about it.

 

[Postmodernist]

"Decade to El Norra Alila tour" *drool*
We really need a live CD/DVD of these reworks - the studio versions are great, the live renditions are equally great yet different and so special. Like, guitar part in Find Yourself Discover God intro sung by Kobi etc.