This is indeed a grisly affair! Ophis are yet another band which has languished in relative obscurity, yet this fact has not stopped them being fairly prolific; `Abhorrence…’ is their third full-length release. For the uninitiated, Ophis are worshippers at the temple of all that is crushing, agonising, grim and doom-laden; fine purveyors of Doom/Death from Northern Germany. I tend to find a lot of Doom/Death can be hit and miss; at its worst, it can be tedious in the extreme, with a total lack of tune, feeling or creativity, merely slow and sludgy for the sake of it.
Ophis do not fall into this trap however. Instead they have a truly melancholy, yet slightly melodic feel throughout their 5 lengthy tracks. This is no mere sludge-fest by any means. Ophis know how to crush of course, but there is a whole lot more to them.
Punctuating the dark and pounding walls of riffage, there are plenty of drifting, morbid passages with clean arpeggios, dripping in melancholy and atmosphere, as well as some truly eerie moments. In fact there is a great sense of the theatrical and the dramatic throughout. Ophis have really squeezed a lot of genuine feeling into this album and it really shines through.
The boys also know how to write a powerful riff; the listener is almost swept along by the sheer force of the doom-laden notes falling weightily out of the speakers. Too many doom bands I’ve head fall into trap of thinking any old notes or chords will do as long as it is heavy; not so Ophis, who always carry a sense of the melancholic, majestic and dramatic in even the simplest of riffs. Philipp Kruppa’s vocals are also wonderfully over-the-top; he roars like a demented beast in agony. Occasionally, an extra layer of bestial snarls adds extra psychosis to the vocal performance, which is never dull or monotonous, but surprisingly expressive.
On the whole, Ophis really excel at writing Death/Doom with feeling. It isn’t entirely original, in particular I am reminded of Ataraxie and their ilk, however it is done with style, panache and class here. They have a good approach to song writing, with a great balance between crushing, ponderous darkness, and drifting, sinister melancholy passages, and the lengthy songs flow well. They clearly have a creative streak and a love of the dramatic which comes over well; I’m already looking forward to listening to their next release.
(7/10 Jon Butlin)
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