Music as an art form holds the unique quality in that it can effortlessly move you, meanwhile the listener need only provide the most precious of resources: time and attention. Life is rarely a binary choice, but where music is concerned, one often grapples with finding words to express a wide range of sentiments; a few well-timed notes, arranged just so and so, and a handful of lyrics can strike a profoundly poignant yet simple chord to cascade so many vivid shades of succour. The Fates granted that I come across a band that not only catches my ear, but my heart too, and Orphean Passage has a firm grip on both.
The death-doom sextet gained its name from the Greek mythological figure, Orpheus, who travelled into the underworld to rescue Eurydice. Tragedy struck on the cusp of exiting Hades’ realm and he damned his wife to eternal death, and Orpheus sang his grief until he lost his own life. The moribund minstrels hail from Cape Town, South Africa and are bestowed with beautifully miserable melodies that can tame any beast or god. The quality of the band’s musicianship is readily apparent in their members’ rich tapestry of local metal scene experiences from acts such as A Walk with the Wicked, Crow Black Sky, Grämlich, Devilspeak and Mind Assault.
With such a formidable collection of talents, you can expect exquisite attention to detail for their debut album, Apart, because when it comes to doom metal, setting the tone is absolutely everything. From the band’s logo, the album artwork and the little flourishes between crushing riffs, each element is made with the intention to connect with the isolated and forlorn. The album’s weighty sound is matched only by its sombre lyricism and is sure to pluck at the heartstrings of any sombre romantic.
Now, let us delve into the depressive underworld of hymns that renders love Apart:
From the prelude you can already feel an ominous hand reaching out for you… and then pulled deftly into the 12-minute epic that is “Adorned in Midnight”. The initial keyboard tinkling sets the stage for the mood to seep in, and then you’re off to an anomalous lacuna, with your soul adrift in abject darkness. After seven minutes, the drums and bass guitar take on a pace akin to a still-beating heart, leading you into the final stanza of lonely keys.
Next up is “Bereft in Requiem”, a faster slice of doom metal with meaty riffs that is a guaranteed crowd-pleaser. Accompanying the lead guitar is second guitar tone that is sure to leave any My Dying Bride fan with a wry smile. This one has the power to stick with you long after you’re done listening and find yourself growling the song title under your breath.
In the third spot is “Ashen Veil”, a quintessential death-doom song complete with a gothic ensemble of violin and keyboards that invite you to share those secrets you’ve held onto for so many years. Where you find your own voice faltering, the vocals encapsulate the agony in the lyrics. If you think you’re feeling the feels now, just you wait.
When sitting in a church – no matter the occasion – you can’t ignore the unnerving, frisson-inducing sensation of unseen eyes on you, watching and judging your every unspoken sin. If the oh-so guttural vocals and methodical drums of “The Scarlet Mirror” don’t put the fear of some unspeakable deity into you, then the electronic organ will! The musical arrangement with the aforementioned religious instrument is *chef’s kiss*.
The slowest and most emotionally devastating lament on Apart has to be in the sixth slot, “Eclipse”. Listen closely to the lyrics and you will experience a heart-wrenching tale intertwined with a slow-paced harmony that speaks to the saturnine vastness of eros.
Tuning into track seven, “Wreaths For The Wretched”, we are treated to a borderline symphonic epic that harks back to a nostalgic 90s feel of death-doom, sounding like a true classic akin to any of the Peaceville Three’s early discography.
“Her Wounds Cannot Be Seen” makes excellent use of sparse drumming and guitars to let the organ work its dirge-like magic into the eighth elegy. A slab of gargantuan funeral doom that unleashes its full rage at the eight-minute-mark before easing up and allowing the final chord to carry you into the album’s concluding stretch.
Our final step in this trek is “Keket”, which refers to the ancient Egyptian embodiment of darkness. It is an inalienable truth that there must be darkness before light can come, and once the throat-grabbing bassline, punishing drums (with blast beats a minute-and-a-half in) and roars have faded, what wisps around you is a feeling of solace.
The closing minutes of the album ride along on a diminishing, subtly upbeat note, almost as if signalling the catharsis at the end of a taxing journey out of the dark, leading to warmth and hope.
A thread of duality runs the length of Apart: underneath all the sadness and shadows, there’s a certain beauty in the comfort of an intimate, familiar melancholy. Where thoughts of the past, present and future coalesce to share a brief moment of purgation, while acknowledging what is lost, what remains and what may yet come. The extreme metal harmonies are the boat ride through the maelstrom of emotions, and the verses, balm for the driftless soul.
Whatever you take away from Apart, you get the inexorable sense that this was an album crafted with intention, skill, and most of all, love. What is apart in time and space, is together in spirit and memory.
Across Apart’s nearly 65 minutes, you get the impression of a band that does not shy away from its influences, but fully embraces them, provides its own polish and then trudges proudly to the beat of its own despondent heart. A debut album sets the bar of expectation for any musical group and this initial offering has set a commendable first recorded outing, and here’s hoping that whatever comes next, may it be just as gloom-filled and well-produced. What Orphean Passage has created is a fine-tuned effort with high production values, aligning with a clear vision and goal. What is transformed is suffering into something wholly palpable, truly rendering sorrow into sound.
Apart releases on all major streaming services on 30 April.
Track listing:
| 1. | “Prelude” | 2:35 |
| 2. | “Adorned In Midnight” | 12:00 |
| 3. | “Bereft In Requiem” | 6:16 |
| 4. | “Ashen Veil” | 6:20 |
| 5. | “The Scarlet Mirror” | 7:21 |
| 6. | “Eclipse” | 6:37 |
| 7. | “Wreaths For The Wretched” | 6:17 |
| 8. | “Her Wounds Cannot Be Seen” | 9:58 |
| 9. | “Keket” | 7:27 |
Orphean Passage are:
Vocals – Ryan Higgo
Bass – Justin Bedford
Guitar – Malcolm McArb
Guitar – Patrick Davidson
Keyboards – Nicole Potgieter
Drums – Francois Meyer
Follow the moribund minstrels on their socials:
For fans of: My Dying Bride, Paradise Lost, Type O Negative, Theatre of Tragedy, Draconian, Novembers Doom, Saturnus, Swallow the Sun, Tiamat, Shape of Despair, early Anathema and Katatonia.
