Orgone
The Goliath
7.5
My first encounter with Orgone has certainly been a bruising one. The Goliath is ripe with ferocious technicality and speed, but kept in check with assured songwriting. The ‘experimental/death metal/black metal’ description on the band’s webpage doesn’t really do justice to Orgone’s fiery blend of tech death, noise and progressive elements, all of which combine to make a rather biting concoction. The Goliath is certainly a full-length, yet there are only six songs here, and so the band’s decision to opt for longer, slowly-developed songs is a brave one. The great thing is they manage to pull it off convincingly, as each of the six compositions on this album are distinct and memorable when taken separately, but also gel really well together as a whole.
When “Lessons Of Mesopotamia” begins in a flurry of furious blasting and squealing guitars, I wondered just how it was going to hold my interest for its seven-and-a-half-minute duration. It soon becomes apparent though that Orgone know a thing or two about penning a decent tune, as the guitar melodies and rhythmic shifts halfway through twist and turn the song into all sorts of interesting shapes. It shows the band’s awareness of the recent wave of ambient metal/hardcore, before slowing down to a crushingly heavy and deathly climax. Each of the songs on The Goliath are worthy of mention, yet to single them out would take away from the album’s impressively consistent flow. Yet I do have to mention the powerful and emotive conclusion to “The Levitating Chandelier”, and closer “Vomited Hyacinths” (catchy titles or what?), which ends the album in the same powerfully epic fashion as it began.
With The Goliath, Orgone have succeeded on virtually every level. The sheer technicality on display is enough to get your head spinning, but vitally, it’s balanced out with strong, confident songwriting and a deft emotional punch. For those of you into death, hardcore, noise and ambient/experimental, I strongly urge you to have a listen to The Goliath. For all its progressive tendencies, the album is above all else a strong slice of extreme metal – fast, brutal, uncompromising. Thankfully, it’s delivered with intelligence as well (check out the band’s MySpace for an insight into their intriguing political and spiritual musings). An impressive effort all round.
