Ouroboros - Glorification Of A Myth

(CD, Private, 2011)

It is funny how a band’s ancestry can misguide the unaware listener who is eager to put a music tag to a band even before listening to a single song.  Personally I like doing that from time to time solely based on my hunch as a devoted metalhead who is always on the hunt for new music. In this case I tried to identify Australia’s OUROBOROS based on the extreme Metal sounding name and the country’s rich musical background (do you really need band names from this country?). So, balancing between modern and classic Metal I came to the conclusion that only by luck I could hit the bull’s eye with my assumptions so it was better to hit the play button.

“Black Hole Generator” grabbed me by the throat and I was left speechless crushed by the solid technical Death Metal that woke memories from DEATH’s latest and last albums. I could use the term progressive Metal but this could spoil the metalheads’ appetite who don’t like their music served with tons of showing off and ultra-high musicianship that after a while is simply meaningless and boring. Here OUROBOROS keep the golden mean between aggression and high quality guitar work that despite the riff complexity it keeps the listener focused. The vocals feature the kind of growls where one can understand the lyrics and consequently get connected to the every song theme. Apart from the striking Schuldiner influenced riffs I discovered some nice SYMPHONY X phrases and during the faster parts the name of Jeff Waters popped inside my mind. In similar technical Death Metal albums additional CD spins are required for the album to grow inside and for the songs to be imprinted in the listener’s memories since there is a lot of going on in the music structure. But, here this is not the case since the Aussies have used a couple of riffs and melodies that are easy to follow and eventually characterize every song even after the first listening session.  “Animal, Man... Machine” is the perfect example of my saying kicking in with a killer ANNIHILATOR-esque riff just before the song explodes through the deep growling, the excellent bass sound and the drum work that changes tempos at ease. The same goes for the faster “Sea To Summit” where the finger work hits the SYMPHONY X memory bank and the blasting rhythm section is capable to bring tears to the eyes every bass guitarist. The guitar based intro and the fret blasting leads in “Edifice of Tyranny” will blow your ears off as the track dives into SLAYER inspired riff break, awesome!

The sound production keeps everything in balance and the melody co-exists with the fast Death Metal aggression without the usual overlapping that makes everything sounding like noise. It is strange getting this high quality works from band that doesn’t seem to be supported by a major record label and this makes me wonder many times who is responsible for signing bands and is curriculum vitae to handle this – I think – delicate task. Nevertheless, this is a killer debut from a band that manages to sound fresh and original even though it is not breaking new grounds.

8/10 

Links:

www.Ouroboros.Mu
www.MySpace.Com/OuroborosMetal
www.FaceBook.Com/Ouroborosmusic

Tracklist:

01. Black Hole Generator
02. Lashing Of The Flames
03. Animal, Man... Machine
04. Sanctuary
05. Sea To Summit
06. Disembodied Mind
07. Dissolve
08. Panacea
09. Edifice Of Tyranny
10. Absent From Entity

Lineup:

Michael Conti - Bass, Backing Vocals
David Horgan - Drums
Chris Jones - Guitars
Mikhail Okrugin - Guitars
Evgeny Linnik - Vocals

Written by Dimitris Kontogeorgakos Sunday, 11 September 2011 13:18