ORION
"The
Sound and the Fury" (Hotfoot;. 2005)
Reviewed by Christopher J. Kelter
Orion, a young band from the Long Island area
of New York, have released their debut EP “The Sound And The Fury” on an
upstart label called Hotfoot Records.
On their official website, they describe themselves as a progressive rock band.
And I find this very confusing. From one listen of their demo I can’t see
anybody with a broad understanding of musical genres placing Orion in a
progressive rock category. What I hear is an emo band that takes chances with
their song-structures – but I don’t think that this makes them a progressive
rock band, just forward-thinking.
Regardless, despite my simple categorization of them as an emo band, Orion find
ways to push the envelope in the still-burgeoning emo genre by throwing some
inventive song structures and some neat musical motifs that go above and beyond
the limitations of the emo genre.
A lot of folks complain about emo as being whiny, and I wouldn’t find fault
with those general observations. But I do like a certain measure of desperation
in the music that I listen to and emo just happens to be a good genre for that
particular feeling. Orion, through their songs, lyrics, and vocal delivery, have
a level of desperation that gets to the crux of what makes my head get attracted
to music of this nature.
“The Sound And The Fury” as a five-track demo is enough to make anyone
understand that Orion probably has a reasonably bright future in front of them.
This holds true especially in light of their song-writing skills that will
probably help them overcome any problems that the fickleness of the record
buying (downloading?) public when it comes to genres with limited time-wise mass
appeal like emo might have.
“The Sound and the Fury” was produced and mixed by Mike Watts.
Orion: Jay Schombs on vocals, Dan Yilanes on guitar and vocals, Evan Hess on
guitar and vocals, Kraig Dauerheim on bass, and Salvatore Bono on drums.
For more information visit http://www.orionlongisland.com.
Rating Guide:
A classic. This record will kick your ass.
Killer. Not a classic but it will rock your world.
So-so. You've heard better.
Pretty bad. Might make a nice coaster.
Self explanatory. Just the sight of the cover makes you wanna hurl.
Copyright © 2005 by R. Scott Bolton. All rights
reserved.
Revised: 18 Mar 2024 11:32:25 -0500.
