It’s no secret that right now my favorite band in the world is Orphaned Land. And if it was a secret, I guess it’s not really a secret anymore. Orphaned Land does what no other band alive does and they do it so very, very well. Mabool was fantastic, but 2010′s The Never Ending Way of OR’WarriOR was my record of the year and is really my standard for what a modern progressive metal record should be like. The mix and production from Steven Wilson was excellent, the song writing was tremendous and it’s one of the very few records over about 45 or 50 minutes that I can even handle these days. So I was super pumped when I got a promo copy of the band’s DVD The Road to OR-Shalem. I’m not a huge fan of DVDs, as I’ve said in the past, but this one is definitely worth your time—both as fans and non-fans. 

One thing that has happened recently in DVD trends in metal is that instead of doing a monster box like Amon Amarth did, bands have been going home to their home crowds and filming there. So we got Amorphis in Finland last year and Sonata Arctica there this year. And that’s great! But this is different. Having Orphaned Land play a club show in Tel Aviv makes this DVD truly special. First, because the band can interact in Hebrew, but also because the fans are just so fucking die hard and the feeling is immense. While the direction of the DVD is pretty good but bordering a bit on frantic (so many fast cuts—it’s like Steve Harris edited it himself), part of what makes this DVD so cool is just the crowd that’s so in love with this band.

Depending on how long you’ve been a fan of the band, the setlist might be a bit of a bummer, on the other hand. In the main, edited concert DVD there’s only a handful of songs older than Mabool, and most of that appears to have been pushed to the bonus material (and one of them is performed by Steven Wilson—and the rendition is a letdown)—which could be seen as a bit of a shame. As I’d have preferred that they just played ORwarriOR from start to finish and then done the songs from Mabool as the encore, I wasn’t too upset by it. And the band was in such good form that it was less about what they were playing and more about just watching them play—which is a blast.

Seeing the band’s personality live is part of the fun of this because I’ve never seen them live. There were a few things that stood out for me. First, Yossi Sassi Sa’aron, the lead guitar player, has to be the happiest man alive. It’s kind of a weird thing, but watching him play, you get this feeling that he just can’t think of anything else in the entire world that he’d rather be doing and it’s a bit infectious, even if it’s a tad silly. This is not to say that Kobi (vocalist), Uri (bass) and Matti (rhythm guitar) aren’t awesome to watch, but Yossi kind of steals the show for me (followed closely by drummer Matan who is a true showman, given that he’s behind a kit). In any case, the band plays with great precision and passion that coupled the way that the crowd reacted.

DVDs are often made by their extras, however, and I really thought that The Road to OR-Shalem was made by the documentary and the extra songs that weren’t included. Yehuda Poliker‘s tracks with the band were very cool, and Matan’s drum solo was actually really entertaining. But the documentary was probably the most interesting. First, seeing the old footage from back when these guys were just pups (they were so little!) was definitely cool. But also, hearing them express their influences and how they came to the point where Orphaned Land went from being something pretty alright and fairly interesting to being something really amazingly unique and cool (the difference, in my opinion, between El Norra Alila and Mabool). Hearing, too, their views on religion and politics (something that was expressed in my interview with Kobi as well) was interesting. And getting to hear it expressed by all the members of the band and their Arab Muslim fans was definitely cool because it is what makes this band not only awesome but transcendent.

The Road to OR-Shalem is something that every Orphaned Land fan should probably own. It’s a really great production with a fantastic setlist, cool surprises and catches the best band in metal in 2011 at the height of their career. In a globalized world, Orphaned Land is spearheading a movement of smart, interesting metal with a very different feel from it’s Northern peers and that’s what makes it so damned special. This DVD encompasses and embodies that. It’s a very cool package, and I rarely say that about DVDs or live albums.

Related posts:

1. Orphaned Land – The Never Ending Way of ORwarriOR Review
2. Orphaned Land Post a New Track on Myspace and get Confirmed for Wacken!
3. Two Weeks Late.. but better than never..

Amorphis is a band that needs no introduction, particularly if you’ve been reading this zine for more than a few weeks. When Skyforger came out in 2009, I was fortunate enough to be able to catch it on MySpace at the time and put up a review of it on this site: it was actually one of the first things that started increasing traffic to this site. At the time that I wrote the review I was particularly laudatory of the band’s new material. Despite the wave against them because they never re-wrote The Karelian Isthmus or Tales from the Thousand Lakes again, I have been nothing but enchanted by the last three albums. They are, for lack of a better word, genius. Modern, melodic metal done with class and style, Eclipse, Silent Waters and Skyforger are three of the best album from the 2000s and have re-established the legacy of a band that has seemed to have lost its way at times.

But that’s the modern band: Amorphis is celebrating their 20 years as a band with this DVD (and live CD if I’m not mistaken) Forging the Land of Thousand Lakes. The DVD is an assemblage of two shows, some fantastic extras, including all of the band’s promo videos all the way back to “Black Winter Day” from Tales from the Thousand Lakes and a live performance of “My Kantele” and an interview on Finnish TV (with a particularly “hip” looking girl wearing a 311 shirt.. Oh 1996.. haha). There’s also a photo album, but since I’m not actually a 14 year old girl who’s in love with the band, I didn’t actually look at that. I’m assuming the pictures are flattering, however. Finally there’s an hour long documentary on the history of Amorphis that was particularly well-done and enjoyable, though I’ll get to that a bit later.

The shows are probably the place to start as they are the focus of the DVD, in reality.  The first disc is a show from Oulu, Finland and is the longer of the two set-lists included on the DVD. And this video is basically living proof of what I had already known: Tomi Joutsen is the perfect front man for Amorphis. Seriously, watching this DVD just reinforced this over and over again as he bounded around the stage, performed his vocal parts with energy, power and finesse and was an engaging individual to watch. Not only is he a great front man, but his voice acts as bridge between all the various eras of the band’s history: perfectly performing material from Tales from the Thousand Lakes, Elegy, Tuonela, Am Universum and all the new material. In fact, when performed by him on stage, a lot of that material doesn’t really sound like it should form disparate eras—instead it sounds like one cohesive band with a wide variety of influences and some great songwriting, as it should be. As Tomi Koivusaari puts it in the documentary, “Now, with Tomi aboard I’ve never felt more satisfied with the band. It felt like everything clicked.”

Of course, the rest of the band isn’t bad either. Niclas Etelävuori, the bassist, is probably the other most active guy on stage, however. Both Esa and Tomi (guitars) are pretty much lumps on a log most of the time—but fortunately for them Tomi Joutsen really picks up the slack for them. The setlists help pick up some of that slack, as well, spanning all eras and playing some great songs. Though I’d like to express my distaste for medleys (specifically the Elegy medley and the combination of “Magic and Mayhem” and “Black Winter Day” into a medley-like track), the setlist is all-in-all pleasing the fan of later Amorphis and even sneaks in “Sign from the Northside” in order to get the obligatory “career spanning” sticker for the DVD. In some ways the setlist form the Summer Breeze show on the second DVD is better because it lacks medleys, but it’s also not as broad as the Oulu show.

However, in some ways the highlight for me was actually the documentary about the history of the band documenting the band’s history and unlikely longevity (also, their propensity for drawing penises on each other’s faces while members of the band are asleep). It was fascinating for me as a fan to see how the band actually perceives their own “eclectic” career and explains the development of band through what I really see as three eras: the early days through Elegy, the rock years through Far from the Sun and the modern era: which I think overall is their best (though I certainly don’t take away from the early period at all as I love those records, too). For fans, metal history nerds and people trying to learn Finnish this documentary is about as good as I’ve seen outside of Iron Maiden‘s band history DVDs.

I should probably say something profound at the end of this (wordy as fuck) review, but I think I’ll leave it to the thoughtful (and Boromir lookalike) Esa Holopainen (guitarist and founding member) to really sum up Amorphis‘ career: “Who would have believed, back in the day, that we could get as big as we did playing such eccentric music.” Here it is 20 years later and in spite of all the weirdness, German fans protesting over Tuonela and line-up changes, Amorphis is on top of their game—producing their best music and capturing a new fanbase. Few bands have ever had the longevity and, dare I say, renaissance that Amorphis has had and I hope they have a lot more where this comes from.

Related posts:

1. Amorphis – The Beginning of Times Review
2. New Amorphis DVD Cover and Tracklisting Revealed
3. Amorphis – Magic & Mayhem Review

Forging the Land of Thousand Lakes

DVD 1:
Live in Oulu 2009
01. Silver Bride
02. Sampo
03. Towards And Against
04. The Castaway
05. Smithereens / The Smoke
06. Majestic Beast
07. Alone
08. Silent Waters
09. Divinity
10. Elegy Medley
(Against Widows / Cares / On Rich And Poor)
11. From The Heaven Of My Heart
12. Sky Is Mine
13. Magic And Mayhem / Black Winter Day
14. Sign From The North Side
15. House Of Sleep
16. My Kantele

DVD 2:
Summer Breeze Open Air 2009
01. Leaves Scar
02. Towards And Against
03. From The Heaven Of My Heart
04. Against Windows
05. The Castaway
06. Sampo
07. Silver Bride
08. Alone
09. The Smoke
10. My Kantele
11. House Of Sleep
12. Magic And Mayhem

Bonus Material:
- Tales From The 20 Years (documentary)
- Video clips:
01. Black Winter Day
02. My Kantele
03. Against Windows
04. Divinity
05. Alone
06. Evil Inside
07. House Of Sleep
08. The Smoke
09. Silent Waters
10. Silver Bride
11. From The Heaven Of My Heart
12. My Kantele (Jyrki TV show, 1996)
13. Interview (Jyrki TV show, 1996)
- Photo gallery

CD 1 – Live in Oulu 2009
(Deluxe Edition only):
01. Silver Bride
02. Sampo
03. Towards And Against
04. The Castaway
05. Smithereens / The Smoke
06. Majestic Beast
07. Alone
08. Silent Waters
09. Divinity

CD 2 – Live in Oulu 2009
(Deluxe Edition only):
01. Elegy Medley
(Against Widows / Cares / On Rich And Poor)
02. From The Heaven Of My Heart
03. Sky Is Mine
04. Magic And Mayhem / Black Winter Day
05. Sign From The North Side
06. House Of Sleep
07. My Kantele

So that’s something to look forward to, even from a guy who isn’t at all a fan of live albums in general. I really am curious to see how this turns out, to check out the bonus materials and to really dig in deep with it.

Related posts:

1. Symphony X – Iconoclast Art, Tracklisting and Release Date Revealed!
2. Amorphis – Forging the Land of Thousand Lakes Review
3. Amorphis – Magic & Mayhem Review

Blaze Bayley, for those who don’t know (where the hell have you been??) is the solo project of former Wolfsbane and Iron Maiden frontman of the same name. Honestly, this guy’s story is a true underdog story. To hear it told, he was the singer that no one wanted until he got picked up by Wolfsbane and then he was chosen to fill Bruce Dickinson’s shoes in Iron Maiden after Bruce decided he was too cool for the band. There was absolutely no way for him to win in that situation. A man with a baritone register filling Dickinson’s shoes is just ridiculous and everyone should’ve known better: but this reviewer humbly submits that X Factor is a classic record and that Virtual XI, while definitely weaker, was not weak because of Blaze, but instead because of Steve Harris’ writing and the very poor production. In fact, I’m still waiting for those two albums to be remastered.

“But how is this relevant” you may be asking yourself. Well, The Night That Will Not Die is a live record and, as such, knocks out the greatest hits from Blaze‘s underrated career. Opening with a shot, the band knocks out three great shots from from the self-released The Man Who Would Not Die and it pretty much sets the stage for the album to come. The songs on here are the songs that fans of the band have come to expect that they would get. The best of from Bayley’s BLAZE incarnation: “Stare at the Sun,” “Born as a Stranger,” “The Launch,” “Leap of Faith,” in short, pretty much all of the songs that I want to hear live. Mixed in, of course, are the Iron Maiden tracks, much-maligned by the average fan, but songs that are close to my heart. It was especially exciting to hear “Edge of Darkness” live, as that’s one of my favorite tracks from X Factor.

Finally, the band litters the album with tracks from the new album, including a track dedicated to Blaze’s late manager and significant other Debbie (“While You Were Gone”—a great track), who tragically died earlier in the year. As a fan, this was emotional for me as well, a dimension that suits the record well. While it’s not visible on the album, of course, you can see on the DVD that the show jumps up a notch when you get to the new material and the dedication. It heightens the feel of the record and, frankly, you can’t help a bit of sympathy for this man who has had some pretty hard knocks, out on the road trying to live up to her memory and the help that she gave him, when there are times when he probably wants nothing more than to sit in a dark room and mourn.

From a visual perspective, this DVD needs a lot of work. Shot with only two cameras, I just wonder if it really was best for the band to release this instead of just doing the live record. Live DVDs are tough to make interesting. Even highly funded DVDs, like the Amon Amarth 5-disc monstrosity, are boring in my opinion. To be totally honest, the only concert DVD I’ve ever seen that was really good is Iron Maiden‘s Rock in Rio. The comparison to Rock in Rio is absolutely impossible and totally unfair. Iron Maiden has the kind of money that Blaze Bayley, self-funding and pulling themselves up by their very metal bootstraps, simply could never have. But on that note, it might have been better to to avoid releasing a DVD and save that money for something else.

Therefore, this DVD has some limitations. The show is great, as stated, and aside from losing “The Launch” due to a giant cardboard cutout that some jackass was holding up in front of the camera, this show is pretty good! Blaze’s personal joy at doing this show is definitely fun to watch. The grin that breaks out on his face at times when he’s trying to pull some kind of metal face just demonstrates to me how much he loves what he does. It shows the kind of passion he’s got for this and he’s fun to watch.

Larry Paterson, the drummer (and apparently author of a bunch of books on German U-boats), is also very fun to watch. He seems to really be enjoying himself and is only upstaged by David Bermudez who is a fucking beast onstage. That guy is a total pro and he almost upstages the man himself! He is about as metal as it gets and it is really, really great to see that kind of energy and enthusiasm on stage. However, both guitarists need to step it the hell up. A lot of their stagecraft looked really forced and, frankly, like they were bored out of their minds for a good portion of the material. They did peak up a bit when they were playing the new material, so I guess part of it is probably that they don’t like being a “cover band,” but c’mon guys! It’s a damn DVD! Spice it up a little bit!

The final question for long-time fans of the band will be, of course, “does it live up to As Live As it Gets?” In it’s own way, definitely. I think the live record is definitely in the running. This is not the same band, and sure, they don’t have Andy Sneap in their pocket (a damn shame), but with the addition of the new songs this record is quite good and cohesive. As a fan, you should definitely pick it up because you won’t be disappointed. It also is a great way to showcase the new material to old fans, which I think is important. I know of many old fans who were so disillusioned by the crumbling of the old band that they didn’t even bother to check out The Man Who Would Not Die. This record definitely shows that the new material stands shoulder-to-shoulder with the older material, even if it isn’t the same band.

Frankly, this record makes me excited for a future for Blaze Bayley, which after the dissolution of BLAZE, I wasn’t looking forward to new material. But once again, and apparently thanks to the woman who this CD & DVD are dedicated to, Mr. Bayley is back in the saddle and knocking out good material. I await the new album, 2010 and to know what’s happened since we last left our hero…

Related posts:

1. Blaze Working on New Record and Featured in New Book
2. New Blaze Bayley Record
3. Blaze Bayley: At the End of the Day – Lawrence Paterson (Book Review)