It’s Cooper’s choice tonight on Metal Hammer of Doom, as he, Mark Radulich and Jesse Starcher review the latest from Orphaned Land. Unsung Prophets & Dead Messiahs!

Orphaned Land is an Israeli heavy metal band, formed in 1991 under the name Resurrection (changing their name in 1992 to the current name), that combines Jewish, Arabic, and other West Asian influences. They are considered ‘The pioneers of Oriental Metal'[by whom?]. The band has gone through several lineup changes over the years, but has retained two of the founding members, Kobi Farhi (vocals) and Uri Zelcha (bass). They are joined by Matan Shmuely (drums), Chen Balbus (guitar/keyboard) who replaced co-founding member Matti Svatizky in 2012, and Idan Amsalem (guitars/bouzouki) who replaced co-founding member Yossi Sassi in early 2014. Their lyrics promote a message of peace and unity, particularly between the three main Abrahamic religions (Judaism, Islam, and Christianity).

Metal Hammer of Doom: Orphaned Land: Unsung Prophets & Dead Messiahs Review

About Metal Hammer of Doom

Mark Radulich, Robert Cooper, and former superfan turned host Jesse Starcher review the latest metal, industrial and southern rock albums. Each show focuses on one new release each week. We listen to a portion of every track on the album and then give our ratings. Hilarity normally ensues.

Jesse Starcher

Podcasts are one of the greatest mediums ever. 10 years ago Jesse found himself driving back and forth to work with over an hour of travel time. Talk radio became something that he enjoyed and helped kill time during the commute. The problem was NPR never stayed completely interesting and his only other options were the ESPN network and the local channel that hosted religious programming. Always the same show… at the same time. It was pretty limited. About three years ago he discovered Podcasts and it changed how he spent much of his time. It opened up options to great niche content that he never even knew was available. After that, he got his first podcast gig on the From the Cheap Seats sports podcast with Jayson Teasley and became a co-host shortly after that.

His real passion, however, was comics. He managed to talk Mark Radulich into letting him do the network’s premier comic book podcast Source Material. This would give him a platform to chat with friends about one of his favorite hobbies. A tremendous opportunity. Also, recently Jesse has worked his way into becoming the third co-host, alongside Mark Radulich and Robert Cooper, of the Metal Hammer of Doom podcast. He loves music and a podcast about heavy-metal right up his alley.