Torture Tunes
The music business is a rather tricky industry. Some bands that don't appear that technically talented sometimes end up in the right place at the right time and becoming huge stars while other bands are on the road constantly trying to perfect their sound and never end up making it. In the realm of power metal it is even rougher than it is in other genres. There have been an astoundingly large amount of bands who, no matter their level of talent, that recorded an album or two years ago and called it quits without ever really getting the recognition they've sought after. Every now and then you will discover a band that truly persevered in the face of diversity. Orden Ogan out of Germany is definitely one of those bands.
Having formed in 1996 and not having an actual independent release until 8 years later it appear as though Orden Ogan were going to be one of those bands that history completely wrote off. However the band would not give up without a fight. Eventually they would begin to hone their craft of extremely catchy chorus-driven power metal with occasional folk influences. Each album they released became a drastic improvement over the previous. After getting a huge push from their record label AFM their music was finally starting to get the attention it deserved. By 2014, a bit after their very well received album To the End, they were asked to play the ProgPower USA festival in Atlanta and their popularity has just begun to skyrocket from there.
With the release of their 5th full length album Ravenhead we see a band at what appears to be their musical peak. The album seemed to garner a significant amount of hype before its release in various heavy metal circles. Many, including myself, would go as far as to admit that the choruses are so memorable that they almost rival and resemble at times that of one of the biggest names in power metal, Blind Guardian. Lead by vocalist, guitarist, and keyboardist Sebastian "Seeb" Levermann, Orden Ogan has truly created a brand of power metal that is rather accessible, yet intense.
Seeb and other long time guitarist Tobi immediately showcase how well their playing meshes in the opening title track. The twin lead riff is instantly identifiable, there isn't much time spent on the first verse at all and the song greatly focuses around an extremely memorable and extended chorus. The backing vocals to this track are definitely the highlight of the entire song and add a lot of dimension to what would otherwise be for the most part a relatively simplistic track. The layering of the vocals reminds me very much of Nightfall in Middle Earth era Blind Guardian personally. The guitar solos halfway through the song however are anything but simplistic. They are traded off quite seamlessly and unlike many other bands actually fit the song very well. The orchestral keyboards afterwards bring the song to a huge climax before kicking in the chorus for a final time; definitely an excellent opening track and one of the most memorable on the entire album.
Quite often a band's first released track embodies exactly what an album is supposed to sound like. With “F.E.V.E.R.”, however; I don't feel this is the case. The chorus gets a tad bit repetitive, the riffs are really not all that memorable and for some reason I am bothered slightly by the periods in the song title along with the fact that the words deceiver and believer are rhymed constantly. It is by no means a terrible song, but I don't feel it really gives a great representation of what Ravenhead is all about. I certainly don't feel that it should have been the band's first single and music video for the album.
The next track, “The Lake”, seems to pull a complete turnaround. The song does not appear to be completely focused around the chorus, the guitar parts are a bit more intricate, and the guitar solo completely shreds. In my opinion this is how a lot of songs should be written. The general theme of a chorus should be memorable, but when overdone it greatly takes away from the song. The Lake is a great example of a memorable song that manages to be technical and where nothing is repeated to the point of exhaustion. This is easily one of my personal favorites.
One of the real highlights of the album is “Here at the End of the World”. Like the title track it begins with a very memorable twin lead that goes right into an extremely dynamic chorus with many vocal layers. The guitar riffs in the song are some of the heaviest on the album and make you want to pump your fist or bang your head. This is by far my favorite song on Ravenhead. There is nothing at all repetitive about it, the riffs are memorable, the solos are amazing, the keyboards give it an extra boost and the vocals are absolutely amazing. It even becomes one of the first times where the rhythm section becomes a bit more noticeable. It appears as if they are drowned out at times throughout the album otherwise.
I kind of hate to keep comparing Orden Ogan to Blind Guardian, but even their ballads have similarities. “A Reason to Give” actually kind of reminds a bit of The Bard Song meets Blood Tears. There is a bit of a folk-ish aspect to the beginning of the song and a lot of emotion throughout. The acoustic passages are quite beautiful and the song is very well written. Lyrically this is one of the best songs on the album and definitely conveys a lot of feeling.
My only real complaints about Ravenhead are that the last two songs are relatively short interludes without much really going on, the opening track is an intro, and the first single is probably the most repetitive and uninspiring song on the album. After you sift through these tracks though you have 7 songs that are extremely memorable, technically very well performed, and have choruses that you'll be singing along to immediately. I can easily see this album being on a lot of people's best of 2015 lists, and it may actually give the new Blind Guardian album a run for its money. Since there are so many songs on this that I love and only really one that I don't particularly care for I would easily give Ravenhead a 9 out of 10.
Adam Phillips, HMS
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