Mabool

Last updated
Mabool: The Story of the Three Sons of Seven
Orphaned land - mabool.jpg
Studio album by
Orphaned Land
ReleasedFebruary 23, 2004
RecordedJuly–October, 2003, Zaza Studios, Bardo Studios, Israel
Genre Progressive metal
Oriental metal
Folk metal
Extreme power metal
Length67:58
The Calm Before the Flood
26:48
Label Century Media
Producer Orphaned Land
Orphaned Land chronology
El Norra Alila
(1996)		Mabool: The Story of the Three Sons of Seven
(2004)		 The Never Ending Way of ORwarriOR
(2010)
Mabool LP album
Orphaned Land - Mabool LP.jpg
Limited edition LP album cover

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.

Contents

The album was made in a highly arranged fashion and took six years to be arranged, composed and produced and is therefore the main reason for the long wait between albums.

Synopsis

The album tells the story of the three sons (angels) split from the seventh descendant of the seventh (God's seven descendents were Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Sarah, Rebecca, Rachel, and Leah [not specified in the album]). The seventh was divided into three, representing the divide of the Abrahamic religion into three main streams: Judaism, Islam and Christianity.

Each angel bore the face of an animal and was given a power and representation. The first angel is the snake Judaism; he is represented by a Star of David and his power is magic. The second angel is the eagle Islam; he is represented by a half moon and his power is strength. The third angel is the lion Christianity; he is represented by the cross and his power is wisdom. Fearing their strength, God forbade the angels from reuniting into one.

Defying the divine order, the angels united into one, who was then immediately exiled from Heaven to Earth and divided into three again, sentenced to fight each other until they can prove themselves and get back into Heaven. As they were cast down to Earth, they foresaw a prophecy, that if humanity could not stop sinning, then God would flood the Earth to cleanse the land.

The angels then embark on a quest to warn humanity of the flood and try to convince them to stop their sins, but ultimately fail to do so. God orders the three angels to build an ark of gopher wood and save two of each animal. It rains for 40 days and 40 nights during which a flood destroys society, and an ocean buries the land. The album concludes with the three angels praying to God to guide the ark onto dry land.

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svg [1]
Metal Storm (9.03/10) [2]
SputnikmusicStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svg [3]

As of March 8, 2020, Mabool has a rating of 8.85 based on 738 votes on Metal Storm. This average ranks the album as the 4th best record of 2004 and the 96th best album of all time on Metal Storm.

Track listing

  1. "Birth of the Three (The Unification)" – 6:57
  2. "Ocean Land (The Revelation)" – 4:43
  3. "The Kiss of Babylon (The Sins)" – 7:23
  4. "A'salk" – 2:05
  5. "Halo Dies (The Wrath of God)" – 7:29
  6. "A Call to Awake (The Quest)" – 6:10
  7. "Building the Ark" – 5:02
  8. "Norra el Norra (Entering the Ark)" – 4:24
  9. "The Calm Before the Flood" – 4:25
  10. "Mabool (The Flood)" – 6:59
  11. "The Storm Still Rages Inside" – 9:20
  12. "Rainbow (The Resurrection)" – 3:01

The Calm Before the Flood track listing:

  1. "The Evil Urge" – 3:28
  2. "A Never Ending Way" – 3:14
  3. "Mercy" (Paradise Lost cover from One Second ) – 3:46
  4. "The Beloved's Cry" – 6:42
  5. "The Orphaned's Medley" – 9:33

Personnel

Band members

Session members and guest musicians

Oriental choir
Moran ensemble

Production and other

Concept and lyrics

References

  1. ↑ "Mabool - Orphaned Land | Allmusic".
  2. ↑ "Orphaned Land - Mabool - Metal Storm".
  3. ↑ "Orphaned Land - Mabool (The Story of the Three Sons...) (staff review) | Sputnikmusic".
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