THE CONJURATION BY THE FIRE

"The Conjuration By The Fire" is the debut full-length studio album by Finnish progressive rock act The Orne. The album was released in 2006 by Black Widow Records. The Orne is a side-project for the members of Finnish doom metal act Reverend Bizarre plus three other musicians not affiliated with said act.

The music on "The Conjuration By The Fire" is organic sounding melancholic progressive rock. Deeply rooted in early seventies prog. I guess this is as retro as they come. Organ is one of the dominant instruments in the band´s sound (but not in a lead playing way, more atmospheric in nature), but flute, saxophone and of course bass, guitar and drums also colours the soundscape. The vocals by Hegemon Albert Witchfinder are melancholic and a bit pompous if you ask me, but I guess that´s an aquired taste. We´re led through 46:26 minutes distributed over 7 tracks. The quality is good but seldom reaches exellence IMO. The atmosphere is pleasant, melancholic and has a very authentic organic edge that´s greatly enjoyable.

So all in all I´d call "The Conjuration By The Fire" a recommendable release if you enjoy your progressive rock calm, melancholic and organic. The songs aren´t terribly complex and the pace is mostly slow, but the album never loses breath and I´m entertained all the way through. I´d say a 3 - 3.5 star rating is warranted.