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Orden Ogan: Final Days
Orden Ogan - Final Days Album Art

Orden Ogan: Final Days

Power Metal
4.0/5.0

Much to my surprise, it's been nearly four years since we've heard from German metal icons Orden Ogan. But it's no surprise. 2017's dark American Western influenced Gunmen was a huge success, requiring the band to tour relentlessly. Now the band returns with their seventh long player Final Days wherein, conceptually, the band has moved from the wild west to the final frontier for a dark sci-fi, space themed album. The recording also arrives with some personnel changes. Veteran guitarist Tobias Kersting (who left for personal reasons) has been replaced by Patrick Sperling. After suffering a hand injury in 2018 vocalist Sebastian "Seeb" Levermann has dropped his guitar duties, passing them to (former) bass player Niels Loffler. In turn the bass position was picked up by Steven Wussow (ex-Xandria).

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Orden Ogan

With that lengthy introduction to the new album, musically speaking, Orden Ogan needs little introduction. Once more the band delivers expansive and dense, often fast and heavy, power metal, saturated by liberal synth embellishment and perhaps a few more guitar solos than we expect. Orden Ogan over the past several albums has been improving in the guitar area where, in the past, the solos have often been difficult to find or muffled by the bombastic power metal. Notable and typical examples of Orden Ogan's power metal style come with In The Dawn Of AI, Black Hole, Absolution For Our Final Days, and Hollow. The power metal Interstellar features a fine and fast solo from Gus G. The opening track is notable for its fine vocal harmony. Between the beat and groove and synths, the more heavy and steady Inferno can have an industrial metal feeling, especially in the latter third. With Alone IN The Dark you get a metal ballad featuring Brothers Of Metal's Ylva Erkisson, with a muffled guitar solo in the last quarter. All things considered, Final Days finds Orden Ogan in fine form, offering another rousing album of their bombastic and expansive, fast and heavy, power metal. If you love the genre or dig the band, you will want this album.




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The Bottom Line

All things considered, Final Days finds Orden Ogan in fine form, offering another rousing album of their bombastic and expansive, fast and heavy, power metal. If you love the genre or dig the band, you will want this album.

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