70000 Tons of Metal Cruise 2015, by MasterPhelps Photography
Estonian folk metallers Metsatoll have been added to the upcoming 70000 Tons Of Metal Cruise, setting sail in less than a months time. As of now 46 of the 60 bands have been announced for the cruise, which is sold out but has a wait list that makes it possible to get a last-minute ticket. Continue reading
In previous incarnations of these end of year pieces, whether hosted by the good ship Ghost Cult, or wherever, I’ve indulged myself by launching into a kind of state of the world address at the outset. You’ll be pleased to know that, in the main, I’m going to spare you such an ordeal and just get down to the business of Heavy Metal brilliance. Why, you cry? Because, listening-to-music-wise (and in general), I’m in the best health I’ve been in for a good twenty years, I’m back in my zone of loving what I love… oh, and there’s a lot of damn good metulz to get through! So, here be my snapshot in time at my thoughts on 2017… (note, “favourite”, not “best”)Continue reading
Four more bands have been added to Bloodstock Open Air 2018! Suicidal Tendencies, Wednesday 13, Kamelot, and Mr. Big! Both Suicidal and Wednesday 13 will be making their BOA debuts.Continue reading
Bloodstock Open Air 2018 have added Doro, Fozzy, Bloodbath And SepticFlesh to their growing lineup! “The Queen of Metal”, Doro will headline the Sophie Lancaster Stage on Friday night, and her set might be one of the highlights of the weekend. Earlybird tickets are available, but moving fast for the festival that is sure to sell out. Continue reading
Bloodstock Open Air continues to add more bands to its impressive lineup with Swedish black metal masters Watain joining festival as the headliner of Sunday’s Sophie Lancaster stage. Also joining the bill are Orden Ogan, Combichrist, and Memorium. Bloodstock will take place at Catton Park, Derbyshire on 9th-12th August 2018. Details below.Continue reading
Credit where credit is due. It’s not often that genuine contenders rear their heads once their career is already up and running… the anointed have usually been identified and lauded from early whether in sports, art, music, whatever, it is rare for a band to be established and then to suddenly stick their head above the parapet seemingly as if from out of nowhere as one of the best there is. With Gunmen (AFM), though, Orden Ogan have done just that, the Germans producing one of this years’ best Power/Heavy Metal offerings.Continue reading
In a little less than five months, the 7th Editon of the 70000 Tons Of Metal Cruise will set sail from the Port of Miami, to Labadee, Haiti, and back on a cruise made of metal music and fun.
Perhaps it says all you need to know about German Power Metallers Orden Ogan‘s fifth outing, Ravenhead (AFM/Nuclear Blast), that not only did I assume on first listen it was a debut release, but that I hadn’t realised I’d actually seen the band live a couple of years back when they were completely overshadowed by both Freedom Call and especially Luca Turilli’s Rhapsody until reminded by our fellow scribe Richie HR (who had to endure me drunkenly bellowing the wrong words in his ear all through the headline set).
See, if by your fifth album the endearing features are “promising for the future”, “naïve energy and charm” and if you don’t have a distinctive sound of your own so as to be so unremarkable as to not be remembered, then NINETEEN YEARS into your bands’ existence maybe it’s time to sit down and take stock.
But does knowing that this is a fifth album (I tend to do my research after a first listen, if research is required, so that initial impressions are as untainted as possible) make the difference in how Ravenhead should be judged? Damn skippy it does. Because you know that “promise for the future” then becomes “Oh, this is probably as good as it’s going to get” and, if we’re being honest, “naivety” really means not quite doing it right or not yet realising what needs to be done to live up to the masters (or indeed apeing the masters a touch too much to be a successful band in your own right). Having lived with Ravenhead for a while it becomes obvious that, like so much else in today’s consumer society, while superficially it’s all shiny and nice, as an album it lacks any real depth, substance or character.
Borrowing heavily from Blind Guardian and their school of fantasy-tinged Power Metal, this is exemplarily well played, but as a million death/metalcore bands show, technical expertise certainly doesn’t equate to innovative songwriting ability and Orden Ogan will always be so far in the shadows of their countrymen that they may as well be invisible.
There are decent tracks on here, but after two decades and five albums I want more than a band that sounds a lot like one of their contemporaries with a touch of Sonata Arctica (on ‘A Reason To Give’) or an added folky, shanty feel to a ‘At The End Of The World’. Meanwhile ‘Deaf Among The Blind’ may as well add the word Guardian to the title and serve to sum up Orden Ogan’s status in life. Some of this may seem harsh because this is a perfectly pleasant proficient and professional Power Metal product, but where there is wheat, all else must be termed chaff.
6.0 / 10
STEVE TOVEY