Since Hops started things off with a bang, I—your humble
Mosh—figure I couldn’t let the bang die just yet. You’ve already been given a treat with a
multi-review, so how ‘bout another? Only,
I don’t want to overload your brew sensibilities, so how about a nice local (to
Israel) brew, and then a double dose o’ metal? Sounds good? Yea—no? GTFO, you know you want it.
THE BEER - GOLDSTAR
So, this review is
going to be broken into two parts: the draft and the bottle. By the end, it’s clear why (and why would you
argue with me anyway?)
Draft - 8.5
Goldstar is the local beer here in Israel. Every bar seems to have it, and everyone
seems to drink it. Labeled as “Our
Original Taste…”, Goldstar makes me think that Israel might have something
going on. Goldstar is a dark lager. There is a slightly dry sharpness to it, and
the bitterness present in a lot of lagers is not found in Goldstar. It’s not a very full-bodied beer, neither
does it taste like it is watered down in any way. This mildness, tempered with its sharp, dry
nature allows for an easier consumption of multiple pints (myself, my boss, and
one of my co-workers knocked out four or five pints in one sitting once we
arrived in Israel). Also of note: this is a good barbeque beer. Believe it or not, there are quite a few
American styled grills in Israel, and the perfect companion to some killer
wings or a behemoth burger is definitely Goldstar.
But, wait! There’s more!
Bottle - 6
What the hell?? Who
gave me Budweiser (if that offends you, then you need to pay really close
attention to everything we say…ever)? Goldstar—when poured from a bottle—while retaining its body and smooth
(maybe) consistency, gains a bitterness. This bitterness, coupled with the sharpness, make it very uneasy
drinking for a picky beer drinker. And
that, honestly, ruins it. The bottle
gives it a cheap domestic Americana taste, and it doesn’t pair well with
anything. Give me back my draft!!
**I spoke to the clerk at the music store (see below review)
and he says that the above is pretty much how Israel feels about Goldstar. It is a great beer; better draft than from
the bottle. And, I quote, “In Israel, we
sit around and complain about how bad everything is, but Goldstar is
great: no complaining!”
Okay, so in keeping with the Israeli theme, here’s a good
band to check out while you’re consuming that Goldstar: Orphaned Land. For those of you that don’t know who Orphaned
Land are, they are a progressive metal band out of Israel (uh, duh…sorry). Orphaned Land are progressive metal with
death elements (vocals and some—but not much—music) and a lot of Middle Eastern
musical elements interwoven. Their
albums are usually concept albums, revolving around usually Jewish and Muslim
themes. Today, we’re going to take a
look at two of their albums—their most recent, "The Neverending Way of ORwarriOR" and "Mabool: The Story of the Three Sons
of Seven". Holy hell, that was a mouthful!
"Mabool: The Story
of the Three Sons of Seven" - 8.5
Ok, so these guys seem a bit pretentious at first, but once
you get past the long-winded title, there’s some real meat to this. “Mabool” is
a very tight progressive album. Its
longest song clocks in at around 9:20, so there’s no listing to be found within
the confines of this album. Even though
there never seems to be a lot going
on, what we have throughout this album are some very tight riffs as well as hook-laden
songs. These songs are very structurally
diverse: the story of the flood is woven
together with two sets of distinct vocals (powerful and predominant clean
vocals offset by pissed-off-God-like vocal growling) and an interesting use of
keyboards (at times very much background melodies, other times the driving
force of the songs). At times, “Mabool”
comes off feeling like an early Dream Theater album, at other times it drifts
into the “What if Max Cavelera and Mikael Åkerfeldt had an Israeli love child?”
territory. Like any good cultural album,
this one makes good use of Middle Eastern rhythms, and a female singing in the
native tongue. All of this lends to the
depth of the Mabool album. My only complaint is that the death vocals
could be a little more frequent (God is pissed at this point in time, after
all).
*Standout Tracks: A Call to Awake, The Kiss of Babylon
"The Neverending Way of ORwarriOR" - 8
So, for the second round, we have …ORwarriOR. Yes, just
because they didn’t want to be any less pretentious with their title this time
around. Once again, we have a tight
progressive metal concept album, this time telling the story of God’s chosen
warrior. We still have a good use of
riffs and hooks, but this time around there is more of a precise feel of the
rhythm in the times changes, and song shifts. It is slightly reminiscent of Opeth. The middle eastern elements shine through more in the melodies and
instrumentals on this album. Even though
it starts to lose focus a little past the middle mark, Orphaned Land manage to
bring themselves back for an explosive finish.
Oh, did I say that Mabool
didn’t use the growls enough? Well, …ORwarrOR fixes that. The vocal balance is actually nicely perched
in the middle of the scale. There is a
definite balance vocally on the album. For a nice bonus, the tour edition that I picked up out here comes with
a bonus disc with one new song, two demos, and two instrumental workings.
*Standout Tracks: Operation: Uprising, From Broken Vessels
****A big thank you
goes to Arye, at The Eighth Note (Hatav Hasmini). He found the Orphaned Land cd’s for me and
gave me his insight on Goldstar. So, I’d
like to leave you with another of Arye’s quotes: “It’s easy to be despot in small
country.” So true, Arye, so true. Remember folks, keep
your despotism small, and you’ll easily conquer your own little world.
- Mosh
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