Progressive metal is a broad fusion music genre melding heavy metal and progressive rock, combining the loud "aggression" and amplified guitar-driven sound of the former with the more experimental, cerebral or quasi-classical compositions of the latter.
Orphaned Land is an Israeli metal band formed in 1991. They are known to combine Mizrahi and Maghrebi Jewish, Arabic, Turkish, and other Middle Eastern and North African musical elements, with metal, as well as from Sephardic music, and other sounds from the Mediterranean. They have also included "metalized" versions of various piyyutim in all of their albums since El Norra Alila. The band are considered to be the pioneers of oriental metal. Orphaned Land have gone through several lineup changes over the years, but have retained two founding members of the band, Kobi Farhi (vocals) and Uri Zelcha (bass). They are joined by Matan Shmuely (drums), Chen Balbus (guitars/saz) who replaced co-founding member Matti Svatizky in 2012, and Idan Amsalem (guitars/bouzouki) who replaced co-founding member Yossi Sassi in early 2014. Their lyrics promote a message of peace and unity, particularly between the three main Abrahamic religions. The name "Orphaned Land" comes from the lyrics of a Yehuda Poliker song and reflects "a paradox" to the term "Holy Land." Four of their six albums are concept albums relating to the concept of Light and darkness.
Salem is an Israeli extreme metal band, pioneers of the oriental metal movement and of the Israeli heavy metal scene in general. Much of their lyrics and music deals with political issues concerning the Jewish people and Israel, most notably the concept albums Kaddish (1994) and Collective Demise (2002).
Mabool: The Story of the Three Sons of Seven is the third full-length studio album by the Israeli metal band Orphaned Land. It was released on February 23, 2004 through Century Media Records. One limited edition version of the album has a bonus CD entitled The Calm Before the Flood containing live acoustic tracks, while another limited edition version was released by Profound Lore Records as a 2-LP album with alternate cover art in a clear wax case limited to only 500 copies. Two videos were made for the album, one for the song "Ocean Land" and the other for the song "Norra el Norra", and were the band's first music videos. Mabool is Orphaned Land's second concept album. "Mabool" (מבול) is the Hebrew word for "flood," and refers to the Genesis flood narrative from which the album's concept, the band's reinterpretation of Noah's Ark, is derived.
Kobi Farhi is an Israeli musician, lead singer and founder of Oriental metal band Orphaned Land.
Silent Stream of Godless Elegy is a Moravian folk metal band from Czechia, formed in 1995. As of 2020, they have released six studio albums and one EP.
Sahara is the first full-length studio album by the Israeli metal band Orphaned Land, released on November 25, 1994 by French label Holy Records. The 2002 digipak re-release of the album features three bonus tracks: "Above You All", "Pits of Despair" and "The Beloved's Cry " and edited cover art. The songs "Seasons Unite", "The Beloveds Cry", "My Requiem", "Orphaned Land – The Storm Still Rages Inside..." are all from the demo The Beloved's Cry.
Teapacks is an Israeli band that formed in 1988 as HaHotzaa La'Poal in the southern Israeli city of Sderot. Originally the band was named after the correction fluid Tipp-Ex, but in 1995 the transliteration was changed so as not to infringe on the well-known brand, while keeping the pronunciation and spelling in Hebrew the same.
El Norra Alila is the second full-length studio album by the Israeli metal band Orphaned Land, released on July 18, 1996 by Holy Records. It is the band's first concept album. The album was reissued as a deluxe edition in July 2006 as a 10-year-anniversary for the album and contains extras; the song "Disciples of the Sacred Oath" and video clips of "Ornaments of Gold" and "The Evil Urge".
The Never Ending Way of ORwarriOR is the fourth full-length studio album by the Israeli metal band Orphaned Land. The album was released on January 25, 2010, after many delays. In Hebrew, the word "or" (אור) means "light," thus ORwarriOR can be translated as "light warrior" or "warrior of light", representing a conceptual hero of the battle of light versus darkness. The Never Ending Way of ORWarriOR is Orphaned Land's third concept album and is about the battle between the darkness, a place of questions, and the light, a place of answers. The band related the concept to lighting a match in a dark room; without the match one cannot see anything, but with it one can see more, including the answers to the questions one has about the room before having lit the match. In this regard, "the warrior of light," the answers to unknown questions, is one's inner light, and not some messianic figure, and that to awaken the ORwarriOR, one must use their inner light to enlighten their inner soul, and find the answers they seek. This is an analogy to the band's belief that "there isn't any difference between you and your enemy." The album was mixed by Steven Wilson of Porcupine Tree. It is the last album to feature guitarist Matti Svatizky who left the band in 2012.
Amaseffer is an Israeli progressive metal band which was formed in 2004 in Tel Aviv by drummer and percussionist Erez Yohanan, and guitarist Yuval Kramer. A year later, a second guitarist Hanan Avramovich joined and completed the line-up. This is also when the band got its name "Amaseffer" - from Hebrew "Am Ha'Sefer" - People of the (holy) book; a name from the Old Testament for the Israelites and later for the Jewish People. The band's music genre is considered progressive metal, but it contains a mixture of rock, metal, world music and Middle Eastern touches.
Slaves for Life is the debut album by Israeli folk/progressive metal band Amaseffer, released on 6 June 2008 in Israel and 24 June 2008 worldwide, by InsideOut Music.
Eternal Gray was a technical death metal band originating from Tel Aviv, Israel. The band was known as one of the most respected bands in the Israeli heavy metal scene, and has gathered very positive feedback abroad. On December 22, 2012, after 11 years of activity, band leader Dory Bar-Or announced that he has decided to put the band to an end.
Your Gods, My Enemies is the second album by Israeli technical death metal band Eternal Gray, self-released on December 31, 2010, exactly 8 years after their first album.
Yossi Sassi [Hebrew: יוסי סאסי] is an Israeli guitarist and producer who merges traditional and contemporary music. He is the inventor of the "bouzoukitara" musical instrument. He is known for pioneering oriental rock, as well as being the main composer, arranger, and co-founder of Orphaned Land, an Israeli progressive metal band formed in 1991. He also formed the Yossi Sassi Band/The Oriental Rock Orchestra. His debut solo album, Melting Clocks, got him voted "Top Newcomer of 2012" by Rock Hard magazine readers. His 2016 album Roots and Roads was submitted for Grammy Award consideration.
Distorted Harmony is an Israeli progressive metal band from Tel Aviv, Israel, formed in 2009.
The Night Siren is the twenty-fourth studio album from English guitarist and singer-songwriter Steve Hackett, released on 24 March 2017 by Inside Out Music.
Unsung Prophets and Dead Messiahs is the sixth studio album by the Israeli oriental metal band, Orphaned Land, and was released on January 26, 2018. It is the first album to feature guitarist Idan Amsalem who replaced multi-instrumentalist and lead guitarist, Yossi Sassi, a founding member of the band, in 2014.
Ross William Jennings is a British progressive metal singer, most known for being a founding member and the lead vocalist of the bands Haken and Novena. As of 2023, he has released seven albums with Haken, one with Novena, three with Redados and one solo album.
IGNEA is a Ukrainian melodic metal band formed in Kyiv in 2013. The band mixes different heavy metal subgenres, the main of which are melodic death metal, symphonic metal, progressive metal, and oriental metal.
