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Orden Ogan – Final Days

Florian Buechting Media Review No Comments

Orden Ogan - Final Days

Orden Ogan - Final Days
4.1

Rating

 4.1/5

Flyctory.com Pros

  • Really good power metal with folk elements
  • Versatile catchy songs

I have to admit that I did not know Orden Ogan before this review. Quite a gap in my music knowledge – especially as the German metal bands had some really big hits already. On 12th March 2021, they had a new album release, Final Days. I really felt to share this one with you after listening to some of the songs. Here is my review.

 

Orden Ogan – About The Artists

Orden Ogan is a metal band from Arnsberg, Germany. The band from the Sauerland region East of Dortmund mix power metal and folk metal elements. There have been quite some members of the bands since their founding in 1996. The current lineup is a quintet, consisting of Sebastian “Seeb” Levermann (vocals, guitar), Tobias “Tobi” Kersting (lead guitar), Niels “Spoony” Löffler (guiar), Steven Wussow (bass) and Dirk “Dirki” Meyer-Böhm on the drums. Levermann is the only still active founding member of the band, which started as a trio called Tanzende Aingewaide (“Dancing Guts”). The renaming happened in 1997, when the band also started to record the first demos. Their debut album was the 2004 Testimonium A.D.. They decreased the level of folk elements thereafter and released the 2008 album Vale thereafter.

Since 2012, when Orden Ogan released their fourth album To The End, the band regularly makes it to the German charts. Their latest album Gunmen even peaked eighth in Germany (2017) and was Top 40 in Switzerland. Their most popular single on Spotify is the 2017 Gunman, which has been streamed about 8.5 million times.

 

Orden Ogan – Final Days – Track by Track

The ten track album lasts 51 minutes.

1. Heart Of The Android

Is there a heart inside the chest of the android?
What do you see machine or man?
All that I am, all that I was has been destroyed
Please let me hope and feel again…

The album open starts with hammering riffs, even though the song itself is rather melancholic. The chorus is then the element which finally catches me. Very present, very melodic. Cool one.

 

2. In The Dawn Of The Al

The (excellent) press information to Final Days comes with a lot of good information on the album: the beginning of the song, which is paining an apocalyptic scenario about artificial intelligence taking over control over our lives, is a reference to 1980’s video games. Later, the band proudly pointed out the modem sounds used for the solo part.

A superior lifeform, learns at a geometric rate
It played us off against each other
No way to make amends
Every conflict, every feud, it would instigate
Men would fight, kill one another
The beginning of the end

3. Inferno

For the Final Days, Orden Ogan have significantly increased the influence of electronic sounds. The beginning of Inferno almost reminds me of Lady Gaga’s Poker Face, before I Seeb’s voice pulls me back to the world of metal. Glad that he did, as the song will a great song for the upcoming Orden Ogan adventures on stage. A lot of fun, for sure!

4. Let The Fire Rain

In the press material, Seeb calls Let The Fire Rain to be one of the best songs ever written by the band. It is the fourth song, the fourth single – and the singer of the metal quintet has not been that wrong. The song feels to be simple and catchy, but nonetheless has some nice and contrasting elements. Last, but not least, the chorus is a great sing-a-long. Definitely a fun one.

5. Interstellar (feat. Gus G.)

For the song Interstallar, Ordan Ogan is joined by Konstantinos Karamitroudis – or Gus. G., how you likely know the Ozzy Osborne guitarist better. Indeed, the heart of that song is the catching chorus – and the additional guitar power is a nice upgrade in the middle part of the song.

6. Alone In The Dark (feat. Ylva Eriksson)

Sweden after Greece: for Alone in the Dark, the Germans get some support from Scandinavia. Ylva Eriksson is typically known from her band Brothers of Metal from Falun. The result is a 4:40 minute power ballad. The high voice from the North is adding a lot of atmosphere. A great dark and slow one.

I am alone in the dark
Still my heart is beating somehow
We’re lightyears apart
We had our choice
We made it
Alone in the dark

7. Black Hole

The electric sounds and fast guitar riffs right from the beginning of Black Hole take you back to the power metal world of Orden Ogan. To me, this is the song which is maybe underlining most the instrumental and vocal strength of the band. On top of that, one of these songs you just would love to listen to live on stage.

8. Absolution for Our Final Days

Let’s call this one the title track of the album.

You ask forgiveness, as if the words we say
Could cure, this sickness
And it doesn’t matter anyway
Witness our failure, there is no other way
This life we’ll find no
Absolution for our final days

I feel it is a nice one, but I am not that convinced of this one compared to other tracks on the album. Interesting how the band is using breaks in the song very nicely.

9. Hollow

Two songs left – but with Hollow and It Is Over, the band put two of their three longest ones of the Final Days to the back of the album. Hollow thereby comes with a really nice background riff, a nice atmopshere, a lot of power – and another well-written chorus:

Hollow minds, hollow souls
In this hollow land
Beware of the path of the men they follow
Hollow minds, hollow souls
In this hollow land
Beware of their way or turn also hollow
Or you turn also hollow
Or you turn also

10. It Is Over

The album ends with It Is Over, which is about a meteorite about to hit the Earth very soon. The absolute heart of this song is a radio announcement right before the desaster is happening:

This is our final broadcast. the last ships have left orbit and are on their way to Mars.
If there is any comfort for us, the ones who have been left behind, then it is that we, as a race, have a chance to survive.
If the settlers manage to build a self sustainable society mankind will prevail. they have all that they need.
We hope you are with your loved ones, but even if you are alone – today nobody is alone.
Today we are all together.
5 seconds to impact.
God bless the human race.
Over and out.

Definitely a special moment and a great, catching track.

 

Orden Ogan – Final Days – Spotify

Here is Orden Ogan on Spotify:

 

Orden Ogan – Final Days – My View

That’s definitely a nice way to close down life on Earth. Ordan Ogan do a great album on Final Days, which is a good listen during Covid-19 times and also makes you look forward to the concerts of the future. Not in the very top ratings of Flyctory.com, but damn close to them, for sure.

 

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