The Order of Fear

The Order of Fear is essentially the self-titled full length effort by German heavy and power metal quintet Orden Ogan. It's hard to believe that this is already the band's ninth studio record and that the band has been around for almost three decades by now. Just as in the recent past, this new album is a conceptual effort, dealing with the occult this time around. The stunning cover artwork and diverse special editions of this album further underline this conceptual approach. The band has even developed its own card game associated to this album.

However, the focus of this album should remain on the music presented here. The verdict is quite simple. If you have appreciated efforts such as Final Days and Gunmen, then you are also going to be liking The Order of Fear. If those albums weren't your cup of tea, then you can certainly skip his new record as well.

Opening tune "Kings of the Underworld" is quite interesting since it starts without any introduction and throws you right into an upper mid-tempo heavy metal song with much oomph. This is a quite courageous and dynamic start to the album. That song might surprise or even irritate at first contact but happens to be a grower and a solid candidate for concert setlists now and in the future.

Many other songs are slower, more melodic and best enjoyed in a concert or festival setting. "The Order of Fear" for instance comes around with a simple and catchy chorus that unfolds best when sung by thousands of enthusiastic fans. "Moon Fire" equally features a passionate sing-along part and seems to have been written with a live audience in mind. "Conquest" aims for the same strategy with a simple chorus with gang shouts and gets to the point in four catchy minutes.

Obviously, the repetition of this same strategy grows somewhat tiresome by the middle of the record. It's only towards the very end that Orden Ogan changes its approach again. This third type of songs present on this output aims for cinematic atmosphere, rewarding patience and epic storytelling. "Anthem to the Darkside" walks on the thin line between heavy metal and power metal and might need a few spins to open up but nonetheless qualifies as this output's greatest song with much replay value in my ears. Similar things could be said about album closer "The Long Darkness". In comparison to the other epic tune however, this song sounds a little bit less focused and meanders quite a bit before concluding rather unspectacularly after eight and a half minutes. It's not a bad song by any means but Orden Ogan certainly aren't Iron Maiden and only end their record on a decent note.

This is also the key description of Orden Ogan's The Order of Fear. It's a decent album situated stylistically between heavy metal and power metal. Its strengths are the passionate concept and the catchy sing-along passages that are best enjoyed in concert as I could personally witness about a week ago. The downsides are the predictable songwriting and the songs' repetitive elements. Band and genre fans should certainly appreciate this output while everyone else can skip this good but not great effort without any regrets.