Just before the beginning of their next European tour, ORPHANED LAND made a quick stop at Tel Aviv's "Reading 3" club for a show described by them as a tribute to the iconic band's classic album from 1988. The show also featured extreme Metal outfit HAMMER CULT as the opening act. Special guest appearances were made by singer Yochai Davidof, Guitarist Guy Eliahu, long time guest singer Shlomit Levi and keyboard player Nina Kramer.
By any standard, ORPHANED LAND is a special phenomenon. An underground band with a solid following in their homeland Israel including people who grew up with the band and now bring their children to shows, and also a name to be reckoned with in many Middle Eastern countries. I personally feel a special happiness when on my way to a show I spot a fan that is clearly also going to that same show, and that happened quite a few times on Tuesday night.
As a long time IRON MAIDEN fan, I was really excited about the idea of musicians as talented as ORPHANED LAND preforming "Seventh Son of the Seventh Son" in its whole. Indeed, ORPHANED LAND's performance of the album was full of respect and love. Nevertheless the decision to present the whole evening as a tribute show wasn't clear, considering that the evening began with 45 minute long warm up by HAMMER CULT, followed by an hour of original material ORPHANED LAND than after one hour and 45 minutes "Seventh Son" was played, and then another full hour of original material concluded the evening. To put it simple, only one fifth of the evening was dedicated to IRON MAIDEN. A true disappointment because two hours of original material is not what anyone has in mind when going to a tribute show. The MAIDEN part of the evening was really good. With Yochai Davidoff supporting Kobi Farchi on songs in which Bruce Dickinson's operatic vocal qualities shine, and local guitar hero Guy Eliahu also lending his talent and showmanship on three songs, I couldn't help but feel the evening's didn't utilize its' potential to the fullest.
In conclusion, the show felt like a cool pilot for the real thing. Also, a big thumbs up to the "Reading 3" club that once again proved to be one of the few places in Israel that handles beautifully the sound needs of Heavy Metal bands.
