Straight out the blocks, I’d like to point out, I’ve never heard of this band, I’ve never heard of their label, and I do this review lark out the simple joy of it. I hope that you appreciate this, and the influence free credo of Ave Noctum means you get an unbiased, uninfluenced opinion? Righteo, strap on for some honesty.
Ogre’s fourth full length release opens with a wall of screaming effects so reminiscent of a 70’s horror movie; on hearing the discordant whirl I genuinely pictured Peter Cushing being chased by an axe wielding mad man from an Amicus film. If you don’t know what I mean, please take that as a compliment. After the initial sound wave, the music proper starts with ‘Nine Princes in Amber’, and right away the band nail their retro influenced flag to the pole, the guitar riff and battering rhythm so reminiscent of early Angel Witch in terms of tempo, style and mythical references; indeed, the influence of Kevin Heybourne and a whole host of early NWOBHM artists influence the vocals, solos, and indeed the whole tone of the track. Am I criticising them for being derivative? Nope, sometimes a classic sound is just that. ‘Bad Trip’ follows, with the stoner doom quotient being upped, the vocals slow and dragged out, and the guitar sound truly worshipping at the alter of Iommi, a place I often visit; particularly reminiscent of early Sabbath was the mid track break of creeping bass and echoing vocals, all building up to a wall of distorted guitars and larynx ripping screamed vocals before a head banging riff takes to the fore. Nothing novel, but everything good.
‘Son of Sisyphus’ builds on the towering Sabbath sound, the vocals sounding like Ozzy did a couple of decades ago before his discovery of MTV reality shows and the invention of auto-tune, the lyrics embracing myth and legend. I really hate to keep comparing a new band to sounds of old, but the fact is that this power trio just makes me want to picture them in a combination of long hair, side burns, flares and kaftans, all silhouetted in the projections of lava lamps. Their musicianship for just a three piece is immense, and they both pay homage to, and develop, the psychedelic presence of the best of the genre, but all played with the enthusiasm of youth. ‘Soulless Woman’ throws a whole heap of British “Electric White Boy Blues” from the early Seventies into the mix, whilst ‘Warpath’ bludgeons out the speakers, a whole heap of swagger infecting every line. Even the laid back hippy delivery of ‘White Plume Mountain’ doesn’t detract from the album, just harking back to the acoustic sounds of early Led Zep, right down to the distorted fade out.
I hate to over-praise new albums in case folks think I’m in the thrall to some ad man. Equally, I hate to heap undeserved praise on band that are testament to the skills of the engineer. As such, I feel utterly justified in saying I absolutely enjoyed this album, want to catch the band live, and can only hope the skilled delivery of the album is reflected live.
(8/10 Spenny)
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