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.

Finnish act Orne was formed in late-90's in Turku, featuring three members of the Doom Metal group Reverend Bizarre, singer Albert Witchfinder, guitarist Peter Vicar and drummer/leyboardist Jay Lovely.Reputedly the band's original name was Mesmer, changing to Orne around 2002.An expanded 7-piece line-up recorded the group's debut ''The Conjuration by the Fire'', featuring also bassist Antti Fredriksson, Pirkka Lieno on organ, Jussi Lisko on sax/flutes and Pekka Pitkala on lead guitars.The album saw both CD and vinyl issues by the Black Widow label in 2006.

The doom elements of REVEREND BIZARRE are not absent in this album, although the sound has nothing to do with Metal.Orne play a haunting Heavy/Psych/Prog with strong Folk influences in a very Gothic-like enviroment and hints of KING CRIMSON, BLACK WIDOW and VAN DER GRAAF GENERATOR are evident in their music, which switches between long psychedelic guitar movements, lush organ sounds and crying sax passages.Actually they do remind me a lot of Italians ASGARD without the Marillion-esque influences and COURT in their most electric parts.Orne proove to be masters of creating melancholic, folsky and sinister soundscapes with downtempo music.Vocals are also delivered in a dark-offered style and the arrangements are mostly based on alternating Psychedelic and Heavy Prog sounds, always presented with a rich vibe, as proposed by the discreet Hammond organ and the ethereal use of saxes and flutes.Despite the overall doomy style, the album contains a heavy amount of energy and dynamics with a powerful voice always supported by grandiose musical pirhouettes.

Very interesting yet rather unoriginal debut by these Finnish veterans.Somber and dark Progressive Rock with a shot to please fans of Heavy, Folk and Psychedelic Rock stylings.Recommended.