ORYX
ORYX “Primordial Sky”
By Dr. Abner Mality
It’s been a minute since I’ve heard an all-engulfing release of massive sludge metal. There’s been some great pure doom (what’s up, CRYPT SERMON?) and charged up stoner/desert rock (latest FU MANCHU is pretty darn good), but little in the vein of YOB, CONAN, MOSS or the like. Enter Denver’s ORYX , led by a husband/wife duo of Thomas and Abigail Davis, and if you like long tunes of glacier-size heaviness, acidic guitar solos and a general sci fi/fantasy vibe, this will be your jam for sure.
Just four songs here, which always indicates a band is in no hurry. That can also indicate trouble if boring riffs are pounded into the ground, but ORYX generally manage to find the sweet spot where repetition becomes hypnotic instead of sleep-inducing. The band has some milder atmospheric moments, but most of this is kaiju-level heavy, with a very thick, warm guitar sound. YOB is the closest comparison I can make, as there is a kind of meditative quality to it all. Or maybe a sludgier version of OM. ORYX’s songs are made up of layer upon layer of guitar sounds...some extremely harsh but others clean and crystalline. Mr. And Mrs. Davis seem to handle the vocals, a combination of guttural death roar and crispy scream. No clean singing, as the infamous website says.
There are a couple of places where my eyes glazed over, but the lengthy title track and “Look Upon The Earth” are true epics of cosmic sludge drone. The shorter tracks “Myopic” and “Ephemeral” tend to be a bit more experimental and melodic, but still sludge all the way. If there’s any somber acoustic or more contemplative moments, they soon give way to the heaving concrete waves that are ORYX’s stock in trade.
Not blindingly original, which is par for the course, but very effective sludge here!