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Live Reviews : Orphaned Land, Voyager & Orsome Welles @ The Factory Theatre, Sydney 20/03/2014

By on March 21, 2014

It was back to The Factory Theatre last night for more metal. As I have obsessed about the place quite a few times before, I personally love the Factory for it’s layout and space and it certainly was the perfect venue for the line up last night. ‘All is One’ was on full volume , blaring from where the merch stands were and fans were gathered outside, everyone anticipating the first time tour of the Israeli metal veterans.

First band of the night were the awesome Orsome Welles. Here I stress yet again oh good people, NEVER MISS THE SUPPORTS. The first thing that appealed to me about this five piece outfit from Melbourne was the sheer uniqueness and unpredictability of their music. By unpredictibility here, I really do mean, you have no idea what to expect because with every song, there was a creative tweak to the stereotypical genres of progressive metal, hard rock and elements of classic thrown in as well. To put it quite simply, Orsome Welles have a really funky avant-garde groove to their sound and it’s beyond catchy! This was the band’s debut show in Sydney but that was certainly not the impression I got! Sound was tops and the band had an undeniably charismatic stage presence and energy, one of the guitarists doing mid-air guitar jumps, vocalist Michael Stowers leading the band with his crisp and husky vocals and the band just generally having a good time doing what they love. Definitely one to keep an eye and ear out for, given their creative approach to music, they deserve all the support they can get!

Up next, were a band I was really looking forward  to having heard great things about them. Someone mentioned ‘80’s synth pop meets heavy metal’ and my instant thought was, that’s something I haven’t come across yet, I can’t wait!  As of last night, I’m so stoked I did! Coming all the way from Perth, and this being my first time seeing them live,  I was excited seeing main man Daniel Estrin come on stage armed with his bright red key-tar. I need to rave a little about his voice. The man is gifted. From soothing cleans on  their hit single ‘Breaking Down’ to his occasional guttural growls, Dani brings an element of versatility to the music of Voyager. Following the huge success of their ‘I am Voyager’ kick starter campaign, Voyager clearly has a lot of fans, with quite a roaring applause after every track, covering tracks from their previous albums. One of my absolute favourite parts of the set was when the band so enthusiastically did an unexpected, insane medley of some classic tunes like ‘Eye Of The Tiger’, ‘Kung Fu Fighting’ ‘Crazy Frog’ among others with their own proggy-pop twist to it, something that they’re known for. Simone , Scott and Alex were beasting their respective guitars, like it was child’s play while drummer Ashley Doodkorte elegantly went apeshit on his kit. Fangirl of facial hair moment: I love what’s going on with his mustache/side-beard. Suits the technical prowess of his drumming! The whole band sounded so tight, culminating so effortlessly, the synth sounds of pop with heavy, technical and progressive riffs. They have an amazing chemistry on stage, and you can clearly see that they love what they do and have fun doing it, fun being the perfect way to describe the awesomeness that is Voyager.

And at long last, it was time for the Middle Eastern metallers Orphaned Land who graced our shores for the very first time. With the classic middle eastern intro of ‘Through Fire and Water’ filling the atmosphere, one by one, members of Orphaned Land appeared on stage in a most magnificent fashion and two minutes later, literally sailing on stage in all his Israeli robe glory, Kobi made his presence felt, bowing to the crowd and doing a little jig along with the music, something he kept doing throughout. The band has such a warm presence and you feel so at home with them. Not only are they one of the best metal bands around, but they’re also rather entertaining. Kobi occasionally picked up his mic stand, waving it around or guitaring on ot, with the charming Matan Shmuely beating the living bejesus out of his drums. If anyone can ace some fancy drumstick twirls mid song it’s him! Uri and Matti were more of the silent killer types, calm and yet causing a riot on their guitars. This being their ‘All is One’ world tour in support of their 2013 release, there were many songs off the album played throughout the night such as, ‘The Simple Man, ‘Let The Truce Be Known’, and of course ‘All Is One’. When performing ‘All is One’, Kobi asked if we understood what it meant, pointing out all the different nationalities of the fans gathered under one roof . “ It’s the religion of heavy metal that brings us together!” And I couldn’t agree more. Right at that moment, my passion for the world of metal and everything it has to bring, seemed to make so much sense, more than ever. For those of you who know what it means to be a part of the metal brotherhood, not just a fan of the music but connecting with it as an individual, nothing even remotely comes close. Along with a couple of songs off ‘ The Never Ending Way of ORWarriOR’, the band were also celebrating the ten year anniversary of my favourite Orphaned Land album ‘Mabool’, bringing out the enticing lyrics in Hebrew and Arabic. “ I’m Jewish. So I’ll make you a deal” said the frontman, with a cheeky smirk, before teaching us the rhythm to “The Kiss Of Babylon”, and the Sydney siders wholeheartedly bringing the roof down singing along with Kobi to the chorus. It was such an elevating experience to be a part of true metal worship.

Live review aside for a second I’ll tell you another reason that this band is worth the watch and everything else. It’s more than just attending a gig, listening to good music and appreciating the band. Watching Orphaned Land was something of a spiritual musical experience and in many ways I felt a peace come over me in a matter of seconds. From the start, Kobi had the audience in the grasp of his enlightening, mysterious aura, engaging in words of wisdom and humor with the Sydney crowd. During one of the songs, he sat down on his carpet and asked for hummus much to the delight of a few foodies such as myself in the audience. Chen, the guitarist, has the most angelic smile I’ve ever seen on a person, he kept smiling throughout their set, getting people all psyched, encouraging more claps, headbangs and stomps. Kobi is a man of few words but the few that were spoken were nothing short of inspirational and intelligent. Asking the crowd if we had heard about the Arab-Israeli Conflict, with obvious reactions of inappreciation Kobi declared that it was all bullshit. That was not what got me. It’s the explanation that followed and this is something I wanted everyone to know. He goes on to say that Orphaned Land are Israelis, people who historically are said to be the sons of Isaac and the Arabs , the sons of Ishmael, both of whom are sons of Abraham. “So technically we’re f***ing brothers”. With a tear or two streaming down my face, this beautiful band, broke into the soft ballad of ‘Brother’ a song they dedicated to their Arab brothers. That is one moment I will never forget! As a customary tease before the encore, the band left the stage, only to come back on to an even more psyched crowd. Australia is the 40th country that Orphaned Land has performed at and as per their tradition, everyone was asked to jump along to the tunes of ‘In Thy Never Ending Way’ . The ground of the Factory shook threateningly and it felt so good.

You know the real beauty of Orphaned Land though? It’s their ability to pull together religions and religious views in the spirit of metal without preaching and through their peace-loving nature. Hailing from an area that is war-torn and dangerous, this band really make you think about the why’s and how’s of life. Their music has the power to bring people of all cultures together defying all political and social norms. With an incredibly rich and traditional sound, the lads from the land of Israel, were flawless live given that ‘All Is One’ features more than just the four musicians on the album. The fusion of the hypnotic middle eastern tunes with heavy melodic riffs, creating the beautiful genre of Oriental metal, as invented by them, is enough to leave you in a total trance. Needless to say, it was an absolutely fantastic night, the night that was Orphaned Land.

About

Prarthana is a vegan, Indo-Aussie, heavy music addict, fluent in sarcasm and metal. Traveling is an obsession as she enjoys taking in the history of various countries and following her favorite bands. She's either eating, teaching grammar or learning an instrument, when not occupied with windmilling in the faces of other humans.