Full stream: Ogen - Black Metal Unbound
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=keRt3lhrdh8
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This is the full stream for Ogen’s Black Metal Unbound EP, out on Kolony Records.
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Ogen – Black Metal Unbound [full stream]
[audio: OGEN_STREAM.mp3]
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It’s awkward watching Hartagga in the above video. He’s the vocalist, guitarist, bassist, and mastermind behind black metal act Ogen. English is clearly his second language. But it’s also clear that his vision for Ogen is well-defined.
When I first started the Ogen project, my main aim was not only to write new music and new tracks, but also to write new lyrics and to give musical form to the love that I feel for mountains, forests, woods, and the whole Alpine environment.
Ogen is from Brescia, a province in Italy’s Lombardy region. Even a perfunctory Internet search for the Lombardian Alps yields breathtaking images. The Scandinavians do not have a monopoly on wintry beauty or the art it inspires.
“Beauty” is really too simplistic a word. Ogen portrays a complex, ambivalent relationship between human and nature. Sometimes it’s one of awe; at other times, it’s one of struggle. (I don’t know if the lyrics come with the digital download; if they don’t, write Kolony Records and ask for them, as they add a necessary dimension to the presentation.)
This manifests itself in the music, which blends light and darkness with grace. Mid-career Enslaved comes to mind, as do the mighty Foscor, and Agalloch in their more adventurous moments. The attack is clean and measured; I bet Hartagga has thrash in his past. As chords modulate up and down, he etches out regal melodies. They would befit both a coronation and a funeral.
It’s also awkward for me to describe this music piece by piece. (This is as crass as describing a woman by her parts.) It acts as a unity, a feeling, an emotional landscape that unfolds gradually. Yes, three chords can hold the truth, but the truth is often more complicated. To this end, Hartagga unfurls rich, complex chords without ego. He’s not flaunting fancy fusion chops; he’s telling a story. It’s deeply moving, and it’s just begun. I eagerly await Ogen’s full-length debut.
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BLACK METAL UNBOUND: INDIVIDUAL TRACK STREAMS
“Shattered Earth Volcano”
[audio: OGEN_1.mp3]
“Black Tusk Retaliation”
[audio: OGEN_2.mp3]
“Crest of the Forgotten”
[audio: OGEN_3.mp3]
“As a Leaden Sun Shineth Upon”
[audio: OGEN_4.mp3]
“A Steel Slope to Desolation”
[audio: OGEN_5.mp3]
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BUY BLACK METAL UNBOUND
Amazon (MP3)
Amazon (CD)
HMV (CD)
The Execution Kollective (CD)
Kolony Records (CD, shirts, hoodie)
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