Cinematic Experimental Metal band WITH OUR ARMS TO THE SUN formed in the desert of Arizona in 2012. I wasn't able to find out a lot of other information about this trio, but they present the album ORENDA here, which was released in June of 2017. The album contains ten tracks. Giving credit where it is due, I was introduced to this band from fellow Metal Temple writer, Mr. Bruno Diniz. Rumor has it, the entire album was written while the band was camping in the desert. It must have been quite an experience, because this palate of music is about as unique and pleasing as anything I have heard this year. I think the first track introduces this visionary sound quite well. "Disdain: Why Am I?" has a thick, heavy and noxious opening, with a weighted guitar riff, and a combination of harsh and clean vocals. The clean guitar chords ring like bells announcing the coming of extra-terrestrial beings in the fading colors of the sky at twilight. "Memory: The Drift" is a slightly more mellow affair of celestial vocals and hypnotic guitars for most of the song, but the meaty Metal guitars and Death vocal screams are earth shaking as a pair.

"Macrocosm: Prometheus" has lush layers of guitars that are sometimes driven while other times ambient and mesmerizing. I picture cool waves of a waterfall and shimmering sprinkles of light in the pool below; a destination hidden away from the world. "Doorway to Realization" is the second two-minute interlude, but this one sticks with me more. Soft piano notes and emotional lyrics resonate beyond the passage of the track. "Apex: 100 Year Dream" is a melancholy track that pushes a lot of feeling through the use of subtle programming and impassioned vocals to go along with the weight of the distorted guitar riffs. At times, the sound reminds of bands like RIVERSIDE and LUNATIC SOUL. The combination of the aggressiveness of the Metal sound and the tempered compassion of the softer moments is done with care and sophistication here. "The War: Light the Shadows" has a dreamy and billowy sound from a repeated riff that they just lay on, driving a droning and depressing sound deep into the annals of the dark recesses of the world. It's like an anthem of sorts, though with a vague subject, and the meaning is taken from the journey.

"Doorway to Ascension" is the third in the short instrumental trilogy, and talks about the point of living, fulfillment, purpose and doing what you love. "Ascension" is the act of transcendence, rising and climbing to greater heights. The bright and clean guitar notes impart a beauty that is authentic and substantial. In keeping with the theme of some of the imagery of the CD sleeves, I imagine the alien like creatures are here with promise and hold the key to our metamorphosis from our earthly prison. "Regret: Sailing Stones" is another remarkably pretty song that retains a fervent heavy bite and some Doomy elements that tell a sad and heart-wrenching tale that comes from regret. "Homebound: March of the Trees" closes this vivid expedition into musical parts unknown and unexplored. At the culmination of the odyssey comes the realization that it was the trip itself that was life changing, rather than where you ultimately ended up.

For me, this album falls somewhere within the vast and expansive genre of Progressive Music. But even with that general label in mind, it is quite a peculiar and extraordinary outing among the sea of variations you may have heard recently. It will appeal to the aggressiveness that Metal fans have always needed in their music, but as well a full mosaic of emotions that force you to challenge the conventions of life and the meaning of existence. The path they took to tell this tale through their music is full of magnificence, splendor and the pure beauty of a light that could not be extinguished-a flame eternal. If this album does not have a profound effect on you, you are just going through the motions.