17th August 2024

Review: “No Serpents, No Saviours” by Orme

Recorded, mixed, mastered, produced and engineered by Wayne Adams (Wallowing, Dawnwalker, Wasted Death) at Bear Bites Horse in London, put simply “No Serpents, No Saviours” by Orme is a 24 minute long single piece of Death Doom Metal. A monument to madness or a sculpture of violence and savagery, it has been chiselled from a mountain in a barren wasteland and is held aloft for all to see. Having previously unleashed a self titled double album in April 2023 that comprises two songs and is a total of 96 minutes, writing a new record seemed the only choice for guitarist and vocalist Tom Clements, bassist Jimmy Long and drummer Luke Thelin when presented with offers of 30 minute festival slots far and wide. The opportunities too good to turn down but the thought of butchering their compositions unsettling. A means to an ends perhaps, “No Serpents, No Saviours” has been designed to fulfil a need for something more urgent and immediate that they have ever dared previously conjure…

Roughly divided into three movements, separated by cult classic horror film samples from Vincent Price and Christopher Lee, “No Serpents, No Saviours” feels ominously monolithic and gargantuan with down tuned riffs bring the slow crush of impending doom. Fleeing respite comes in the form of a whispered vocal passage around the six minute milestone before the dirge laden soul stirring picks up once more. Increasing the intensity with the steady pouring of fuel on the fire before a bloodcurdling vocal moment four minutes later gives the feeling that something wicked this way comes, a powerful finale of skull crushing magnitude fifteen minutes in is simply a false ending. Haunting organ sounds contributed by Adams add another texture to the sonic assault on the senses as the sample ushers in the third and final movement before a warm and fuzzy almost psychedelic guitar solo emerges. Mesmerizingly hypnotic, enthralling and captivating, Orme have the power to move mountains should they so desire because they have mastered subtlety in their Drone fuelled creations. The soundscape to the end of the World as we know it brought about by the actions of mankind, this is one to take to the grave with its occult qualities. Don’t say the soothsayer didn’t warn you [8/10]

Track Listing