Orphaned Land at the Gramercy Theatre

Kobi Farhi

Kobi Farhi was born in the ancient port city of Jaffa, Israel, amidst a heterogeneous population of Jews, Christians, and Muslims. As a youth, Farhi discovered oriental and world music through his family, and also a love for heavy metal music through his friends. With his high school friends in 1991, Farhi formed Resurrection, a band that injected metal into Israeli and Arabic sounds. In 1992, the band became Orphaned Land. The band 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), and Idan Amsalem (guitars/bouzouki). Orphaned Land's fifth and most recent album is 2013's All Is One; the band has scheduled its sixth album, Unsung Prophets & Dead Messiahs, for release on January 26, 2018.

Can heavy metal be a vehicle through which peace is sought? Farhi's lyrics promote a message of peace and unity, particularly between the three main Abrahamic religions (Judaism, Islam, and Christianity). At the Gramercy Theatre tonight, Orphaned Land's first New York concert in seven years, Farhi went as far as asking if there were any Arab Muslims in the audience and then asked them their country of origin, welcoming them into this vision for global peace on the anniversary of the September 11 terror attacks. With upbeat messages and uptempo rhythms, the band tore into "Ocean Land", "The Simple Man", "All Is One" and other hard-edged songs led by Farhi's alternating smooth and harsh vocals. Halfway through the performance, Orphaned Land was joined by Shlomit Levi, an Israeli singer of Yemenite culture, who added wordless vocal melodies to several songs. This metal was a celebration of the good, as the band rocked with a celestial element of peace and hope.

Visit Orphaned Land at www.orphaned-land.com.

Setlist

1. Ocean Land (The Revelation)
2. The Simple Man
3. All Is One
4. Let The Truce Be Known
5. Barakah
6. The Kiss of Babylon (The Sins)
7. Brother
8. Birth of the Three (The Unification)
9. Olat Ha'tamid
10. Sapari
11. El Meod Na'Ala
12. In Thy Never Ending Way

Encore:

1. Halo Dies (The Wrath of God)
2. Norra el Norra (Entering the Ark) / Ornaments of Gold