Orphaned Land & Amaseffer – Kna'an album review

Progressive Israelis Orphaned Land and Amaseffer reach a biblical level of boredom with new album

Orphaned Land and Amaseffer, 'Kna'an' album cover

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This collaboration between two fine Israeli progressive metal acts was born when director Walter Wayers sought a soundtrack for Kna’an, a new play he’d written about the biblical story of Abraham, the man who became the first Hebrew.

Orphaned Land’s Kobi Farhi and Erez Yohanan of Amaseffer agreed to pool forces, but alas, in attempting to breathe new life to a tale of such immense gravitas, they’ve played disappointingly safe.

Though The Angel Of The Lord and A Dove Without Her Wings are sparse and inviting, seven timid and mainly short tracks waft on by before we reach There Is No God For Ishma’el and three minutes of what can only be described as heavy metal in the loosest possible sense. Three further songs come and go before the tempo rises again with the taut jaggedness of Akeda. Kna’an is at times rather beautiful, but it’s too ballad-heavy and fragmented for its own good.

Dave Ling

Dave Ling was a co-founder of Classic Rock magazine. His words have appeared in a variety of music publications, including RAW, Kerrang!, Metal Hammer, Prog, Rock Candy, Fireworks and Sounds. Dave’s life was shaped in 1974 through the purchase of a copy of Sweet’s album ‘Sweet Fanny Adams’, along with early gig experiences from Status Quo, Rush, Iron Maiden, AC/DC, Yes and Queen. As a lifelong season ticket holder of Crystal Palace FC, he is completely incapable of uttering the word ‘Br***ton’.