O.R.k - Ramagehead
1 - O.R.k
LEF on vocals, Carmelo Pipitone on guitars, Colin Edwin on bass and Pat Mastelotto on drums. The quartet have a distinct multi-continental flavour with Colin an Australian, LEF and Carmelo from Italy and Pat being American. While this would slow many bands down in terms of recording output and playing live - that can’t be further from the truth.
2 - SOUND LIKE
Colin Edwin has worked with Porcupine Tree, and Pat Mastelotto with King Crimson. Those two bands are a good starting point. O.R.k are progressive rock with art rock and other alternative influences.
3 - DISCOGRAPHY
They work hard and fast, releasing three albums in four years, all of great quality:
2016 - Inflamed Rides (46 minutes)
2017 - Soul of an Octopus (41 minutes)
2019 - Ramagehead (39 minutes)
4 - LEF IS A TRAINED OPERA SINGER
LEF mentions that with O.R.k, he wanted to avoid the usual rock stereotypes when it comes to vocals, especially when it comes to controlling the instrument. On Ramaghead he delivers a remarkable vocal performance. LEF can sound like Steven Wilson on Kneel to Nothing, then in the latter half of the brilliant Signals Erased he summons Jeff Buckley and out does him (seriously). On Beyond Sight a distinct Bowie influence enters, and that is only the first three tracks. When LEF flexes his vocal chords, he has that Chris Cornell edge, and there is not another person on planet earth that can sound like Chris Cornell.
5 - SERJ TANKIAN
While we wait and hope for a new SOAD album, this will do. Serj soars over piano on the sombre and sinister Black Blooms, it a wonderful performance and he has not lost it - in fact he sounds better than ever.
6 - MOOD
This is distinctly darker than Inflamed Rides and Should of an Octopus, and they were not peaches and roses releases either. Here O.R.k have written an album that demonstrates the bewilderment at the current state of the world. There is a tone of uncertainty, despair, shock and a fair bit of awe. It also uses themes of an overload of information. In terms of mood, pace and tone: Porcupine Tree’s The Incident is a good marker here.
7 - HIGHLIGHT
The songwriting on the whole is very well done, they have come a long way in such a short period of time. On Ramagehead there is a level of patience, restraint and craft. That is best illustrated with the last three tracks. Some Other Rainbow I is a moody little track at under two minutes, which is then followed by Strangled Words, which has a live vibe that is perfect for what comes afterwards. Some Other Rainbow II then rounds out the album at slightly under 6 minutes. When the lyrics “catch my fire” and “leave me now” come back in after appearing on Part I - it is a special moment and a moment that signals this band to be a very special one. For the band to split Some other Rainbow in two is clever, and many others would not have thought to track list in this manner.
8 - BE PATIENT
The opening four tracks are immediate and are the heaviest section on the album; but the rest demands and rewards the listener on repeat listens. This has been our most listened to album in 2019. It was released in February, and is only starting to get under our skin, festering in our dreams and lurking it’s way into our psyche as September hits.
9 - DETAILS
Mixed by Adrian Benavides and three-time Grammy-winning engineer Marc Urselli (U2, Foo Fighters, Nick Cave), and masteried by Michael Fossenkemper, the engineering was by Benavides and Bill Munyon. The cover art comes courtesy of Adam Jones (TOOL)
10 - CLIP