Order Of Orias — Ablaze
Order Of Orias released their first demo, Offering in 2009. Then, in 2011, appeared an EP and the first full-length album Inverse. For a few years, the band went quiet, returning in 2015, with a split album with the French black metal band Aosoth. Since then, the band has remained silent. But in 2020, the German label W.T.C. Productions release their second full-length album, Ablaze. The album is presented in the form of Digipack CD, which is available for order on the label website. A digital version of the album is also available on the label Bandcamp page.
The album cover is made in black and gray tones and is a collage composed of a large number of metaphysical and alchemical symbols - pentacles, crosses, snakes, pyramids, etc. All these elements are composed in a single symmetrical composition, made in the style of engraving or illustration for some esoteric literature. No textual information is presented on the cover. In my opinion, the cover is very good design work and has a great vibe of atmosphere and mystery. As for connections with the cover and the musical part of the album, I think that this type of cover is quite neutral and can go well with an album containing heavy music or with albums in the style of experimental music. Ablaze consists of six tracks, with a total duration of just over forty and a half minutes.
On the new album, Order Of Orias presents the listener with an aggressive and intense black metal with a lot of death metal elements. Probably both of these styles are equally present here. The compositional structure of the tracks is rather complicated. During one track, a large number of rhythmic parts and, accordingly, melodic and riff lines shift. With a great deal of certainty, we can say that there are rather progressive touches at play here. The album is really difficult to grasp at first. To understand the structure of the tracks you need to listen to the album at least two or three times. This is an undoubted advantage since it shows a rather high level of composer art. I would call the quality of the overall sound almost perfect. With all the aggression and saturation, I was able to hear the parts of each instrument. I can’t say that the general sound is hugely originality, but everything is played very technically, smoothly and clearly. The vocalist doesn’t have a huge variety of styles, but, his timbre is quite pleasant, I guess It’s a bit strange to use the word ‘pleasant’ in the context of black metal..but that’s my take on them.
Before Ablaze I was not familiar with the work of Order Of Orias, but this release gave me incentive to listen to the previous work of the band. I can say that nothing has changed in the sound and composer approach. Perhaps the compositions have become a little more complicated, I this is proof of the bands creative maturity. Equally, the style of the covers has also remained the same- so it’s nice to have uniformed consistency, and focus of sound/ vision remaining the same since the band started. I think during the band's time away, they perfected their skills and bring new compositions to perfect balance. With my evaluation of the album will be based on two components. Sound quality and technicality - 5 points, originality - 3 points. As a result, Ablaze gets 4 out of 5. In finishing it's not a mold-breaking masterpiece, but it's a very strong album worthy to be in the collection of any black/death metal fan.