Ordog – Trail For The Broken

Releasedate: 21-03-2014; Label: Violent Journey Records
By: Basak Günel

Ordog is a Finnish death/doom metal band. The band, which was formed in 2005 by Aleksi and Valtteri with the intention of playing doom metal, released the first demo at 2006. After the positive feedback and the improvements within the band’s sound and style in general, Ordog signed a deal with Violent Journey Records and played their first live gigs outside of Finland in 2008.

The band’s latest record “Trail for the Broken” is captivating from the beginning. Especially the intro, which reminded me of cold graveyards, broken hopes and the overall darkness, definitely manages to catch the attention of the listener. Generally, the elements of doom metal are spread very well throughout the album; with each song, the band manages to integrate different elements of metal such as symphonic or death or even experimental to their essence and this is what I liked about the album. It’s not an ordinary doom metal record but a record full of twists; just when you think that the song gets too slow, there’s a twist and you find yourself headbanging to the riffs and fast beats! Speaking of slow songs, it should be mentioned that the record has a slow and atmospheric approach; it’s not one of those harsh records but a record that makes you feel like you are dying slowly and decaying into the soil. I also want to add that the album cover is a perfect summary of the album; just take a look at it and you will know what I mean.

Despite the fact that the band managed to produce an album with a unique sound, I found the harsh vocals too ‘raw’ for a doom metal record and the clean vocals sometimes just disappeared within the melodies where they could have been more ‘clarified’ and been more in the foreground. This can be something that the band might improve with the upcoming records. Nevertheless, this record will surely be dark and ‘depressing’ for any fan who loves dark and doom-y music.

Line up:
Aleksi Martikainen – Vocals, Keyboards
Valtteri Isometsä – Guitar & Drums, Bass
Jussi Harju – Keyboards
Ilkka Kalliainen – Bass
Tapio Hautalampi – Drums

Tracklist: 01. The Trail 02. Scythe 03. Swarm of Abbhorence 04. Devoted to Loss 05. Enter the Void 06. I Ceased to Dream 07. Abandoned 08. The Crows of Towerpath

Links:
Ordog Facebook
Ordog Official