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ORDER OF THE EBON HANDS "VII: The Chariot"
https://www.orthodoxblackmetal.com/
Order of the Ebon Hand, despite of their very few releases during the twenty-five years that they exist, they are pretty known and respected by the underground and not only the Greek one. If you listen their releases throughout their long history, you will understand why they deserve that respect. So, after a long absence from discography, they return after fourteen years after their second full length album, to present us their third one called “VII: The Chariot” which was release in June of 2019 by Satanath Records limited to 500 copies and it contains eight tracks of about forty-four minutes in total. Their music is a nice mixture of nineties Black Metal, you can listen to the Scandinavian influences such as Satyricon, some modern touches which may remind you of Watain and of course the obvious references to the oldschool Greek Black Metal sound. The first element that found quite impressive is the perfect balance that they have achieved between melody and speed. Although that the album is really powerful and the speed is fast almost in most of it, the melody is always present. The other characteristic that i would like to mention is the very nice double guitar riffing. There are a lot of parts where the guitars play a similar riff but not the same at the same time, giving a very interesting result. The last element that i liked was the use of keyboards. They are present only in a few parts of the album, where the band needs to add a more atmospheric touch to the music and the very elegant keyboards do it perfectly. The songs last from four to eight minutes and each one has a unique structure, other times they depend on how the riffs build up the intensity and lead up to the climax, while other times they depend on the changing of the riffs and of the tempo, leading the compositions up to their climax by the use of keyboards or slower passages. It also seems that they have put much thought into the structure of the tracks and none of them becomes boring to the listener. Regarding the bands performance, all of its members have delivered a very strong and flawless performance. The guitars, which are the leading instrument, have a clean sound and a very accurate output. The bass is not that audible and sometimes, I think that is missing from the compositions. The drums are very stable and accurate while they do not lack of passion. The production is clean and quite flat. I think that if the bass was more audible and the overall result more bassy, the sound would highlight the compositions in a much better way. In my opinion, the burring of the bass is the only flaw in the mixture, which despite that, it presents the instruments correctly. The vocals are very expressing Black Metal vocals that reminded me a lot of Satyr, both in the growling parts and in the cleaner – more narrating ones. The lyrics are written in English and they are contained into the nice, six-page booklet. The lyrics presented here are dark stories of life and death, inspired by classical writings and mythical worlds as their two songs “Knight of Swords” and “Αίαντας” by Shakespearss “Macbeth” and Sofocles “Aias”. Generally, the return of Order of the Ebon Hand is a quality release. It wont be a monumental album of the Greek Black metal scene, but it can show, on one hand how the band has evolved through time and on the other hand the quality and variety of the Greek scene. The tracks I liked most were “Dreadnaught”, “Wings”, “Sabnock” and “Αίαντας”, although all tracks have their interesting moments. This release will be surely appreciated by the fans of the 90ies driven Scandinavian and Greek Black Metal. This is a nice album that deserves your attention.
https://www.orthodoxblackmetal.com/order-of-the-ebon-hand-vii-the-chariot/
ORDER OF THE EBON HANDS "VII: The Chariot"
https://www.metal-archives.com/
Another day, another great metal band from Greece. This time we got Order of the Ebon Hand who have already been formed in 1994. The band has been put on hold for a few years which might explain why “VII: The Chariot” is only their third full length. Quality over quantity they say so let is jump straight into this record. Instead of trying to find a completely new sound Order of the Ebon Hand took a lot of inspiration from the big Scandinavian bands of the nineties and injected some of their own ideas to make the music come across fresh and lively. The main riffs might sound like something fans of the genre have heard before but some of the chord progressions feel like a modernized twist on something that has been done decades ago. A lot of the trademark chops are repeated over and over again but often with subtle variation lending the music a slightly monotonous but at the same time hypnotical and very stringent character. Combining various strains of black metal, including traditional, atmospheric, and even hints of depressive, the music of is quite unique in feel once given time to work its dark magic on you. The classic tremolo runs can be found here as well but there is an omnipresent eerie feeling to the music lifting it above your average black metal release. The astonishing lead harmonies are always present in the background providing a lot of haunting harmonies and lending the whole music an epic and moody character. The guys from Order of the Ebon Hand have put a lot of emphasis on creating an atmosphere that is eerie and dark yet has a certain kind of melancholic beauty. That being said they also made sure that the songwriting is stringent and the single songs are enjoyable. The vocals are haunting and perfectly fit to the relentless instrumentation. In a few sections the tempo is taken out a bit only using ambient sounds underlining the atmospheric and captivating character of the music. This album is not just a bunch of tracks tagged together but a carefully told story in musical format. The production is also perfectly serviceable with all details being audible without problem. The drums have enough punch and everything else is crystal clear as well. Rounded off by a really great looking cover “VII: The Chariot” is a must have for each fan of clever and captivating black metal.
ORDER OF THE EBON HANDS "VII: The Chariot"
http://www.metalcrypt.com/
Order of the Ebon Hand are a band that have been crawling in the shadows of the land of ancient mysticism and mesmerizing Black Metal known as Greece for decades. They originally broke up after their debut in 1998, but they reformed in 2003 and have technically been active since then, even though this is the first full-length they have released since 2005. Anyway, these guys specialize in blasting out hyperspeed Black Metal that roughly sounds like a mix between Dark Funeral and Immortal. These guys fire on all cylinders for the entire album, with every song blazing forward like spitting flames from the burning pits of hell. Drummer Deimos is especially worthy of note, as his non-stop skin bashing is enough to make me wonder how he could keep this shit up in a live setting without breaking something. All that said, there is not an original idea in sight, and with the exception of the exciting "The Slow Death Walk", the songs are all fairly one-note in their intensity and would have been helped greatly if they had a little more variation. I can not say these guys are going to change the world of Black Metal as we know it, but they will definitely get some love from fans of the more extreme end of the genre.
http://www.metalcrypt.com/pages/review.php?revid=11762
ORDER OF THE EBON HANDS "VII: The Chariot"
http://www.vm-underground.com/
Order of the Ebon Hand are a Greek band. Personally, I know them from their debut album, “The Mystic Path to the Netherworld” 1997 on Hypervorea Records. It was not a bad debut – it had its moments and its dead moments, but was not really ground-breaking as well. I missed out on their second album on Season Of Mist, so this third album is a new form of acquaintance. Merkaal is still handling the vocals and the bass. The debut album drew mystic & occult influences from fellow musicians like Septic Flesh, that I do remember. This new album does not represent a totally new sound, but does sound rejuvenated. Both the sound and the production are of a substantial high quality, delivering a powerful, yet detailed vibrant sound where each instrument can be heard perfectly. The first track surprised me nicely due to the use of what seemed a 1970-ies Hammond organ – pulsating keyboard shards into that song. Basically, Order Of The Ebon Hand do not sound as your typical Greek arcane and deeply mystical old school Varathron / Rotting Christ / Necromantia band. They seem to draw their influences more from the Scandinavian scene. Guitars have the usual tremolo techniques but they do vary in sound and texture : in accordance with the song in question – they vary from the typical trademark cold riffs, to more melodic frenzied scrubbing over the strings. Scandinavian Black Metal, atmospheric guitars, acoustic and folkloric parts, distant choirs. Even a brief depressive hint passes by. What does strike me is how the guitars tend to mount to an accumulation of atmosphere and epic greatness in almost every single track. Drums sound nicely powerful and distinct with a panoramic sound, furious blast beats, hammering fills and rolls. A solid basis on which all tracks are performed at a high pace. The vocals of Merkaal have also improved. From the raw un-dimensional creepy raw screaming, to a more profound and varied emotional vocal style, which matches perfectly the unbridled energy and diversity of this new album. Of course, since 1997, recording facilities have improved intensely. Still: no modern digital techniques nor wizardry can disguise a mediocre song. The songs on this new album are presented with a refreshing flair of professionalism and numerous moments of grandeur. I can not find any weak song on “VII: The Chariot”. The constant punching of the drums, the intense mounting and cascading walls of machine gunning guitars an audible bass and very dedicated vocals make this album a strong contender in the field of "modern" melodic, yet harsh and eerie volatile Black metal music. Fans of energetic, well-constructed and lyric wise deep Black Metal with perfectly executed melodies but also menacing riffing, hooks, details that stick in your head and are capable of giving you a serious adrenalin boost, need not to hesitate for a moment. This is one of thé better releases in the genre and quite original as well. And by no means mediocre, uninspired or just a carbon copy of other styles. I have spoken. Damnit!!
http://www.vm-underground.com/review/order-of-the-ebon-hand-vii-the-chariot/