Think big, cinematic soundscapes with an eastern-tinged mix of world music
and ethnic folk elements delivered on a platform of progressive metal. Think
choirs, philharmonic orchestras, flutes, tablas, mixed male and female vocals,
spoken-voice actors, and found sounds depicting a historic storyline.
Think "rock opera".
Exodus - Slaves For Life is Israeli metal with mid-eastern ethnic themes and traditional Israeli folk music
inserts – some stylized in the metal music, others pure. It is heavy, brooding,
very "filmic", somber, and emotional. It's an interesting blend of hard rock,
metal, and symphonic progressive rock, all laid over a dark storyline based in
biblical history. So it's no surprise that the band has been invited to score
movies.
Amaseffer is an Israeli threesome who recruited guest artists to help build
the huge sounds that tell the story of Exodus - Slaves For Life. Most
notable is Mats Leven (Therion, Malmsteen) who sings powerful, lead vocals
delivered with passion and a great range of moods. Another important
guest is Kobi Farhi (Orphaned Land) who performs all of the traditionally-styled
Israeli vocals. And that's significant, because one of the first listening
impressions is the similarity with compatriots Orphaned Land. Just for fun. play
it and Orphaned Land's Mabool back to back to appreciate the different
applications of a similar idea. The style of the two bands' music is different,
but they share the format of epic old-testament storytelling, and the blend of
metal with Israeli folk music. The variety in Amaseffer's record is (believe it or not)
more pronounced, and it's cleaner – with almost none of Orphaned Land's death
growls.
This is to be the first part of a trilogy depicting stories from the old
testament. and as the title indicates, part-1 is about Moses and the exodus from
Egypt. Production is good, there's more than an hour and a quarter of music with
three tracks running past 11 minutes and two around 9 minutes, and it comes in a slim digipack. The only
death growls come courtesy of Arch Enemy's Angela Gossow (one song). "Burning
Bush" by contrast is a power ballad, and the foreign (Hebrew?) language female
vocals in songs like "Zipporah" are particularly pleasing. "The Wooden Staff" is
a 9-minute (basically) instrumental piece featuring a deep driving rhythm, and
extended, stirring guitar solos. Those spoken voice-overs add a lot of impact to the
storyline, but you might find they get old after a while, and mitigate against
enjoying multiple replays.
The album ends the way it started, with deep foreign language spoken voice.
Exodus - Slaves For Life is pompous, presumptuous, and bombastic, and an
absolute listening pleasure. So submerge yourself in the music and let Amaseffer
take you on an emotional
roller coaster ride through biblical history.
Track Listing:
1. Sorrow
2. Slaves For Life
3. Birth Of Deliverance
4. Midian
5. Zipporah
6. Burning Bush
7. The Wooden Staff
8. Return To Egypt
9. Ten Plagues
10.Land Of The Dead
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