Israel’s ORPHANED LAND pioneered Middle Eastern metal music and the band just completed a North American stint with SUIDAKRA that included two high profile SXSW performances.

Their fourth studio opus, The Never Ending Way of ORwarriOR, is a sophisticated concept album taking the band’s unique brand of exotic, heavy music to soaring new heights in terms of complexity and catchiness.

The new video for the track 'Sapari' has garnered major praise, and it was definitely an ambitious shoot. A detailed look into the making of the video can be viewed now below.

Kobi (vocals) further describes the meaning behind this ambitious clip: “With the video clip, we are trying to reflect this inner search of a man and his spirit. The actor, Matti Atlas, was filmed in a room, sitting in a box, writing scared stuff. This is the exact way they used to sit and write in the old days in Yemen. He is writing… searching. At one point, he starts to freak out; to write on the walls, on his body, getting even possessed in a way. He is alone, confused, searching for answers and meaning, just as we all are.

Sapari (means ‘tell me’ in hebrew) is a 17th century poem written by Sa'adia ben Amram, a jewish Poet who lived in Yemen back then. The song is a duet between the poet and his soul. The poet seeks for his soul and asks her where is ‘she'. The soul, described as a dove in the song, answers that she is at the high chamber, heavens, preparing herself to wear the shape of a human body. In a way, this song reflects the inner search that every human is going through. W e are getting to know our self more and more each and every day, and our journey here is far from being easy.”

The Never Ending Way Of ORwarriOR was mixed by Steven Wilson, who is also responsible for several keyboard parts on the new album. The time has come for Middle Eastern metal to take over.

More on Orphaned Land at this location.