Ablaze

Returning 9 years after the previous album, Order of Orias bring to recollection that black metal is diverse in its expression, and clearly demonstrate that they can skillfully combine variations of the genre. The first song "Blood to Dust" begins with a simple riff, both menacing and quite melodic – right, in the vein of the early Scandinavian scene. However, it should not be misleading – the further musical content of the song is presented in a more sophisticated manner, and it's rather "modern" black metal, which is usually associated with the latest opuses of Watain or even Behemoth. It may be so, at least the quality of the album's sound is close to "polished" rather than to "raw".

Most of the songs on the "Ablaze" album are built according to this pattern: first the old-school kindling, then the main part, sustained in the "modern" style. But both work for the same idea, or, more simply, atmosphere. From this perspective, the most indicative song is the second one, "Gleaming Night": the beginning riff, not too complicated but penetrant, depicts in imagination a dragon flying swiftly over the crowd of doomed people (an aerial view, to be exact), the next episode of the song is more complex in structure, but similar in this phantasmal effect.

The difference is that the "modern" riffs are pretty much always dominated by the almost palpable presence of the very evil and dynamic occult injection, maybe in Acherontas' style – this parallel becomes especially pronounced and vital towards the end of the album, particularly in the fifth song "Crowned in Brass" and sixth "Dawning Light". Well, if you don't hear incantations, then this does not mean that no one say a spell... Anyway, such "dynamic occultism" can be regarded as a feature of sound, which is very meticulously measured, by the way. And suspense is another important component of the Order of Orias sound, it makes itself felt as early as in a short, slightly dissonant intro, and continues until the final triumphant passage of "Dawning Light", which is gradually fading. Most likely this suspense is so pervasive because guitar fingerpicking is in widespread use within the composing and arrangement of the songs.

As is customary in "nowadays" black metal, Order of Orias often change tempo throughout the course of a song, and among their successful discoveries is the increased duration of slow episodes, due to which a mesmerizing atmosphere of the occult operation is generated. "Gleaming Night" is amazing in this regard again. A slow fragment begins with a fingerpicking, in which dissonance appears gradually – but a strange melody, that is duplicated by bass, lives in this dissonance. After some time, the tremolo picking comes in too, and now the tremolo and fingerpicking play the same melody in turns. This invocation lasts for a comparatively long time and the vitriolic vocals are heard almost throughout its length.

The fourth "Snares and Thorns" begins in approximately the same manner: the slow occult part is built on a fingerpicking guitar pattern again, but this does not prevent it from being very "groovy", and monotonous cries of the vocals work for the grooving character of this fragment. In its turn the bass with its weird melody gives mystery to the ritual action. The subtle solo, leaking out, with the same enigmatic bass swirling around it, becomes the apogee of this occult episode. In "Crowned in Brass" at 02:20, the next slow episode begins, again, with the fingerpicking and dominant bass, but if earlier it was possible to talk about music composing in the tradition of Tulus, Khold or Sarke (well, this is some kind of symbolic analogy), then this time a strong comparison with Shining suggests itself – in everything, except the vocals, of course. This time the slow part unwinds like a spiral, accelerates as if trying to materialize physical pain in a sound form, but... it ends unexpectedly. Needless to say, the bass parts do a lot to give originality to the Order of Orias sound, including high-speed episodes too.

The work of the drummer also deserves praise – alas for the band, he is a session member. From the very beginning, he suppresses any resistance by his tough blast beat attacks, and although further down the line, he has to work often at a slow tempo, these advantages cannot be taken away from him: speed and aggressiveness. In addition, during the album, sometimes he presents spectacular surprises. For example, in the third song at 02:23, despite the decrease in tempo, he generates a continuous crazy break, thereby strengthening the dynamics of the fragment, – and in the close of the composition this technique is repeated. In "Dawning Light" at the same time stamp (!), the drummer switches from the acceleration to a wild "gallop", powerful and aggressive, a bit in the thrash metal tradition. The uniqueness of this episode is enhanced by its alternation with the dissonant riffs à la Mayhem, with which the composition begins.

The thrash metal tradition is observed on "Ablaze" in other places too. In described above "Snares and Thorns", the transition to acceleration is carried out precisely in the thrash metal manner. Sometimes death metal can also be recognized in the Order of Orias riffs, but rather in the vein of early death metal: for example, a mid-tempo riff in "Blood to Dust", or a solo during the slowdown in the third song "Raging Idols". Famously, early death metal bands sounded sort of like thrash metal ones, just with a more brutal sound, so it's appropriate to talk about all the same thrash metal tradition.

Both solo and lead parts are often performed on the album, and as a rule, they are different in their spirit, the most shining examples: if in "Gleaming Night" the chaotic solo part evokes associations with Slayer, then in "Snares and Thorns" the melodic and touching solo is very similar to Dissection, yes, there's even a Dissection-like prelude – a guitar fingerpicking, processed with a flanger. "Ablaze" also has many secondary lead guitar parts, which crawl out cautiously, like a snake from a hole. They know how to do their stuff.

However, all these stylistic borrowings are dissolved in the black metal canvas of "Ablaze". So, the main points of this piece of art are: the old and the new are interlaced together in ingenious manner here, nevertheless, new influences dominate. This album is saturated with a gloomy atmosphere, and the mysterial spirit moulds "Ablaze" into an infernal tornado of dark colors and sounds.

The Metal Observer