Album Type:Album
Date Released:
19th
May 2014
Label:
Apathia Records
Blackened
Souls track listing:
Heretics
We, The Darkness
Dead Among The
Living
Disciples
Cursed
Ghosts Of Anneliese
Bio:
Born
from random encounters and the will to explore a style not well known
in France, Oruga was formed early in 2010. Claiming no labels, but
forged from the individual experiences of each individual musician,
the band deeply allies the oppressive heaviness of Doom and the
filthy rage of Sludge, aggressively impregnated with Metal, all
melting into the hypnotic dynamics of Stoner. Never pretending to be
revolutionary, the songs are merely performed with heart and guts.
Bare-naked expressions of untold feelings and repressed frustrations,
escape in a voice about to break, the sorrows of Oruga explode onto
the heavy rhythm, emphasized by mighty riffs, unpolished, noisy,
massive, raw and desperate. Floating as a cold and melancholic
spirit, far away from affiliations and merchandising, the sound of
Oruga mirrors their region of origin, North of France: faithful and
authentic.
The
Band Members
C.
- Vocals, B. - Drums, F. - Guitars, P. - Bass, B.J. - Guitars
Review:
Oruga’s style of
Sludge Metal languishes in the darkness of despair and misery. Their
debut album – Blackened Souls – is one dark ride that is low on
feel good mentality but high on loud and brutal riffage with the
added menace of Doom Metal to torture your soul to.
It’s a dark, twisted
and brutal journey into the darkness held together by intricate
blackened sludge riffs with torturous vocals to match that go from
death-based growls to the more aggressive clean-based vocals. Oruga
deals in epic songs as most of the songs run past the 7 minute to
9-minute mark. You will need patience to experience the full effect
of this excellent debut album.
Oruga prove through out
that they are definitely a band to look out for from the French
Sludge/Doom Metal scene and this debut album will have you wondering
how many punishing riffs does this band actually have. Well it’s a
lot as the band have written an avalanche of heavy doom and gloom
based vibes to impress you with. The mood does get very progressive
at times with Oruga writing some complex music to match the haunting
lyrics at times especially on tracks such as Cursed, Disciples and
Ghosts of Anneliese.
OK, so Oruga are not
the first band to play this style of music but they do add elements
of groove and melody into the darkness. You may even detect a hint of
Stoner Metal here and there. However, it is still a dark and heavy
album that wears this element as a badge of honour. The 48 minutes is
full of thrills and spills just like a good old-fashioned horror
movie.
The album’s
production is immense through out. As Oruga, style of noise and music
takes the listener into epic heavy territory. If you’re a fan of
Mastodon, EyeHateGod and Gojira then Blackened Souls is an album you
cannot pass by, as this will speak volumes to you. My advice is to
embrace the darkness that Oruga have unleashed with Blackened Souls,
as this is one debut album you cannot do without. Intense, loud,
angry, atmospheric, moody as heck.
All in all this is a
stunning and brutal debut album that will find many followers within
the Sludge/Doom Metal scene.
Thanks to ApathiaRecords for sending me a promo. Blackened Souls will be out to buy
from May 19th 2014.
Check the Band from
Links Below
Written
by Steve Howe
