Interview with Orphaned Land guitarist Matti Svatizky

Matti Svatizky, guitarist with the Israeli metal band Orphaned Land took some time out of his busy schedule to speak with me about the bands fourth and newest release, The Never Ending Way of ORwarriOR. Orphaned land play a brand of music that I would describe as an intriguing mix of many different styles including Progressive, Death and Doom metal all intermingled with a heavy Middle Eastern influence. I had never heard of these guys before and I must admit I thoroughly enjoyed this disc; it is heavy at times, it is melodic at other times and it gets under your skin pretty darn quick. The band is getting ready to hit the road in support of this CD and they will be playing dates in North America and Turkey. Here is what Svatizky had to say about the band, the new CD, Orphaned Land and the upcoming tour.

Now that your brand new CD, The Never Ending Way of ORwarriOR, is set for release how do you feel about it? Are you satisfied with the outcome?
Matti: Yes, we are satisfied very much. Some fans may disagree, but we are sure that it is the best work we have done so far. We have put many hours into the pre-production stage and in the studio itself, worked with very good artists (violins, flute, percussion and more), put much thought in the CD’s visual layout, so I think that anyone that can appreciate music and has some connection to the style will love it as well.

What was the writing process like for this CD? Did you guys all write together? How long did it take?
Matti: We usually write and brainstorm together. Naturally, there’s a lot of individual work at home, and some members are more dominant than others in this field, but we put much attention into filtering stuff and to the arrangement for all the instruments, and this is usually done in sessions we make. We all put ideas into it. It is very important for each one of us to be creative and contribute something from themselves into the music.

Give us some insight into the record and the meaning behind its title?
Matti: The name “Orwarrior” is a combination of two words, “Or” and “warrior.” The meaning of the word “Or” in Hebrew is “light,” and the meaning of the word “warrior” we all know. The word “Or” is a very significant word in Orphaned Land’s history. It hides in the band’s name, and in general, light is something which represents positivity and hope, and this is the essence of the band’s message. The album is a concept story album, and it tells the story of the warrior of light as if he is a person, because he is actually something more abstract then this, he is more like a being which lives inside any of us. The album tells his journey on his way to “enlightenment” and beyond.

The name of the band Orphaned Land is interesting to say the least and sounds as if there is a story behind it. Where did the name come from and what is the story?
Matti: The band started its way under the name “Resurrection,” and was active under this name for about a year. Than a big change in our musical style came, and with it the need to change the whole image, name included (the fact that there was another band using this name was known, but irrelevant to the decision). We looked for a name and started to come up with ideas, until one day we found the phrase “Orphaned Land” in the lyrics of a song of a famous Israeli singer, Yehuda Poliker. In the beginning it felt a little weird, because it is not a very conventional name for a death metal band, but we liked its doomy atmosphere and sad connotation it had, so we decided to stick with it.

This name holds a lot in it, and it can be viewed from different perspectives. Israelis instantly think that the name describes Israel, because we feel as Israelis, in many ways, Orphaned, we sometimes feel misunderstood, and feel that the world sees us as aggressors without understanding the depth of the problems we are sunk in. Other fans can see the land as the earth, and it is by many means orphaned, and all in all there is a feeling of aloneness in this world, like nobody is really watching. These are all true, and there are more angles in which you can interpret the name, but time is short for them all.

What is the Heavy Metal scene like in Israel?
Matti: It’s a great scene. There are lots of good bands here that are searching for their breakthrough, but for some reason they don’t find it as much as European and American bands do, and it’s not just a matter of quality. The geographical separation, as well as the fact that there is a 3 year compulsory army service, combining the fact that behind any band there has to be good management and right decision making, makes all the great bands here unknown abroad.

How has the band matured since you first started recording together?
Matti: We have matured very much together. We started up as 16 year old high school kids that just picked up instruments, and finished as a professional band with tours around the world and dozens of fans. We went through many personal experiences, listened to many musical styles; all those things make you more mature even when it comes to your approach towards music.

This is your fourth full length release, do you spend a lot of time trying to vary the music or is it something that just come about naturally?
Matti: We work really hard in putting in the album only the best stuff we write, and not just anything that comes up. We have a lot of criticism about what we do, and we have the drive to make something that people will like more than our former releases.

Do you have any touring plans made yet?
Matti: We have two tours coming up this year: a North American tour which starts on September 8th and ends on October 7th supporting Katatonia, and a full European tour supporting Amorphis in November. We also have some scheduled shows in Turkey in December, and other things may pop out on the way as well.

Any plans you hit the States?
Matti: Yes, well, we’re hitting the States this September/October. We also had a mini tour in the States a few months ago, it was really cool.

Any closing words?
Matti: I just want to thank our fans for supporting us and sticking with us. We’ll try not to disappoint you and deliver another good album real soon. Have a great time and thanks for the interview, see you soon!  [ END ]