The Canadian Metal scene has a great tradition. Since RUSH started in the 70s, a great invasion occurred, with names as ANVIL, VOIVOID, EXCITER and many others in the 80s, but in some moment, things came to be more extreme, and those lands bred names as CRYPTOPSY. Now, after all these years, a very good name of Black Metal arose from the frozen lands of Quebec: the quintet ORDOXE, ancient with deep roots back in 1989, is releasing their sixth album "Towards Eternity".

As a tradition on Canadian Metal, the quintet uses a different form on Black Metal, still aggressive and raw, but with an individual insight. Yes, the quintet is creating their own way by taking different influences and melodies into their musical work that uses excellent melodic lines created by the guitars (instead keyboards, an instrument used by many to do so, and that isn't presented on their work). The vocals uses tunes from Black and Death Metal alike, the bass guitar and drums create a strong and technical rhythmic mass, making their songs sound brutal and technical. Yes, the quintet has an abrasive and strong personality!

Samuel Landry (the band's guitarist) made the mix and recordings of the album, and François Fortin worked on the mastering. Of course the tunes could sound in a better way, the sound is a bit rawer than the necessary, but we can understand what the band is playing clearly, with an excellent dose of musical weight. So we can say that the production of "Towards Eternity" is good, but the band's music really deserved more. Musically, the quintet has too much to offer to Black Metal fans, in a way that can make many become astonished.

"We Are Eternal" and its fast and dry aggressiveness with very good guitars (even solos and arrangements are excellent), the catchy melodies of "The Auspicious One" (here you can feel the excellent work from guitars, but the raw shrieked tunes and guttural grunts from the vocals as well), the brutal and charming tempos of "Your Sorrow, My Sorrow" with its nasty voices and great musical arrangements, the fine contrast between melodies and aggressiveness shown on the guitars of "Sword of Damocles", "Soryez Illuminés" and "A Passage in Time", and the thundering harmonies and excellent work from bass guitar and drums of "The Essense of Life". Of course, "Trépas I", "Trépas II" and "Trépas III" are different songs, each one of them with its strong and aggressive personality.

Their work is excellent, and maybe they can use a better production next time, because the way that ORDOXE makes music is truly amazing!