ORDH
BLIND IN ABYSSAL REALMS

ORDH’s debut, “Blind In Abyssal Realms”, sets out to redefine what the term ‘progressive death metal’ truly means. But before ORDH, there was BARISHI. When their bass player threw in the towel to pursue other interests in life, guitarist and vocalist Graham Brooks, “looking for a fresh start”, decided the time had come to finally dwell in his favorite genre: death metal. But not just any kind of death metal…

Having drafted BARISHI drummer Dylan Blake, with whom Graham has been playing since he was twelve years old, and Josh Smith from KIEFCATCHER on bass, the trio then spent a few gruelling years working on their debut, with Graham writing most of the music and ironing the songs out with Dylan and Josh. Having toured with COME TO GRIEF when BARISHI was still around, Graham and the latter’s singer Jonathan Hébert had hit it off really well, so when the time came to find a vocalist, Jonathan was called upon, “right on time to jump straight into the recording and writing process, as most of the music was ready to go”.

ORDH - a name taken from archaic English, meaning the tip of a spear or sword - “Blind In Abyssal Realms” defies proper categorization. It is indeed entrenched in death metal, and Hébert’s deep growls and Brooks’ feral guitar tone make sure it stays there.

While Brooks gladly cites “mostly old-school stuff” as his main influences, such as ENTOMBED, DEMILICH, TIMEGHOUL, or MORBUS CHRON, you can tell right away from the track listing that this first album ain’t your typical blood-and-guts traditional death metal fare. With only five songs ranging from six to over twelve minutes and surprising melodic leanings, it earns its self-professed ‘progressive death metal’ tag - whatever that means, mind you… “You can find the usual tropes -different time signatures, widdly guitars once in a while, that sort of stuff. In some ways, slapping the ‘progressive’ tag on it is mostly useful because it frees us up to do whatever we want. As for the long-structured songs, blame it on my love for IRON MAIDEN’s most epic compositions.”

Sticking to a very organic sound, most of the album was done in-house, with the drums recorded in a “proper studio with lots of old microphones” before everything was refined during the mixing process by Andrew Oswald (PERISHING, MORTIFERUM). The end result is unlike anything you’ve heard: dark and ominous yet beautiful in places, “Blind In Abyssal Realms” takes the listener by the hand right from the opening chord of “Apis Bull”, never letting you go until the final notes of “Hierothesion” fade out forty-three minutes later.

ORDH will leave you in a state of haze and marvel, your eyes gazing into the cosmic void, further complemented by yet another nightmarish vision courtesy of Italian artist Paolo Girardi for the cover.