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American symphonic metal band
ORYAD
has released single/video
‘Blood’
It’s been three months since the mind-blowing first single ‘Scorched Earth’ was released by United States’ phenomenal new stars on the quasi-operatic metal horizon: ORYAD.
Following ‘Scorched Earth’ and ‘Eve’, ‘Blood’ presents the band’s third video single that is out to not only shine for itself as another breath-taking masterpiece, but to also accompany and celebrate the release of ORYAD’s long awaited debut album ‘Sacred & Profane’.
Leveling the field via a piano intro taken from Beethoven’s ‘Piano Sonata Opus 10’, ORYAD are pulling the listener immediately into the high epoch of classical music.
And Beethoven’s particularly dark and heavy flavor enlarges the epic opening of ‘Blood’, which was the band’s first contribution to ‘Sacred & Profane’ – albeit only after going through several meticulously crafted iterations.
The intro then progresses into a modern, doom-oriented Black Metal style, adding various string elements and a guitar melody line, before a chugging guitar riff kicks in, which then leads to a heavy dragging groove accompanied by a double bass pattern on the drums.
The heavy low vibe continues throughout the verses, but leaves enough space for classically trained singer Moira Murphy’s voice to shine on top brightly, painting a wonderful contrast.
The pre-chorus section describes a consuming emptiness;
it leaves just the right amount of space for the chorus to then come in with lingering guitar chord layers providing a dramatic and dark heaviness to the metamorphous song as it opens up once again.
Unconventionally, right after the chorus the soloing guitar manifests a very classically constructed shred-fest and shows once more the band’s ability to work with great dynamics even within segments of the song itself.
Absolutely haunting is Moira’s almost theatrical way of performing the second verse with a ghost-like dramatic phrasing of the lyrics, as it feeds a ceremonial vibe to the listener’s ears.
As the song continues to build with more layers of orchestral elements during the second chorus, the humongous production vents itself to a classic blast beat to set the climax of the track.
Adding more vocal layers, Moira’s high C note in the harmonies perfectly creates that weird metal opera, right before the song framing gets completed by the classical piano outro.
In a nutshell, the band’s third video single ‘Blood’ shows the capability of ORYAD’s fantastic knowledge of how to build and orchestrate song dynamics in the most epic way.
Visually a powerful homage to the glorious Italian Giallo cinema of the late 60s to early 70s, and to iconic directors such as Mario Bava and Dario Argento, the song should totally be checked out by fans of movie score legends Goblin, too:
It’s weird, morbid, and beautiful.
Dario Argento once said
“I have very beautiful, interesting nightmares”
and ‘Blood’ could have been born from a similar thought.
If you’re already fond of ORYAD’s first two singles, you are going to love ‘Blood’, and it is safe to say that their album ‘Sacred & Profane’ has many more ear candies for fans of progressive black and doom metal with modern elements and a touch of mystic classical vibes.
American symphonic metal band
ORYAD
has released single/video
‘Eve’
track-list:
The Path: Part I
Scorched Earth
Blood
Lilith
Eve
Alchemy
Wayfaring Stranger
Through The Veil
Slice Of Time
The Path: Part II
Fans of ORYAD’s mystic prog metal have desperately waited for the band’s second video single to be released on April 13th – and with the vibrant and yet beautifully diverse song ‘Eve’, they shall not be disappointed:
Listeners are being sucked right into a mystic world from the get-go.
With a low drone intro, complimented by haunted whispers and dissonant string elements, your ears are being pleased and your mind is immediately yanked off the spiral of stress and drab monotony of everyday life.
ORYAD’s epic sound comes in heavy and dark with a line of long hi-gain chord layers.
The single’s intro continues to build up before the verse leaves room for band leader Moira’s powerful vocals to unfold.
Surprisingly, the following chorus kicks in with a black metal vibe blast beat, while the vocal hook line climbing on top of it allows the song to open up, entering an even bigger epic level.
During the instrumental part later on in the six and a half minutes long piece, more string ensemble segments are added to again raise the dynamic to greater heights before the ultimate break-down with an edgy repetitive guitar riff, while adding more and more elements to finalize this part with a prog drum groove.
Accompanied by a wonderful music video, ORYAD then throw their listeners into a dreamy underworld scenario, describing ‘Eve’ as follows:
“This song is a monologue wherein ‘Eve’ speaks back to her original tempter, to stand up for her own personhood rather than take the blame for all of humanity’s weaknesses. The poetry was inspired by Edna St. Vincent Millay’s Sonnet II in Epitaph for the Race of Man. We loved adding heavy doom and black metal touches to this song to give an edge to one of myth’s mothers of mankind.”
The bridge ends on a stunning long high soprano c note sung by Moira, which builds a classic emotional and dramatic minor 6th interval to the chord foundation underneath.
Starting off with single hits creating excitement and tension, the chorus kicks back in before jumping right into the blast beat section again.
And just as we got lured to this door, tempted by atmospheric yet again haunting vibes, a single note guitar picking pattern drifts away into the distance like a brittle, unspoken farewell – or is it?
Each song – ‘Eve’ included – on ORYAD’s upcoming album ‘Sacred & Profane’ (release: May 25) speaks for the deep connection with nature and its spirits.
The music holds the ability to carry its listeners through a colorful pallet of emotions, a journey which the band describes as follows:
“In our society, we have anesthetized so much of the human experience and partitioned off parts of ourselves, claiming that anger, for example, can only be ugly. That grief should be hidden. That it is socially acceptable to only revel in their brighter siblings love, joy, and hope…which only makes those three more cloying and homogenized.”
Eve has been recorded by Moira Murphy, Matt Gotlin-Sheehan and Luca Grieman at The Band Cave Studios in Denver, as well as at Toxoplasma Records in East Tennessee.
Once again Vikram Shankar did a fantastic job on mixing and mastering this epic mystic song, combining elements from earlier classical romantic and baroque periods with a modern black metal dark prog touch.
Fans are definitely gonna enjoy this artful mystic piece of ear candy.
American symphonic metal band
ORYAD
has released single/video
‘Scorched Earth’
There are scientific studies that proof how metalheads and people listening to classic music have similiar psychological profiles.
Well, this sounds like quite an odd thing to say, thinking of a heavy metal concert compared to a night at the opera house.
But then we all know there’s a long history of (classically trained) opera singers in metal bands.
So there might be something right about this theory after all.
And the best thing about it is that there are always new faces contributing to this:
ORYAD from Tennessee offer metal opera with a touch of gothic and doom, deeply connected to nature and the myths of their home.
Band lead Moira is a trained opera singer and has taken classes in orchestral arranging specialized for metal bands.
ORYAD present the first single from their upcoming album ‘Sacred & Profane’.
‘Scorched Earth’ presents the band’s first video single that is out to conquer the world of mystic metal, yet combined with prog and doom elements.
Presented with an eye-capturing artful video completing the full package, it touts the upcoming new album ‘Sacred & Profane’ (coming May 25, 2023).
the band dives into the song’s meaning:
“While ‘Scorched Earth’ tactics in war are brutal and dehumanizing, it was the only term that best encapsulated the feeling you get when you decide to radically change your life. As new tree growth comes from the ashes of forest fires, new opportunities can arise out of truly starting over. This song is a celebration of that and probably our most ‘straight-ahead’ tune that resembles traditional symphonic metal.”
The excellent production includes sharp, edgy heavy guitar riffing and delivers the perfect foundation for truly operatic vocals to shine.
On top, a classic guitar solo mating with the song and a musical intensification towards the end of the listening experience, sweeps in to finalize the track.
Shoulder to shoulder with a double speed drum battery, it scorches and fertilizes the ground under this majestic and atmospheric piece.
The band recruited producer Vikram Shankar, winner of the National Federation of Music Clubs competition for classical composition, for the album’s mixing and mastering, which sets an overall rounded sound for ‘Sacred & Profane’.
Although the band has been working on music since 2017, the new and fresh material, written from 2020-2022, creates a more progressive doom opera style, adding modern elements to the symphonic metal foundation.
Compared to their mini album ‘Hymns of Exile & Decay’, which the band released in June 2021, the sound of Oryad has elevated to a broader level, with heavy emphasis on ritual and dance at their live shows.
Oryad keep their artful eye on creating a live experience for the audience that feels more like a musical emotional journey, connecting with nature and myths, rather than simply just playing songs during their eye catching live performances.
the band describes:
“The songs are an exploration of ourselves, grief, and our connection to the universe through the vehicles of myth.”
Oryad band lead Moira Murphy and her operatic, powerful vocal performance constitute the force of the band.
Although in the early steps of each creative process, Moira and drummer Matt Gotlin-Sheehan joined hands, the process then continued in team effort with additional musicians Luca and Adam, who are classically trained in jazz, to meet the music’s majestic and powerful demands.
The album and new music benefit strongly from Moira, who is a trained opera singer, but has also taken classes in orchestral arranging specialized for metal bands in 2020 with Francesco Ferrini (pianist and orchestrator of Fleshgod Apocalypse), stepping up the arrangement game for the band.
Each song on the album speaks for the deep connection with nature and its spirits.
The music holds the ability to carry its listeners through a colorful pallet of emotions, a journey which the band describes as follows:
“In our society we have anesthetized so much of the human experience and partitioned off parts of ourselves, claiming that anger, for example, can only be ugly. That grief should be hidden. That it is socially acceptable to only revel in their brighter siblings love, joy, and hope…which only makes those three more cloying and homogenized.”