O ZORN! - Vermillion Haze - Metal Epidemic

O ZORN! – Vermillion Haze
Release Date: 15th March 2024
Label: Hard Drugs/Seeing Red Records
Bandcamp
Genre: Post-Metal, Doomgaze, Sludge, Post-Grunge.
FFO: Restless Spirit, Firebreather, Domkraft, Orphans of Doom, Moon Destroys.
Review By: Mark Young

Here we have O Zorn! A four-piece hailing from Long Beach, California offering up their latest platter of post-metal with definite sludge / doomgaze leanings. I’ve listened to this as part of my commute into work to get into it and to be honest it’s not a release that is as immediate as I would like. In some respects, I think that is what they want, for the listener to put that effort in as they have done in creating it.

From the driving drums of Features, and its supporting riff-work through to Slow Mood and beyond, they build a sound that meshes the vocal styles of latter-day shoegaze and hardcore gives the songs that harder edge. Features has hints of very early QOSTA, with the guitar tone certainly reminiscent of that first album from them. Slow Mood has a riff signature that evokes a body that is in the darkest place they could be. They themselves have noted that the background to the album is built from coming through dark times. In these early songs, the guitar work shines through via Justin Suitor as Bill Kielty drops vocals that range from restrained to released. The Sound is glorious, feedback and discord in full effect, with Never Saw It Coming next up, possessing a more up-tempo attack with a chorus that is built for playing live, and it is all the more surprising when you read that it concerns the death of a coworker that Bill had worked with over a long time but didn’t really know that person away from work.

I Saw Through You is another prime example of a great riff combining with the drums laid down by Derek Eglit. They have that groove nailed down perfectly as they navigate their way through it. Everything in it is so well throughout yet perfectly organic. New Suffer has this almost bouncing feel to it, acting as a direct counterpoint to Bill’s vocals. The vocals are key here, always commanding but never taking over the song itself. I Got Mine is a top example of this, perfectly balanced with the music behind it. Cloud None is all crashing drums and guitars that hit and stop, slowly building to a more insistent arrangement. It is simple but deployed so effectively that you are carried along with it. Last track, Ricochet, combines everything that is so good here and puts it into one place. The smart guitar lines, controlled fury of the drums, bass (via Justin Morales) all coming together in a perfect fusion and with that we are done.

All in all it is a very good set of songs that are intelligent, well-crafted and sit astride the post-metal / gaze genres. It’s heavy when it needs to be, but never forgets to bring the riffs. The vocal style might not be for everyone, and being honest, in some moments it distracted from the songs. It’s a minor gripe from me, but it’s there, nonetheless. This shouldn’t detract from a very strong album and it’s well worth your time.