Orden Ogan – The Order of Fear
Release Date: 5th July 2024
Label: Reigning Phoenix Music
Order/Stream
Genre: Power Metal
FFO: HammerFall, Rhapsody of Fire, Symphony X.
Review By: Eric Wilt
My introduction to Orden Ogan was the excellent To the End, an album with riffs so heavy that comparisons can be made to metalcore bands like As I Lay Dying and melodic death metal bands like Hypocrisy. Considering that it is a power metal album at heart, filled with melodic choruses and majestic singing, To the End is a beast all its own and really doesn’t sound like any other power metal album out there. I didn’t keep up with the band after To the End because none of the subsequent albums had that same aggressive and heavy attack. There are some good songs on each of the albums, to be sure, but I felt like there was an ever-greater emphasis put on orchestration and theatricality and less emphasis put on heaviness. That has changed on Orden Ogan’s newest album, The Order of Fear. Due out on 5 June, on their new record, Orden Ogan is primed to return to their finest form.
Within the first few seconds of the lead track, Kings of the Underworld, you know that this is Orden Ogan reinvigorated and ready to lay the world to waste with heavy riffs and blazing speed. Moon Fire is another standout track on the album. While it’s a more mid-paced song, the lead riff is metalcore meets power metal, which is a combination that works brilliantly. Blind Man is a highly melodic track that drives the album forward with its powerful riffs and punishing double bass. Finally, Dread Lord is another mid-paced song that, with its bombastic drums, oozes heaviness while never sacrificing melodicism.
While there is definitely a focus on heaviness on this album, The Order of Fear is no one-trick-pony. Track three, Conquest, focuses more on melody and features a big chorus that will get audiences singing along in a live setting. Later in the album, My Worst Enemy is a ballad with a wonderful guitar solo towards the end. And then there’s Anthem to the Darkside, which is a re-recording of an older Orden Ogan song with full orchestration and a backing choir. In this case the song works perfectly because it is just a really good song.
While there is no doubt that Orden Ogan’s recent albums are loved by fans all over the world, I feel like it was time for them to write another album like To the End, which focuses on heaviness first and orchestration and theatricality second. The Order of Fear succeeds in this endeavor, and I have no doubt that it will be a welcome addition to the Orden Ogan discography to old fans and new fans alike.
(4 / 5)
