Ortega
- The Serpent Stirs EP
Genre:
Atmospheric Sludge /
Doom
Label:
Narshardaa Records
Members:
Richard Postma -
Vocals/guitar
Alex Loots - Guitar
Sven Jurgens - Drums
Frank de Boer – Bass
Alex Loots - Guitar
Sven Jurgens - Drums
Frank de Boer – Bass
Tracklist:
- The Serpent Stirs
Before I start
dissecting this great slab of ominous doom-tinged sludge, I have to
admit that I’d never really checked out Ortega before. Believe me
when I say: that was a big mistake.
For those of you who
have made that same error, Ortega is a four-piece sludge band from
Groningen in the Netherlands, formed in 2007. They describe their
sound as dark metal balanced
with soundscapes and slow, heavy riffs
In April 2013 Narshardaa Records released their latest effort, The Serpent Stirs as a single sided LP.
The release consists of one mammoth 18 minute track. While I love a good long song, when bands step into the realms of ten minutes plus, they tend to have to really stand out otherwise the track can become monotonous. Luckily, Ortega know what they’re doing and never fall into this trap with The Serpent Stirs, regularly mixing up the dynamics with soft atmospheric sections woven into crushing riffage.
Unfortunately, some of
these riffs are introduced and then rarely touched upon again. This
leads me to think that some of them might have been better off used
as a base for a couple of other tracks. Having said this, nothing
here is out of place. All these riffs fit in well and help break up
the other sections nicely.
Ortega have managed to
create a great atmosphere with this EP. The feeling that comes across
here is a dark, ominous one that really helps to cement the theme of
this record that the band describes as ‘A trial of battles with
inner demons, which binds us in our mind.’ This is aided by the
liberal use of heavy reverb, used to great effect.
As far as originality
goes, The Serpent Stirs doesn’t really bring anything new to the
table. That’s okay though, because with fat riffs like these you
still get a nice solid chunk of sludge to sink your teeth into, and
sometimes that’s all you want. Ortega certainly excels in that
aspect and you’ll find it hard not to bang your head to this
record.
The Serpent Stirs
features some stellar production. All the instruments sit nicely in
the mix and succeed in being crushingly heavy without being
overpowering. Everything on this track is really clear and audible
and the band take care not to overuse fuzz or distortion, which is a
common mistake even the big players in the genre make that can
absolutely ruin a great song. Ortega have discovered the secret of
‘less is more’, and utilise it to great effect. The drums stand
out here too, being well mixed and not over processed, with a nice
and natural tone.
While
there’s only one (superb) track, this release has a good chunk of
longevity and is definitely going to receive quite a few spins,
especially as a background soundtrack whilst working. At less than a
quid for the digital version, you’d be mad to give this one a miss,
and for those of you who like a physical product, you can pick up the
vinyl for less than a tenner, which is a steal for such a great piece
of music.
Available at:
Check the band out
here:
Written by James Crozier
Great review by James. Glad to have back on board with the Sludgelord Team. Everybody check Ortega out as they are a great band that deserve your attention now.
