The Arcane Order - The Machinery Of Oblivion
Metal Blade - 14580-2 - 2006
By Philip Whitehouse
Formerly known as Scavenger, Danish melo-death/thrash act The Arcane Order boast amongst their number the vocalist of Raunchy, Kasper Thomsen, and ex-Invocator/Autumn Leaves guitarist Flemming C Lund. The Machinery Of Oblivion comes complete with a top-notch production from Jacob Hansen, who also contributes backing clean vocals to a couple of tracks. So, I imagine you're forming a picture of what we're looking at here...
The Arcane Order are a lot heavier than a lot of the Raunchy/Hatesphere/Mnemic-esque bands coming out of Denmark at the moment - there's a definite weight and force to their riffage that puts them squarely in the 'extreme' category, rather than the more mainstream sphere. Sure, there are some electronic accoutrements to the tracks, and each song does seem to come complete with a big shiny chorus, but Kasper's vocals stay firmly in throat-shredding scream or bowel-loosening growl territories throughout. Imagine if In Flames' last album had been played by thrash-obsessed cyborgs - that's the kind of sound we're dealing with here. Standout track 'In A Hail Of Deadly Bullets', for instance, kicks off with a nice lead guitar intro lick before settling into a firestorm of mad thrash riffage and chain-gun drumming. There's a surfeit of memorable riffs, and the choruses stay in the memory without being too saccharine.
Jacob Hansen's production is, of course, superb - thankfully not sacrificing heaviness for the more melodic moments, and giving the whole thing a certain bottom-end rumble and punch that is certain to get heads banging. The only criticism I can really come up with is that, while it may be heavier than other releases by similar, contemporary Danish bands, The Machinery Of Oblivion still shares a lot of similarities with its ilk, and as such may find itself lost in the tide somewhat. If The Arcane Order can push out on their own a bit more, we may have another scene leader on our hands.
7.5/10
UM's Review Rating Scale
The Arcane Order's Official Website
Metal Blade's Official Website
Metal Blade - 14580-2 - 2006
By Philip Whitehouse
Formerly known as Scavenger, Danish melo-death/thrash act The Arcane Order boast amongst their number the vocalist of Raunchy, Kasper Thomsen, and ex-Invocator/Autumn Leaves guitarist Flemming C Lund. The Machinery Of Oblivion comes complete with a top-notch production from Jacob Hansen, who also contributes backing clean vocals to a couple of tracks. So, I imagine you're forming a picture of what we're looking at here...
The Arcane Order are a lot heavier than a lot of the Raunchy/Hatesphere/Mnemic-esque bands coming out of Denmark at the moment - there's a definite weight and force to their riffage that puts them squarely in the 'extreme' category, rather than the more mainstream sphere. Sure, there are some electronic accoutrements to the tracks, and each song does seem to come complete with a big shiny chorus, but Kasper's vocals stay firmly in throat-shredding scream or bowel-loosening growl territories throughout. Imagine if In Flames' last album had been played by thrash-obsessed cyborgs - that's the kind of sound we're dealing with here. Standout track 'In A Hail Of Deadly Bullets', for instance, kicks off with a nice lead guitar intro lick before settling into a firestorm of mad thrash riffage and chain-gun drumming. There's a surfeit of memorable riffs, and the choruses stay in the memory without being too saccharine.
Jacob Hansen's production is, of course, superb - thankfully not sacrificing heaviness for the more melodic moments, and giving the whole thing a certain bottom-end rumble and punch that is certain to get heads banging. The only criticism I can really come up with is that, while it may be heavier than other releases by similar, contemporary Danish bands, The Machinery Of Oblivion still shares a lot of similarities with its ilk, and as such may find itself lost in the tide somewhat. If The Arcane Order can push out on their own a bit more, we may have another scene leader on our hands.
7.5/10
UM's Review Rating Scale
The Arcane Order's Official Website
Metal Blade's Official Website
