Release Date: April 20th 2023. Record Label: Trepanation Recordings. Formats: CD/DD/Cassette
Orme - Orme: Tracklisting
Nazarene
Onward To Sarnath
Members
Tom Clements - Guitars/Vocals
Jimmy Long - Bass and Didgeridoo
Luke Thelin - Drums and Silence
Review
Orme are a Psychedelic/Drone/Ritual/Doom Metal band from the UK and the band play expansive Long Drawn out grooves that feel inspired by the likes of Sunn 0))), BONG, SLEEP and OM. Their self-titled debut album offers two tracks Nazarene and Onward To Sarnath both running for 41 mins and 53 mins respectively. So you can expect a challenging and complex sounding album which Orme offers no apologies for.
Both tracks have a slight Stoner or WEEDIAN sound to them with an almost Apocalyptic approach with their music. Ambient and Psych Metal textures have a slow building methodical nature to them. You could wait a long time for heavy Drone/Doom grooves to appear. The same methodology goes with the vocals as well. As Orme bides their time to allow lead vocalist Tom Clements to make a welcome appearance. Tom's vocals and delivery styles are mostly a mixture of Doom Chants and Experimental elements but all showing a GREGORIAN style quality to them.
There's a deep level of warped melody and distortion with the music that comes into play very early on with the opening track of Nazarene. Orme even adapted their music to play more experimental styles of Post-Rock and even Acid Rock but still firmly within the Drone/Doom Metal aspect their music confidently delivers.
The later stages of both tracks contain the heaviest parts of the album where Orme manages to play deeply interesting cuts of Riff based music. Sure, there's the long drawn out Sunn 0))) or BONG sonic influence keeping things played at a slow pace but at least Orme learn to adapt with their music and include some mighty fine DOWN-TUNED, LOW & SLOW and AMPLIFIER DISTORTED epic instrumental jams.
The standout track has to be Onward To Sarnath. As it's a longer and deeply more interesting track from a creative point of view. Orme include different themes or different sides of Ambient/Ritual music. This track allows Orme the chance to perform some of the heaviest and bleakest sounds on the album.
With BONG being missing in action for the time being, I can easily see Orme filling that void. They may play similar styles of music but Orme have a darker sense of SONIC EXPLORATION that left me mightily impressed by the lyrics, chants and vocal passages they created for this album. However, it's the music that's the real standout with Orme perhaps taking cues from the legendary album DOPESMOKER for the more scorched desert parts the album contains.
The album isn't going to be for everyone. Some may feel not a lot happens but you have to have experience the whole album in one sitting to fully understand what Orme achieved with this album. The record is superbly heavy in it's own unique way. I would love to see what these guys bring to the live stage. As this is the type of band that would go down a storm within the Roadburn crowd and perhaps other well known underground Doom/Stoner festivals.
Production values are excellent which allows the heaviness of the album to grow naturally and offer the listener some deafening Doom/Stoner/Psych tinged grooves of the highest order.
This is a sublime release from perhaps the best Droned Out Doom Metal bands from the UK Underground Scene I've heard in quite some time.
Words by Steve Howe
Orme is available to buy now via Trepanation Recordings on CD/DD/Cassette.
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