As someone who knows the Caligari Records catalogue fairly well, I couldn’t help but have an inkling as I started to dive into Orga’s demo. There was something familiar in their music. The musical approach perhaps, the rawness and thinness of the guitars, their catchiness, the blistering crisp of the vocals, the levels of street-ready aggression.
More than the sound, it was the spirit; that black metal soul mixed in with that hardcore punk fuck-you attitude. Needless to say, all those who have missed Boston warriors Human Bodies may find some comfort here, as Orga, a quartet that hails from Indianapolis, discharge six quick cuts in about 15 minutes.
The demo comes to a bizarre start. To be honest, I don’t even know what is going on there, the track is called “No Escape” so maybe one would be wise to make sense of that ulcerous and psychedelic racket on our own. A minute and a half in a riff settles in; jagged and rollick, upbeat and grim. The vocals are of the necrotic kind. Chorus in place and we ain’t exactly talking forest-dwelling trolls here. Not much in the way of hopping around nature, Orga sounds like a bunch of satanic vandals that are up to no good.
“Competition” is hyper as fuck: blast beats galore, tremolo picking, menacing lyrics; all balance out by a nuanced sense of nostalgia. Pay close attention to the guitar layering halfway through the song, it is a touch of sweetness amidst so much racket.
ORGA – Demo – Caligari Records release date is January 25th. buy HERE!
One can only wonder what these guys were doing before forming Orga. There is no info around revealing those details, however, judging by the sonic ventures of this demo I’d be inclined to say that these fellas (vocalist Spiked Bat / guitarist Dark Magsmus / bass Lord Eldritch / drummer Skin Grate) were closer to punk in their background. And I say that because as much as some may proclaim that Orga is a black metal band (and the band makes no such claim as far as I know) the punk attitude is all over this beast.
A song like “Chase / in pain,” for instance, is almost all pure hardcore punk. Frenetic to the core and anchored by an out of control rhythmic base, the track could take a completely different life were we to switch the necro vocals for something a lot more, say ‘earthly’.
Orga’s demo comes to an end with a track called “Raised in Hell”, and it is no ordinary beast. Starts slow, picks up speed and thrashes around like an out of control evolving accident, then it slows down and features a solo the likes of which the style has ever seen. Like the bizarre start of “No Escape” this track too devolves into two minutes of nightmarish noise; bad trip kinda vibe, echoey vocals, the stuff comes in and out of focus and it leaves you wondering whether you have the testis to flip the tape and press play again.
