Orden Ogan - Gunmen Review

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Concise Summary:

Imagine going into a candy shop and trying to eat everything at once. That's a pretty good way to sum up this album. There is a ton of raw talent here; the songwriting is very complex in nature and each song has a wide array of instruments. The singing is also quite impressive and almost all of the choruses on the album sound like an actual chorus is singing. That being said, the production was done very poorly. There have to be a minimum of five tracks going at a given time on the album, and all are boosted to max levels. It's like shoving a delicate flower into a hydraulic press. The individual instruments get lost in noise (although it's very sweet sounding noise) and the sonic diversity of the album is lost. Because of the constant sensory bombardment of hyper-boosted instruments, this hour long album gets very exhausting to listen to close to halfway through. 


Objective Rating:


My Rating: 7

If I didn't listen to the album all the way through and just picked and chose tracks, this album would score sooo much higher. The modern production mentality of "smash it all together to make it real loud" and lack of diversity really ruined what could have been a masterpiece of an album. However, if you just choose a few songs and listen to them, this album sounds great. 

Highlights:

  • Huge, soaring choruses
  • Fast paced songs and surprisingly, a lot of djent
  • Many various instruments
  • Unique story line

Lowlights:

  • Lack of diversity makes for an exhausting album for listening
  • Poor choices in production also add to the sensory exhaustion
  • Each song follows a similar pattern of lead guitar following the vocals, several simultaneous voices in the chorus, and a a base of rhythm and bass guitars constantly pounding; this form is fun and interesting for a while, but it starts to wear quickly.

Favorite Songs:

The Face of Silence - This is a really unique song. The intro with the sounds of a bonfire and crickets chirping makes for a very vivid mental picture. The rest of the song is very good as well.  

Finis Coronat Opus - (the end crowns the work) is probably the best song on the album as far as instrumental diversity goes. A really fun listen. 

More Info:







Comments

  1. A.J. SpaudeOctober 31, 2017 at 11:56 AM

    Follow me on Twitter @BPMetalReviews to stay updated on the latest reviews!

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