AMASEFFER

This one is a behemoth. "Slaves for Life" by Israel's AMASEFFER is a 77-minute progressive/orchestral metal/rock album about the plight of the Israeli people as told in the Old Testament. Part one of a planned trilogy, it is mind boggling to think that AMASEFFER has two whole albums left in them to tell this intricately woven tale.

The prime time players are Hanan Avramovich (guitars),Yuval Kramer (guitars),and Erez Yohanan (drums, percussion, narrator). Mats Leven (ex-YNGWIE MALMSTEEN) is credited with lead vocals and Kobi Farhi "oriental vocals," while ARCH ENEMY's Angela Gossow makes a heart-stopping guest appearance on "Midian". Together the players weave a rich musical tapestry and a detailed account of the struggles of the Israeli people in Egypt at the hands of Pharaoh, which is beautifully presented in the packaging, the main point of reference being the Book of Exodus in the Bible. "World music" indeed, the instrumentation is phenomenal, working more like a film score than a collection of individual songs, and that is exactly the way it must be heard to be fully appreciated. The Middle Eastern sounds are particularly arresting, the breathtaking female vocals of Maya Avraham on "Zipporah" in a duet with Leven one of the album's shining moments. Her performance on the track will cause you to stop whatever you're doing and listen with rapt attention no matter how many times you hear it.

The mesmerizing flute playing of Amir Gvirtzman, the serene acoustic passages, the choral arrangements, the variety of vocal treatments, the narration, the cinematic touches (the sound of horses galloping, etc),there is just so much to take in on "Slaves for Life". It is essential that you clear your schedule and give this one the time it deserves and then realize that two, three, or even four spins of the disc will be nowhere near enough to get your head around "Slaves for Life".

The only thing missing from this otherwise brilliant journey through history is the lack of true blue hooks. Melody flows like a river and lush instrumentation abounds, yet there is very little in the way of repeating melodic refrains that rattle around in the skull for hours afterward. Even though the intent is to create a cinematic musical experience (and AMASEFFER has done so with stunning success),"Slaves for Life" would go from very good to outstanding with a couple of familiar choruses or hooky refrains. It seems so inconsequential to make the point, as one hates to criticize such a masterful album, yet it is the one and only aspect of the disc that stuck with me every time I spun it. A 77-minute album is a lot to absorb and even without the big melodic refrains, it still works amazingly well, just not as well as it could. Does that make it anything less than an impressive work of art? Absolutely not. It just keeps it from being a truly classic album. That issue aside, you've got every reason to add this album to your collection and if you are a lover of all things progressive, then "Slaves for Life" is mandatory listening.