ORTHRELM — OV (review)

ORTHRELM — OV album cover Album · 2005 · Avant-garde Metal Buy this album from MMA partners
4.5/5 ·
renkls
Now this is a monster of a piece of music. I am sort of surprised to find this on here. But it is progressive, certainly, as a single 45 minute, progressing math rock ASSAULT, with emphasis on assault for good reason. For those not familiar with Orthrelm's musical work prior to this, it is often jazzy, fast paced and short running bursts of avant madness. This is completely different. If you don't make it through the first fifteen, hell, even ten minutes at first, then that is to be expected. It's an audial affront, avant grade at its most powerful and confronting. But that doesn't make it any less then a masterpiece. I haven't explained what it actually is yet. OV is essentially based on repetition. A hell of a lot of them. For the first seventeen minutes, the guitarist Mike Barr is caught in three note guitar riffing which changes about six or seven times in those seventeen minutes. The drums don't change, except with the guitar. There are no vocals over the entire length. To call this an endurance piece is mandatory. What you find however, is that under the unceasing noise is human error. There are times where the drums and guitar touch each other in perfect duel pacing, and others where the guitar plays at a different speed, etc. The riffs go faster and slower. There is a lot of depth in the segments which run up to three or four minutes before a half second segue links to the next marathon riff. At times it sounds like there are up to four guitars going at once. I have heard on other reviewing sites that this is great music for meditation. If anything, it is fantastic for learning to transcend audial assaults. It is a subjective five star rating. I expect, if people review this aside from me, it will garner many one star ratings. I think that all music stands outside rating confines, and this is one shining example of 'you either love it or hate it'. By the way, it does get shorter half way through, changing riffs unexpectedly every now and then. If you make it that far, it may be your cup of tea. I seldom listen to it, but I admire the concept, and for that, I give a subjective five stars. It probably took less time for Orthrelm to come up with the riffs then it did to write the review for this.
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