Always when I received a new album that triggers something in my memory I keep thinking about the ways my musical memory works. I have to say it is really funny to say the least. As a reviewer I have to turn sounds into words to make my readers understand, or feel, the music I am hearing. Most of times, I cite known bands to make a comparison, so my dear child of the night can realize what I am talking about. I understand sometimes the comparison cannot be that easy to understand as the bands I know are certainly different from the bands my children of the night might know. There is an age gap that changes a lot the repertoire. Other times they are obvious. Some bands make a direct hit, some others do not. In this very particular case, Oracle Hands with their debut album “Dirge for the Doomed,” there are some very pronounced features that triggered my musical memory. The first in the the prominent bass that reminds a lot Manowar’s Joey DeMaio’s overtones and way of playing. The other is vocals that besides the despair sound a lot like Rage Against the Machine’s Zack de La Rocha’s. The funny thing is that Oracle Hands‘ music does not remind any of the bands I cited. Funny world this one. Giving second thoughts, maybe a little more with the latter. Just a little.
Debut albums in Metal music are always black or white, or they are fantastic, or they are a disaster. There is no gray area about them. I could go on and on telling about fantastic debut albums and their opposite. Of course, there is some exagerating in my words, but this is a way of telling this story. I will not say “Dirge for the Doomed” is fantastic, but it is far from being a disaster. Even though the core – Metalcore, Deathcore, etc – features in here, they do not annoy me. The bass sound helps a lot in making me like the music. The combination Manowar bass and Rage Against the Machine‘s vocals proved to be an instant like it, believe it or not. A track like “Black Fields” prove this to be just right. It is undeniable the Manowar epic feeling in it. The atmosphere created in “Drain the Poison“ is also very interesting, again, because of the bass that does more the bass lines being a kind of second guitar. The same happen with grand finale “Into the Abyss,” whose despair makes the fan feels like he is into the abyss – no pun intended. There are a lot of distinct moments in the eight-minute track whose tempos vary a lot. There is the speed-up moment and there is the cadenced moment, which is most of the time. Here the band exercizes its Doom Metal facete. One thing I regret so much, unfortunately, is the total absence of guitar solos in the album.
Bands as Oracle Hands are helping me getting used to the label Post-metal. I am not saying now I finally know what it is, I am just saying I am getting used to it. Pretty different things. There is one I liked very much about “Dirge for the Doomed” is its flexibility, I mean, the band here tries diverse directions to its music, which, in my opinion is the key to making good Metal music.
Oracle Hands “Dirge for the Doomed” April 25th via Moment of Collapse Records.
Track Listing:
- The Order
- Nihilistic Rites
- Dissonance of the Tongueless
- Pulse
- Black Fields
- Drain the Poison
- Into the Abyss
Watch “Black Fields” official music video here:
Source: metaladdicts.com
