KARLA TALLAS - GOING IN DEPTH KOBI FARHI & CHEN BALBUS | Page 3

Photo by Zoharon Photography
the uncompromising rules of society, opening the
eyes and changing the minds of blood enemies by
showing different views and ways of thinking and
spreading peace, humanity and friendship through
the music and philosophy they are all devoted to.
created, underlined by the charismatic personality
of front man Kobi Farhi and the band’s mission on
top of it all. They’ve gained a lot of respect from fans,
media, people from spheres far from the metal/
rock scene and other respected music colleagues
and artists from different genres. ORPHANED
LAND is the most popular band from the Middle
East. Their work has been already praised with
3 Peace awards, including the Friendship and
Peace Award the band received from Turkish
Government even though the 2 countries have no
diplomatic connection. Their thankful fans started
an online petition in 2012 and nominated these
Middle Eastern ambassadors, uniting people no
matter their religious beliefs or the background
they come from, for the Nobel Peace Prize. The
petition has been signed by thousands of people
from all over the world since then. ORPHANED
LAND are also the proud holders of several music
awards and winners of the Global Metal Band of
the year 2014.
The band went through several lineup changes
throughout the years. The most significant one
happened in 2011 with the departure of one of
the founding members and lead guitarist Yossi
Sassi. He was replaced by the generation-younger,
creative and talented Chen Balbus, who helped
to bring the band to another level thanks to his
interest and use of modern technologies.
ORPHANED LAND is not a band cranking out
album after album every year. They take their time
to work things out in the most sophisticated way.
Every album confirms their growth as musicians,
but also as human beings. This is thanks to their
origins and roots and the unique genre they have
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