Liste der Bands Melodic Power Orden Ogan To the End

When I first heard Orden Ogan's 'Vale' CD in 2008, I thought it was great, but I was also equally chuffed that it was by a German Power Metal band! As a British pop-hating kid raised on NWOBHM, I was an avid Maiden fan in the early 80's. Then as a teenager in 1987 I bought Helloween's Keeper Pt1 and Running Wild's Under Jolly Rodger (the latter dubbed by Kerrang in the day as 'Iron Maiden meets Captain Pugwash' - ironically that's what tempted me to buy it! In hindsight it's a tad harsh, but probably true...) and I was hooked! It seemed like half of the best Power Metal bands for the next three years were from Germany. Scanner, Rage, Blind Guardian to name a few - it was a great pedigree for a country to be proud of! So when I heard Orden Ogan I just thought "They sound SOOO German - bet they're Swedish..." But they ARE German, and for me, the classic traits of German Power Metal just shine through on this CD.

The album kicks off with a totally Running Wild style intro - straight off 'Black Hand Inn' or 'Masquerade', which seamlessly segues into the excellent title track. You would be forgiven for thinking that this song is what the band are all about - and why shouldn't they be? It's top class German Power Metal - Enjoy!!!
But Orden Ogan are about more than that. For instance, 'Land Of The Dead' really reminds me of Kiuas with it's heaviness and structure, 'Things We Believe In' really ups the folksy side, whereas 'Angels War' and 'This World Of Ice' incorporate a more modern Roadrunner/Century Media edge...if you know what I mean. The band show their sensitive side on two well crafted Ballad tracks too, but for me they really excel on the classic Power Metal songs like 'Dying Paradise', 'Ice Kings' and 'Mystic Symphony'. Almost as if to prove my point, the limited edition comes with an excellent cover of Running Wild's 'Battle Of Waterloo'.

This is not a "tribute to the old days" CD, this is a band at the top of their game, putting out a CD that says to me - they know where their music came from...but look where they're taking it!
Andy - Abyss Metal UK.