EP Review: Orecus – Conclusion (Violent Groove)

I am very grateful to have accidentally stumbled upon Nightrage a few years back which really ignited a passion for the metal coming out of Scandinavia. Nightrage led me to Degradead which led me to modern Scar Symmetry and then on to other, smaller bands such as With Heavy Hearts. You see bands like these don’t get a lot of mention in the heavy metal press in the UK so you wouldn’t naturally find them but it goes to show the quality available if you dig around a bit. My enjoyment of this music has led to many reviews here at GBHBL and that, luckily, has led to a few bands finding and reading our work and from that to opportunities to listen to and review more. This is one such opportunity. This is Conclusion by Orecus.

Orecus are new to me but then they are also relatively new to the world of metal, at least away from their country of origin. Orecus started off quite a few years back, in 2011 in fact, as a project. It was started by members of the bands Deathember (Elias Ryen-Rafstedt) and God Mother (Michael Dahlström). They released a demo in 2012 called Bury the Truth and it was around then that the project became a more serious band. While writing their debut EP, Conclusion, vocalist Christoffer Dorsin joined the band. With that debut EP about to be released, the band are also now on the hunt for the right musicians to complete their line up for the future. Conclusion, a 4 track EP, is due to be released on the 22^nd of April this year via the label Violent Groove.

The musical style has been described by the band and label as “Drawing influences from old school death metal and the more modern equivalents, Orecus combines the raw and brutal sound of death metal with the riffage and atmosphere from modern genres like post-metal and djent” and while I don’t really go for all these crazy sub genres myself (I’m talking about you, djent), I am always excited to hear something and someone new.

The first track is called Resurrections. It starts with a slower chugging riff that builds. When it kicks in you get the first taste of the vocal style and it very deep and dark death metal screams, shouts and growls. The verses have a nice rhythmic pattern to them and the drums are blazingly fast throughout the majority of the track. There is a bit more melody to the guitars throughout the choruses though the vocals remain constant in tone and style throughout. It is a very heavy, death metal track and sets a tone for what the band are about. While I quite enjoyed it, I must admit I didn’t feel blown away by it and hope for a bit more in the following tracks.

Next up is The Aftermath and it offers the “bit more” I was hoping for. A lot more guitar melody and even more impressive drum beats resounding together at a fast pace make up the intro. Vocally it stays as the first track with powerful shouts and growls but the extra guitar lines in the background give the effect of an added dimension to the vocals. There is a fantastic riff that takes over, again helped by the drumming, halfway through that builds up until the vocals join in and when all members are synched together here, it feels really huge and powerful. The song ends with a long, drawn out chugging section which will have a lot of heads nodding. Good track that showcases some real talent.

The 3^rd track is called Rot into Nothing and starts with a blisteringly fast intro of guitar and drums that almost has a thrash feel to it. Vocals in this track also move through a lot more range and tone than I felt the first track did which is good. The verses seem to be split in two with the first section being the amazingly fast part and that is then followed by a more intricate guitar line section. As the song progresses, these switch back in forward to great effect. Vocals are brutal on this track. The singer has real power and showcases it well here. A small but welcome solo also features here before the vocals join back in for a fast and heavy ending that oozes power. The best track so far, I think.

The final track is aptly named Conclusion and is also the title track and starts with a more rhythmic riff with vocals spaced out and spat one line at a time. The vocals and riff seem to build in unison though it never builds to any real pace and instead is the slower, crunching type of track. Some of the vocals hit really deep tones here and sound suitably demon like and cleverly, the song does switch to a really cool riff over tapping drums to break it up a little near the end before a short blast of furiously spat lyrics bring the song to a close. Another good one with even more variation on show.

So there you have it, 4 new tracks from a new group called Orecus which are oozing in heaviness. It is just an EP but I think it is an impressive start and gives me plenty of hope for their first full length album in the future.

I was a little concerned after the first track which, while decent, isn’t mindblowing but is instead just a solid death metal track but the 3 after that are really good songs with plenty of variation and loads of talent on show. The vocals are powerful and consistently heavy, the drums are hugely impressive and the riffs are really catchy so there is plenty showcased in this EP to suggest these guys have a big future in the metal world. A small part of me does worry that 10 tracks on a full album may start to sound samey but there is plenty on show here to at least make sure that I will buy that full album to find out and what more can you ask for from an EP, then to leave wanting to hear more. Great effort.

Recommended track – Rot into Nothing