ORCumentary/Self Titled/2023 EP Review

 

  New  England's  ORCumentary  has  returned  with  a  new  recording  which  shows  the  music  going  for a   mixture  of  folk,  death  and  power  metal  with  a  musical  style  they  refer  to  as  being  'orc  metal'  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  self  titled  and  self  released  2023  ep  which  will  be  released  in  August.

  Folk  instruments  start  off  the  album  and  also  mixes  in  with  the  heavier  sections  of  the  songs  at  times.  Symphonic  sounds  can  also be  heard  in  certain  sections  of  the  recording  while  the  riffs  also  add  in  a  decent  amount  of  melody  along  with  the  vocals  being  a  mixture  of  death  metal  growls  and  black  metal  screams.

  Keyboards  are  also  a  very  huge  part  of  the  recording  while  all  of  the  musical  instruments  also  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them.  The  songs  also  mix  in  influences  from  power  metal  into  the  more  melodic  side  of  the  music  along  with  the  faster  sections  of  the  tracks  also  adding  in  a  small  amount  of  blast  beats,  spoken  word  parts  are  also  added  on  the  closing  track.   

 On  this  recording  ORCumentary  goes  for  more  of  a  mixture  of  symphonic  black,  death,  folk  and  power  metal.  The  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  fantasy  and  humor  themes.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  recording  from  ORCumentary  and  if  you a re  a  fan  of  folk,  black  and  death  metal,  you  should  check  out  this  ep.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Blood"  and  "Into  The  West".  8  out  of  10.

  https://youtu.be/fc1Pf7dcwY4

https://open.spotify.com/artist/71XpqE5MgSFHgSSs6TLBFA

https://orcumentary.bandcamp.com/album/orcumentary-2 

ORCumentary/Fully ORChestrated/2021 Full Length Review

 

  ORCumentary  are  a  solo  project  from  New  England  that  has  been  featured  before  in  this  zine  and  on  this  recording  plays  a  comedic  form  of  folk  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  self  released  album  "Fully  ORChestrated"  which  will  be  released  in  2021.

  Folk  instruments  start  off  the  album  and  also  mixes  in  with  the metal  influenced  sections  of  the  music  along  with  some  symphonic  and  orchestra  elements  also  being  added  into  the  songs.  When  spoken  word  parts  are  utilized  they  are  also  done  in  a  very  grim  style  as  well  as  adding  in  some  touches  of  black  metal.

  Death  metal  growls  are  also  a  very  huge  part  of  the  recording  while  some  of  the  songs  also  bring  in  a  small  amount  of  clean  pagan  vocals.  When  rums  are  utilized  they  are  also  done  in  a  very  aggressive  style  and  all  of  the  songs  also  avoid  electric  guitars  or  any  traditional  metal  instruments  as  well  as  one  of  the  tracks  being  a  cover  of  "Where's There  A  Whip,  there  is  A Way"  which  also  introduces  female  vocals  onto  the  recording.

  On  this  recording  ORCumentary  keeps  the  black  and  death  metal  vocals,  folk  music  elements  and  goes  into  more  of  a  symphonic  and  orchestral  direction  with  this  recording.  The  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  humorous  and  ORC  themes.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  recording  from  ORCumentary  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  black, death,  pagan,  folk  and  symphonic  metal,  you  should  check  out  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Goblin  Death  March"  "Troll  Snot"  and  "Orcs On  Ice".  8 out  of  10.

• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ORCumentaryOfficial
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/ORCumentary
• Bandcamp: https://orcumentary.bandcamp.com/

  

  

ORCumentary Interview

1.Can you give us an update on what has been going on with the musical project since the recording of the new album?



Finishing the album was a big relief, but no rest for the wicked, as they say. I have two CD pre-release shows lined up in a couple weeks, so I’m busy rehearsing 7 new songs.



2.You have a new album coming out in October, how would you describe the musical sound that is presented on the recording and also how does it differ from the stuff you have released in the past?



Destroy the Dwarves is a continuation of the style on Orcs 1 Goblins 0, which is the album I think of as ORCumentary’s true beginning. I coined a new “genre” called “orc rock”, because it’s legitimately difficult to sum up my style quickly. I incorporate influences from music I like (mainly melodic death, industrial metal, power metal, and folk metal). I have fast songs, mid songs, slow songs, straightforward songs, long songs, melodic songs, aggressive songs, you get the idea. I work very hard to make sure every song is one I can be proud of, one I will enjoy playing live, and one that offers something that hasn’t been presented in an ORCumentary song before.



Bringing all that back to your original question, I went even further on both ends of the musical spectrum with Destroy the Dwarves. To give two quick(ish) examples, there’s one song towards the end of the album that’s about 3 minutes long. Very catchy and straightforward. It starts out as kind of a garage rock song but it kind of builds into something heavier and there’s a great guitar solo in it. Now compare that to a song around the middle that’s 7 minutes long, has an ambient intro, switches tempos midway through, and has extended instrumental sections. That and everything in between is what listeners can expect to hear on Destroy the Dwarves.



3.What are some of the lyrical topics and subjects you explore with the newer music?



Lyrically, ORCumentary’s music follows a storyline. To sum it up quickly, Orc Adams, hero of the orcs and wielder of the Keyboard of Mayhem, is on a mission to establish orc supremacy and lay low all the other races in The Five Lands. Destroy the Dwarves is a continuation of that story and the Dwarves are on the chopping block next. The Dwarves raise a white flag and want to meet with Adams to make a peace treaty, but the hero of the Orcs has other ideas. Needless to say, things don’t go according to plan for either party. There’s lots of violence, flatulence (as Dwarves are rather gassy), scheming, razor-sharp wit, and the ending is rather shocking.



4.What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name ORCumentary?



It literally means “a documentary about orcs.” The lyrical content has always been from the perspective of orcs, but everything after my debut album follows a continuous storyline.



5.On the albums you record everything my yourself, are you planning on expanding the line up in the future or do you chose to remain solo?



I get asked this question a lot. I thought about making it a full band once, went as far as to seriously consider it. However, ORCumentary means too much to me to allow anyone else to be a part of the process, if that makes sense. It’s been my creative outlet for almost 10 years. It has also already been established as a solo band, and people love it that way. It’s part of what makes ORCumentary stand out. Something huge would be lost if other people were added to the mix It’s nice to be in complete control of everything, although the downside of that is if I’m not motivated, nothing gets done. If I could do absolutely everything myself for ORCumentary I would, but I don’t have the skills/means to do the mastering and artwork. Luckily, Not A Damn Cheese Design and I are always on the same page when it comes to bringing my ideas to life, and my friend Ben Lane does a great job mastering.



6.What are some of the best shows that you have played so far and also how would you describe your stage performance?



My live show is literally just me on stage with a keyboard and a mic. I have a larger-than-life stage presence, which makes up for the lack of members. Orc Adams on stage is the complete opposite of what I’m like in real life. He’s boisterous, loud, demanding, arrogant, but he’s got a great sense of humor (although I have a good sense of humor too) and the stage shenanigans are really hard to take seriously. Anyways, I do vocals and play keyboard parts live. It’s very energetic, or so I like to think.



My favorite show so far has been my CD release back in 2013 for Orcs 1 Goblins 0. For the songs “Orc and the Butterfly” and “Sword of Iron”, a group of about 15 people came up and helped me do the gang vocal parts. It was pretty surreal. I also opened for Agalloch back in 2012, which was really cool too.



7.Do you have any touring or show plans once the new album is released?



Nothing concrete, but I’m probably going to take it easy for the rest of this year. Might pick up a couple shows, but next year is when the heavier gigging will take place. I can’t do extensive touring, but I want to do a few weekend tours next spring/summer; hopefully the Philly area, maybe return to Buffalo, who knows?



8.Can you tell us a little bit more about Orc Rock Records?



Most people/publications take artists who are signed more seriously, so that was honestly the only reason why I put it on there.



9.In one interview you talked about your interest in fantasy novels, what are some of the fantasy authors that you have taken an interest in lately?



Terry Brooks is my favorite author. 5 of his books are at the top of my “to read” list. R.A. Salvatore is one of my favorites too, although I haven’t read any of his books in years (he’ll be next). I really liked the first four books in The Sword of Truth series, but I couldn’t stick with the fifth one. Jacqueline Carey wrote this really interesting duology called The Sundering, which portrayed the “villains” as the heroes often are, and the “heroes” as the villains often are.



To be honest, I haven’t been good about keeping up with new authors and those recommended to me because up until a few years ago I had kind of “fallen out” of reading. Now that things have settled down a bit in my life, I’ve been re-reading a lot of the ones I own. I want to be “caught up”, per se, before pursuing new authors and books. Over the past few years, I’ve reread LOTR, Harry Potter, Dragonlance Chronicles (which was a bit of a disappointment), and some Terry Brooks too.



10.On a worldwide level how has the feedback been to your music by fans of metal?



The response is mostly positive. Usually the only really negativity is from the online community. It’s definitely a love it or hate it thing. The people who come out to shows have a great time and can appreciate not only the comedic aspects, but the musicianship too. I’m really lucky that the response has been as supportive and positive as it has been.



11.Where do you see yourself heading into as a musician in the future?



I’d like to continue to keep songwriting as my main focus. I’ve kind of started a side band (actual band with other people) and I have 4 songs in various stages of completion for that. I don’t want to talk too much about it, but I really want to do just vocals live if it kicks off and we start doing shows.



I like the idea of getting back into playing sheet music as well. I took piano lessons for 11 years (age 7 to 18), but after I graduated high school, my main focus has been on songwriting. Getting back into technical and theoretical study on the piano would be great, but it depends on if I have the musical time for it.



Eventually I’d like to start a project for ambient/soundtrack style music, but again it’s about having the time and sufficient inspiration. The vast majority of what I listen to is metal, so that’s what I want to play and write most of the time. I have a really hard time finding non-metal that’s interesting, so I think I’d like to make whatever ambient/non-metal side project similar to ORCumentary, in the sense that I’d take influence from lots of other genres and just write what I like to hear.



12.What are some of the bands or musical styles that have had an influence on your newer music and also what are you listening to nowadays?



My favorite subgenres are melodic death metal, power metal, and industrial metal. I’m influenced by a lot of different bands these days, but my favorites are Elvenking, Mnemic, Soilwork, Poets of the Fall, and Thrice. I also really like certain soundtracks like LOTR. I can find something good in most styles of music, whether it’s something I personally enjoy or not



13.What are some of your non-musical interests?



My non-musical interests include reading, walking, archery (although I don’t get to do it very often), video games, and movies. I love spring and fall weather and I try to be outside as much as possible in those times of year.



14.Before we wrap up this interview, do you have any final words or thoughts?



Thanks for your thoughtful questions and for taking the time to listen to my music. Keep orc rock alive!

https://orcumentary.bandcamp.com/

ORCumentary/Destroy The Dwarves/Orc Rock Records/2015 Full Length Review

  ORCumentary  are  a  solo  project  from  the   Orc  lands  that  plays  a  mixture  of  folk,  industrial,  power,  black  and  death  metal  and  this is  a  review  of  his  2015  album  "Destroy  the  Dwarves"  which  was  released  by  Orc  Rock  Records.

  Neo  folk  style  keyboards  start  off  the  album  along  with  some  grim  black  metal  screams  a  few  seconds  later  and  once  the  music  gets  heavy  elements  of  industrial  and  death  metal  can  be  heard  as  well  as  some  growling  vocals  being  mixed  in  at  times  and  the  riffs  also  bring  in  a  great  amount  of  melodies.

  Throughout  the  recording  there  is  a  great  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  along  with  a  decent  amount  of  blast  beats  and  all  of  the  musical  instruments  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  and  some  tracks  also  mix  heavy  parts  with  electro  industrial  elements  and  you  can  also  hear  clean  singing  on  some  of  the  tracks  and  as  the  album  progresses  folk  instruments  can  be  heard  at  times  while  some  songs  can  also  be  very  symphonic  at  times  and  when  solos  and  leads a re  utilized  they  give  the  music  more  of  an  old  school  metal  feeling.

  ORCumentary  plays  a  musical  style  that  takes  death,  black,  industrial,  folk  and  power  metal  and  mixes  them  to  create  a  musical  style  known  as  'orc  rock',  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  orcs,  goblins  and  dwarf  themes.

  In  my  opinion  ORCumentary  are  a  very  great  sounding  mixture  of  death,  black,  industrial,  folk  and  power  metal  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  solo  project.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Destroy  the  Dwarves"  "He  Drank  Deep  From  His  Mug"  "Within  The  Folds  Of  My  Fat"  and  "Cropduster".  8  out  of  10.    

http://www.metalunderground.com/news/details.cfm?newsid=115689