ORO

ORO was born beneath the Kilsbergen mountains, in the shadows of the deep forests that swathe those rocky slopes in 2014 and in the brief years of their existence they have forged a sound like no other. A towering, crushing magnificence is wrapped in coils of poignant intimacy and the fact that the band choose to sing in their native tongue only adds to the grim beauty of these powerful songs.

And now Swedish Post Metal/Sludge quintet is back with a crushing new album infused with incredible dynamics; deft, poetic contrasts between passages of soft beauty and granite heaviness. From the moment that it begins, it is abundantly clear that ORO have created something very special with their second album, Vid Vägs Ände. It is one of those albums that defines the soul of its creators, displaying the absolute essence of all that makes ORO such a potent, unique entity. From the stately power of unstoppable opening track ‘Arvet & Tystnaden’ onwards the sustained quality is simply remarkable, with one breathtaking, towering peak leading to another and another. There is such a lyrical musicality about these songs that each individual shift from one chord to the next feels perfect in its tone and timing.

The echoing notes that introduce ‘Bältad’ seem to attune themselves to the beat of your heart, the pulse of your blood, drawing you gently but inexorably into its embrace. And then cracks open up beneath your feet and you are tumbling down into vast chasms of sound, leaving you lost in the darkness…only for a gloriously melodic refrain to arrive and lift you up once more on its muscular shoulders. Each song on “Vid Vägs Ände” has this scope, each one an enveloping world, an utterly consuming experience that makes the album as a whole exhausting and exhilarating in equal measure. The waves of riffs and drums that crash over you, the searing sadness that hangs like mist in the air – all these elements have been given vibrant life by the stunning production and mix by Jakob Linnér and the mastering skills of Tony Lindgren (Enslaved, Insomnium, Katatonia), the sound so warm, rich and textured you want to grasp it in your hands. The final seal of quality has been applied to “Vid Vägs Ände”’s magnificent blend of post-metal, doom and sludge by the album’s haunting cover art, which is rife with questions and intrigue.