Ogen – Black Metal Unbound

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Too few black metal bands have tried to combine the genre’s inherent epic scope with pure rock n’ roll bravado; fewer still have succeeded, and fewer still don’t number Abbath or Demonaz among their members. It’s refreshing, then, that total unknowns Ogen have presented us with a debut EP that hearkens back to the best work of Immortal and I, seamlessly stitching together a black metal patchwork that is equal parts mountainous might and heavy metal swagger. Clocking in at only 23 minutes, Black Metal Unbound is an ample but painfully brief slice of youthful energy that will hopefully be carried into the band’s first full-length experiment. On an album with only five songs total, three still stand out as evidence of the band’s impending greatness: Shattered Earth Volcano starts the ball rolling with a majestic black metal riff that it rides to pay dirt; Black Tusk Retaliation introduces clean vocals immediately reminiscent of Anthems To The Welkin At Dusk-era Emperor, and seven-and-a-half minute album closer A Steep Slope To Desolation represents the first time the band slows down and mellows out, albeit as a coda to the furious black metal riffage and screamed vocal hooks. For a debut effort, there’s shockingly little that needs ironed out in Ogen’s sound. If they can carry the momentum from this EP into an LP, a masterpiece is undoubtedly in their future.

Written by Brad Sanders
More: 2011, Black Metal, EPs, Quick.Play Reviews, Ogen