Orphaned Land "Unsung Prophets & Dead Messiahs" CD

Could a band whose last studio album would have deserved a Nobel Peace Prize and whose title track was arguably one of the best metal songs ever written possibly beat its shining opus magnum? No, it couldn't. After the colossal All Is One, Israeli quintet Orphaned Land and its numerous colourful collaborators only had two options: stagnating on a high level or reinventing itself. The band opted for the first choice and accomplished its goal in a very respectable way.
Unsung Prophets & Dead Messiahs might not include eternal anthems like ''All Is One'' but everything else is a great as on the predecessor. The cover artwork is detailed, meaningful and memorable. The lyrical topics are particularly intriguing and once again spread a quite critical yet ultimately positive message. Musically, the band fusions its Middle Eastern folk elements with epic heavy metal but also goes back to its death metal roots on at least two occasions. The integration of choirs and orchestral passages has become bigger and bolder than before. The three main guest performers, Blind Guardian's unique singer Hansi Kürsch, At the Gates vocalist Tomas Lindberg and progressive rock guitarist Steve Hackett of Genesis fame, all leave a positive mark on the record and sound perfectly integrated. The production does every instrument and vocalist justice and blows the listener away in a positive way. The record convinces from start to finish and the special edition includes the highly recommendable Orphaned Land & Friends 25th Anniversary boxed set. Pointing out particular songs wouldn't do the others justice but if you really insisted, I would recommend the complex opener ''The Cave'' that summarizes Orphaned Land's current sound perfectly, the catchy ''Like Morpheus'' with a stunning Hansi Kürsch and the cinematic finale in form of the dramatic ''Only the Dead Have Seen the End of the War'' with its sound samples adding another dimension to Orphaned Land's already ambitious style.
Orphaned Land's Unsung Prophets & Dead Messiahs is already album of the year material and if you even only care slightly about epic metal music with emotion and intellect, there is no excuse for you to not own this brilliant record. The only element that keeps this album away from being revolutionary is the fact that its immediate predecessor already accomplished this and that the new album takes a few more spins to grow on you than the last one that had an immediate impact. Stop reading and give this album a chance now!

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