Orden Ogan

GUNMEN

Orden Ogan have struggled to crack the UK’s turf like they have on mainland Europe, often suffering well-meaning Blind Guardian comparisons, but over 21 years the German power metallers have peeled away from their Tolkien-worshipping forebears with a grittier steer where drums are double-pedal and riffs rip you a new one. Gunmen – a concept tale about the Wild West, with a spooky twist – is possibly the album to convince us Brits that they’re more contemporary than their ‘Euro power’ tag implies. First track, Gunman, goes straight in for the kill with a muscle-flexing collision of brass and kickdrum and an anthemic chorus, continuing the bombast on the hefty Fields Of Sorrow. The sweet croons of former Leaves’ Eyes chanteuse Liv Kristine do little to dilute the power attack of Come With Me To The Other Side, leveraging Orden Ogan’s ambition to dish up something grittier for the Euro metal brigade.