First off I have to applaud the band one the very inventive way of writing their band name. If you're unaware of what this is all about, just say it out loud. Or-eye-on, usually spelled as Orion. Well done, guys. I usually don't do this, but I gave been reading other reviews of OREYEON and their new album "Equations For The Useless". They are quite varied, but not always very positive. That amazes me big time. Why? Because I really love what these Italians are doing.

Their sound can be described as a band which is using the heavy guitar sounds and sludge influences of CROWBAR and CLUTCH mixed with the grunge riffs and vocal inspiration of ALICE IN CHAINS, with a little bit of SOUNDGARDEN, PEARL JAM and even TEMPLE OF THE DOG in just the right places. And to me, it works. What  is key for this success is that the songs on "Equations For The Useless" are very distinctive, extremely varied and go from hard and heavy to mellow.

This level of variety is not for everyone, so I understand the lack of enthusiasm on some accounts, but I also am amazed that the lovers of sludge and grunge aren't hugging themselves quite tight to OREYEON. They were the ones that welcomed the new Metal genres when they arose, and now they are giving up? In my eyes and ears, I just have to listen to the title song of this album. In the almost 10 minutes that it takes to unfold, we go from extremely soft and subtle sounds, which are almost zen, to the thundering roar that emerges when a rhinoceros is running past you. ( No, I have not experienced this myself, thankfully. I just have a very vivid imagination.) They repeat this feat again in the second half of the song, and the reason this never goes over the top are the very soft spoken and melodic voices of both singers. They will remind you of Layne Staley from time to time.

So, there you have it, OREYEON are giving us a piece of their musical inheritance on "Equations For The Useless", which is their third full length album to date. As I haven't heard the first two, I have no way to check if they have grown over the years, but frankly, I don't give a damn. Even if this is what they have done their whole career, I will applaud them. This is simply spoken great stuff. It is very addictive; it draws you in and it sticks in your mind. It has in mine!