Orden Ogan - Easton Hope

Orden Ogan started out as a folk metal band from Germany, and recently have opted to become power metal. However, one can still hear traces of folk influence from their older days, and if anything it only enhances the power metal side of them further. Easton Hope is their latest offering and creates a very epic atmosphere, just the way that power metal should. Without sounding too frilly through solos and riffs, Orden Ogan makes use of keyboards and flutes along with the other standard 'metal' instruments to create an album that tells a story with each track at a decent pace and with a fresh sound that doesn't sound too overplayed.

For the band, the best feature of Easton Hope is the melody. Much of this melody is carried by the symphonic elements which usually are heard at the break of each song such as on "Easton Hope." However, there's a lot of hard rock and melodic guitar work that contribute lots of work too. Tracks like "Nothing Remains" have some excellent solos to go along with the chugging riffs. The vocals soar next to the music and aren't too high pitched or low... they're right spot on in the place they should be to captivate the listener. They sound best on the soft track "Requiem" because all the heaviness is stripped away and allows them to shine. "Welcome Liberty" has some great crunching guitar and steady drums that features a bit of choral vocal work in the introduction before changing over to the usual vocalist. Once the chorus comes in fans will certainly be hooked. "We Are Pirates" unfortunately doesn't have a 'pirarety' melody, but it does feature some of the best solo guitar work from Orden Ogan yet! "The Black Heart" is also notable because it features lots of backing choral vocals and acts as the most epic metal track of all without being over ten minutes. Sometimes it just takes a good sound rather than length of time.

While some may miss Orden Ogan's folk style, Easton Hope is testimony that they can still perform great, epic music. Fans of bands like Symphony X or Grave Digger will enjoy this for melodic aspect while others who are fans of Shadowkeep will like it for the symphonic aspect. Either way, it is something enjoyable that isn't recycled over and over with the same riffs or keyboard notes with every track. And the story the band tells isn't too shabby either.

  1. Rise And Ruin
  2. Nobody Leaves
  3. Goodbye
  4. Easton Hope
  5. Welcome Liberty
  6. All These Dark Years
  7. Nothing Remains
  8. Requiem
  9. We Are Pirates
  10. The Black Heart
  11. Of Downfall And Decline

AFM Records
Reviewer: Colin McNamara
Aug 22, 2010

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