Orphaned Land "Sahara"

Orphaned Land is an Israeli heavy metal band, formed in 1991 under the name Resurrection (changing their name in 1992 to the current name), that combines Jewish, Arabic, and other West Asian influences. They are considered 'The pioneers of Oriental Metal'. The band has gone through several lineup changes over the years, but has retained two of the founding members, Kobi Farhi (vocals) and Uri Zelcha (bass). They are joined by Matan Shmuely (drums), Chen Balbus (guitar/keyboard) 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 (Judaism, Islam, and Christianity).

The band got its name from a song called רוחות מלחמה (Hebrew for "Winds of War") by the Israeli singer Yehuda Poliker.

In 1997 Orphaned Land fell into hibernation when the band members had to deal with the harsh reality in their homeland of Israel. After all these years of silence the band members felt that the way to come back was starting with three shows under the motto 'The Calm Before the Flood'. The first took place in Istanbul, Turkey on 2001. The second was a show in Tel Aviv on 2002, and the last one an acoustic set that was recorded and included as 5-track bonus-CD on the first pressing of Mabool.

For their live performances Orphaned Land works with many belly dancers. In 2011, during the band performance at the Hellfest music festival in France, 22-year-old French-resident Lebanese belly dancer Johanna Fakhry raised the Lebanese flag alongside the Israeli flag on stage. Since the incident, Johanna Fakhry has received death threats and is afraid of visiting Lebanon.

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 (Martini remix - Hangis Han)" 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.

Track listing

1. "The Sahara's Storm" – 7:59
2. "Blessed Be Thy Hate" – 9:25
3. "Ornaments of Gold" – 7:08
4. "Aldiar Al Mukadisa" – 3:15 (Translated: Holy Land)
5. "Seasons Unite" – 8:30
6. "The Beloved's Cry" – 4:33
7. "My Requiem" – 8:27
8. "Orphaned Land - The Storm Still Rages Inside..." – 9:10

Digipak bonus tracks

1. "Above You All" − 4:57
2. "Pits of Despair" − 4:20
3. "The Beloved's Cry (Martini remix - Hangis Han)" − 10:05

The album is divided into two parts:

Part I: Sahara (tracks 1-4)

Part II: The Beloveds Cry (tracks 5-8)

2-LP version released in February 2012 limited to 999 copies (333 gold, 333 white-splatter and 333 black vinyl) including two bonus tracks:

1. Above You All
2. Pits of Despair

Recording information:

Recorded at Sigma Studio, Tel Aviv, Israel, June 1994.

Executive producers: Holy Records, Orphaned Land and Asaf Bar-Lev.

Co-mixed and produced by Orphaned Land.

Logo by Uri Zelcha and Kobi Farhi

Photos by Gil Pasternak

Cover: The Blue Mosque, Istanbul, Turkey