ORATOR – THE BURDEN OF EXISTENCE

(Andy Synn gets up on his soapbox to proclaim the superiority of Orator‘s new EP)

Well, here we are again, another Monday and another week of existence.

But if you’re looking for something short, sweet, and utterly savage to help ease your burden then I’ve got just the thing for you.

Clocking in at just over sixteen minutes, the three tracks which make up Orator‘s new EP are a straight shot of pure auditory adrenaline which targets the same parts of your brain as bands like Hate Eternal, Hour of Penance, and pre-Satanist era Behemoth do (or, at least, used to).

Kicking off with the nigh-on unrelenting neck-wrecker that is “Failure”, the Seattle-based trio quickly lay out (almost) all their cards on the table – delivering a barrage of punishingly propulsive riffs and inhumanly intense drums, all topped off with a gnarly, glass-chewing growl reminiscent of A Hill To Die Upon‘s Adam Cook and tinged with just the right amount of malevolent melody to charm even the most recalcitrant of listeners – confident that that they’re in possession of a winning hand.

They’re also smart enough to keep a few subtle tricks hidden up their collective sleep too, as seen during the gloomy acoustic intro and outro of “Suffering” or the more bleakly blackened strains of cinematic closer “Perseverance”, whose sparing use makes their ultimate impact far more significant.

Indeed, it’s this latter track which really showcases what Orator are capable of when they reach a little higher and push a little bit more outside of their comfort zone, achieving a more grandiose and – dare I say it – “epic” sound without sacrificing any of their vaunted extremity or vicious intensity in the process.

So if you’re struggling to find the energy to face this coming week… get this into your ears pronto. Because there’ll be no stopping you after that.