ORDEN OGAN have been at the forefront of power metal since their 2017 album “Gunmen”. After a few delays, the new album “Final Days” will finally be released on March 12th, 2021.
The album, once again produced by bandleader Sebastian “Seeb” Levermann, is a real banger and shows that the Sauerlanders are among the best songwriters in heavy metal: “Final Days” combines finesse with fat riffs, clever arrangements with grandiose melodies. Even after the umpteenth playthrough, you keep discovering new things, and all of this is packed into a larger-than-life production. In other words: nothing more is possible!
…And you couldn’t say that the previous album “Gunmen” (also produced by Seeb) or the recent releases by Rhapsody Of Fire, Brainstorm or Asphyx (whose sound Seeb was also responsible for) weren’t already great – but still : With “Final Days” the Order of Ogan-Head has outdone itself.
The opener “Heart Of The Android” introduces the listener to the dark sci-fi concept of the album. “After we developed a Dark Wild West setting for ‘Gunmen’ and had previously had storylines about monasteries in moorland landscapes (‘Ravenhead’), end-time ice worlds (‘To The End’) and burning cities (‘Easton Hope’), the only thing left was still the way to space,” smiles Seeb.
Songs like “In The Dawn Of The AI”, “Black Hole”, “Interstellar” and “Hollow” are absolutely typical of Orden Ogan – but even more refined and more powerful than ever before. “Let The Fire Rain” is probably the perfect combination of classic heavy metal (not to say “Dio memory riff”) and über-chorus. With “Inferno” Orden Ogan present probably their most unusual single release to date. Catchy, almost poppy, yet somehow typical of the band: once you’ve heard the number, you can’t get it out of your ear.
“Final Days” also features two interesting collaborations:
On the song “Alone In The Dark”, a melancholic ballad with symphonic elements, Seeb is supported by Ylva Eriksson (singer of the Swedish band Brothers Of Metal). Ex-Ozzy Osbourne guitarist Gus G. contributed a solo for “Interstellar”.
“Final Days” finds its brilliant conclusion in the aptly titled “It Is Over”, an epic track that deals with the end of the world (caused by an asteroid impact) and culminates in the “last radio broadcast of humanity”, which is available in all world languages is presented. Pure goosebumps moment.
Orden Ogan have managed to maintain their trademarks over the length of the album while also integrating new influences into the sound, which make “Final Days” an enormously exciting and high-class album.
“Gunmen”, the German band’s fifth studio album, released in July 2017, was by far the most successful work in the band’s history to date. Chart entries in numerous countries, including number 8 in Germany, a well-attended major headliner European tour (with supports Rhapsody Of Fire and Unleash The Archers), slots at almost all important metal festivals worldwide, Order Ogan “Pirate Cruise” sold out within 25 hours and “Saloon Showdown” special shows: With “Gunmen”, the Sauerland band around mastermind Seeb reached a new level of popularity.
Because of great deeds and the no less great demand to provide “Gunmen” with an equal successor, there was a somewhat longer wait for the fans.
“We played “Gunmen” more live than ever before. “Basically, we were booked at almost all the well-known European festivals over two summers, including Japan and the USA this time,” says Seeb. When we were ready to concentrate on working on new material, there were signs of a change in the line-up: Our long-time guitarist Tobi decided to take a break for personal reasons . We are happy to have found a great replacement in Patrick Sperling. And – oh yes, almost forgotten…” smiles Seeb – who is just thinking about another drastic change: “Thanks to a hand injury in the summer of 2018, I was forced to only be on stage as a singer. Everyone liked it so much that we kept it. Niels Löffler is now a guitarist. The bass is taken over by Steven Wussow (ex-Xandria). It worked out as if it was meant to be that way from the start. This line-up is so strong that I’m really looking forward to being able to go on stage with it again soon!”
So there are a lot of changes in Orden Ogan’s camp – not to mention an approaching global pandemic…
“Oh yeah, that ended up being the death knell for our entire timing,” nods Seeb. “Video productions in particular were extremely difficult. Due to the delay, the concept of our tour was completely turned upside down. We originally wanted to bring a nice German metal package to the streets with our supports Grave Digger and Rage in September 2020, but Covid-19 put a stop to our plans. For the “Final Days Tour” now planned for February 2022, Brothers Of Metal and Wind Rose are two cool, fresh bands at the start, but they also already have a large fan base. We are looking forward!”
“Final Days” will be released worldwide on March 12, 2021 via AFM Records and brings with it a luxury problem: the bar for future releases (both from Orden Ogan himself and in the large field of melodic metal in general) is now incredibly high.