Hands of Orlac are not an easy band to research. Put the name into a search engine, and what will pop up time and again will be references to the original 1920 book, the precurser of modern body horror, the classic 1924 German expressionist movie starring genre legend Conrad Veidt, or the rather less well regarded 1960 Anglo-French remake featuring an ascending Christopher Lee. Check for their social media profile, and you’ll come up pretty much empty. And you know what, I think that’s a good thing. In a world where interchangeable pop stars constantly spew forth their electronic opinions in a non-stop stream that becomes a cacophany of white noise blandness, a bit of mystery is very welcome, and it matches the occult rock of ‘Hebetudo Mentis’ perfectly.
‘To The Night A Bride’ commences the proceedings in a suitably eerie style, the opening plucked guitar chords accompanied by a howling wind echoing the soundtrack of a killer’s approach from the Giallo films of the bands native Italy, before developing into a classic lo-fi rocker, the garage sound of the intruments framing the clean vocals of The Sorceress. I’ve no idea what the band looks like, as I said researching them wasn’t easy, but from the sound I’m assuming no shortage of flares, beads, and kaftans. A heavier fist pumping riff commences follow up ‘Three Eyes’, the same horror movie aesthetic weaving through the lyrics of death and mystery, the generous run time lending an unrushed and almost ethereal feeling that is crafted so as not to jar with the harder edge of the music. ‘Il Velo Insanguinato’ (‘The Bloody Veil’) insinuates itself from the speakers next with a haunting flute leading the music, like a pied piper beckoning the listener into the enigmatic world the band inhabits. The air of the unknown is further enhanced by the Italian lyrics, at least to an essentially monolingual Brit like me. To paraphrase Red from ‘The Shawshank Redemption’, I have no idea what that Italian lady was singing about, but I’d like to think it was something so magical it would make your heart ache.
After the first three epic numbers, title track ‘Hebetudo Mentis’, which can be variously translated as a dizziness or deadening of the mind, is a short instrumental interlude laden with a keyboard creep that would make John Carpenter proud, seguing into the return of their classic proto-doom with ‘Malenka’ and ‘Frostbite’ where the band get their Sixties on, redolent of the psychedelic rock of Black Widow or Coven. Of course, the band leave their most massive track until last, ‘Ex Officio Domini (The Executioner of Rome)’ playing across a full quarter of an hour, presenting practically the script for a movie through which Vincent Price at his most imperious should stalk, meting out various punishments to his cringing subjects. The length of the track allows time changes to be incorporated that reinforce the different moods of piece, enhancing the tale the way a good soundtrack lifts the action of a film, the ever more frenetic electric instruments eventually fading out to a single acoustic guitar to soothe the fevered brow of the listener.
Hands of Orlac, whilst not a prolific band, definitely make the wait worthwhile, producing an album that should have folks clamouring to hear it played live. Whilst textured and nuanced with inclusion of flute and keyboards alongside the obligatory guitar, bass, and drums required of any rock act, the album is not overly worked or polished, giving it a retro sound that tells of the skills of the musicians, rather than that of the engineer. After being reminded of how good they are, and discovering that in my music collection all I own of theirs is the 2017 split with The Wandering Midget, I think it’s time I sought out their back catalogue, and I commend you, the reader, to join me in that quest.
(8.5/10 Spenny)
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