ORDEN OGAN

‘Easton Hope’ is German melodic power metal band Orden Ogan's third full length album. It is well produced and boasts consistently strong musicianship throughout. Opening track ‘Rise And Ruin’ is a promising short orchestratal piece that leads nicely into their trademark power metal sound that dominates much of this album. ‘Nobody Leaves’, ‘Goodbye’, the title track, ‘Welcome Liberty’, the more balladic ‘All These Dark Years’, the kick ass ‘Nothing Remains’, the fabulously dumb and potentially crowd pleasing ‘We Are Pirates’ and ‘The Black Heart’ are all very good melodic epics that ooze quality and are full of incredibly catchy, likeable vocal harmonies with huge choruses that remind me of Sonata Arctica. ‘Requiem’, which is stripped down to finger picking and soft orchestration for the most part, is a beautifully enchanting haunting folk-esque ballad. The near nine minute closing track, ‘Of Downfall And Decline’, is ambitious and intense, displaying a vast range of tempos and emotions. If there is a weakness that could be aimed at ‘Easton Hope’ then it would concern the lack of variety on much of the album, which is probably why tracks that offer something a little bit different such as ‘All These Dark Years’, ‘Requiem’, ‘We Are Pirates’ and ‘Of Downfall And Decline’ stand out above the rest. On the whole, though, this is still a very pleasing album and one that should impress fans of this genre.

LABEL:

FORMAT:

AFM Records

Album

EASTON HOPE

Review by Dave Crewe

RUNNING TIME:

64:54

RELEASE DATE:

25th Jan 2010

TRACK LISTING

1) Rise and Ruin
2) Nobody Leaves
3) Goodbye
4) Easton Hope
5) Welcome Liberty
6) All These Dark Years
7) Nothing Remains
8) Requiem
9) We Are Pirates
10) The Black Heart
11) Of Downfall and Decline

COUNTRY OF ORIGIN:

Germany

"If there is a weakness that could be aimed at ‘Easton Hope’ then it would concern the lack of variety on much of the album, which is probably why tracks that offer something a little bit different...stand out above the rest."