The Grand Wall
Ordog
Doom Death Metal seems to be reborn once more. What I mean is that the style is back again, with many bands playing it again, but using its primordial elements (grunts on vocals, creeping tempos and some melodies) to make their musical works, and being a step ahead. Different from the founding fathers of the genre (PARADISE LOST, MY DYING BRIDE and ANATHEMA), they expand frontiers without leaving the genre's boundaries. Using the old features, the bands are breeding something different, new and fresh, blowing life into the eroded old formulas. The Finnish quintet ORDOG show on "The Grand Wall" that they want to be more than just another Doom Death Metal band.
Even being nasty and aggressive as their main musical style, they use a very good and melodic insight, and are more tender and melancholic than bands at the end of the 90s used to be. It's a hybrid, being nasty and raw, but with very good melodic lines. Although they still have a little way to go before taking the place of the forefathers of Doom Death Metal, they are talented enough to do that! Antti Lindholm produced "The Grand Wall", as well as did the recording sessions, mixed and mastered the album. His contribution is very good, keeping the band sounding clear and understandable, but he gave that essential touch of rawness and filth that a Death Metal band must have. We can therefore affirm that his work is fine.
The album is comprised of six very long songs, what allows the band to exhibit all their musical talent and creative power. Their finest moments: "Open the Doors to Red" with its slow tempos, aggressive and brutal insight (very good work from guitars on riffs), the grasping funeral melodies created by keyboards parts on "Sundered", the catchy rhythmic work show from bass guitar and drums on "In the Looming Bitterness" (and they use a good technical insight here as well), the bittersweet melancholic melodies of "The Perfect Cut" and "Wings in Water", and the very good closing song called "The Grand Wall" (fine grunts and extremely tasteful clean melancholic vocals). I spoke about all the songs, why not?
Fine work, indeed!
8 / 10
Excellent
Songwriting
Musicianship
Memorability
Production
"The Grand Wall" Track-listing:
1. Open the Doors to Red
2. Sundered
3. In the Looming Bitterness
4. The Perfect Cut
5. Wings in Water
6. The Grand Wall
Ordog Lineup:
Aleksi Martikainen - Vocals, keyboards
Valtteri Isometsä - Guitars
Jussi Harju - Keyboards
Olli-Pekka Rissanen - Bass
Tapio Hautalampi - Drums
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