Album Review: Orphalis – As The Ashes Settle
Reviewed by Daniel Phipps
You know why festivals are great? Its because if you actually spend time looking out for new acts you find some absolute gems and I know this as its how I discovered German technical death metal unit Orphalis when they performed at Berlin Deathfest in 2019. The 5 piece band absolutely blew me away with a display of technical precision and cemented me as a fan since that day. The band have not released new music since 2019 and are now preparing for the release of As Ashes Settle on Transcending Obscurity records.
I can tell you one thing for sure once you hit play on Orphalis’ 4th full length offering and that is the band from Dortmund are not here to pull any punches, they are coming directly for the kill. You get a sense with a lot of modern technical death metal at times that bands substitute heaviness for Flash, Orphalis are not lumped in with this mixture. As Ashes Settle is a monstrous 11 track affair in which you are not cheated in any way as it combines all the technical playing ability you could wish for but it does not shy away from the brute force that is so important when it comes to writing death metal.
The intensity is on another level with each song flying one after the other at blistering speed and finesse which is accompanied by a set of savage vocals which add another level to this album's ferocity. As Ashes Settle also at points let’s Orphalis move into some other territory musically as at points I heard a more blackened death metal sound which add a really dark element to the record. Some of these can be quite subtle and others such as the blistering intro to “Labyrinth Configuration” just come straight at you and dominate the song.
I really can’t get enough of this record. If you like your technical death metal in the vein of Spawn of Possession with the severity of Deeds of Flesh then this record will not let you down. It’s a collection of tight riffing, huge drums and dominating vocals which will keep you engaged with each listen.
