While the Ellipsis album is out and streamable now, there is a vinyl version due out imminently and I was very kindly sent a copy to spin. I believe this shiny black circle should ship on March 22nd (though some retailers are still stating April 5th), and you can pre-order it now. A remastered digital version will appear around the same time.
Orphans of the Ash are new to me, but that’s partly due to the fact that as a band they are new. The two members who make the band up, however, are anything but! Zal Cleminson used to play with The Sensational Alex Harvey Band, Nazareth, Midge Ure and also Sin Dogs. Billy McGonagle, if it’s the guy I think it is, is best known for Hell Is For Heroes and Symposium. Together they’ve created something they have wonderfully badged “Glasgow Grunge”. Honestly, that sums it up and I could leave the review there, but I think that would be cheating!
It’s certainly downbeat in a way that Nirvana were when they were at their best, but there’s so much more to it than that. Another term they’ve used, “Misanthropic Metal”, fills in the gaps. OK, so a huge amount of metal seems to be misanthropic, but the negative sentiments seem to flow not just from the lyrics on Ellipsis, but each miserable tone of the music. There are industrial elements, more in the tone than in the use of any effects, and a shoegaze aspect as well, as most of the songs are quite slow and head-noddy rather than fast and angry.
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How best to describe it…? Ministry meets Paradise Lost with Alice Cooper sometimes popping up on vocals and Nirvana on the stereo in the background. It’s morose, downbeat, creepy, angry, trippy, occasionally orchestral or proggy…, oh and then they go and chuck in a rocker like “Last Train Home” or “Ten Years Screaming”. “Starship Babyboo” makes the hair go up on the back of my neck and I’m not sure if it’s because it’s freaking me out or if it’s just so damn good. Or both. I can’t recall the last album I listened to which was so eclectic while still managing to have its own very firm identity.
You can, as mentioned, listen to the album right now on Spotify or wherever. But what’s the vinyl like in terms of sound? Well, I’m no audio snob so to put it simply: it’s gorgeous. I don’t have an expensive setup, but I can easily tell the difference between the streamed version and the vinyl playing through the same setup – and the vinyl wins hands down. It’s just that bit meatier, and makes a great album a smidge greater.
I love walking into an album, indeed a band, with no real preconceptions. Orphans of the Ash are one of those acts that amazes all the more when you realise it’s only two musicians making all this lovely noise. Definitely a highlight of the year so far!
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this is an amazing body of work
Absolutely stunning release