ORDO ROSARIUS EQUILIBRIO ONANI (PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT) ALBUM COLD MEAT INDUSTRY, VME RELEASE: APRIL 20, 2009 REVIEW: APRIL 21, 2009

As I have written before, I’m currently expanding my musical horizons into the genres of dark ambient, industrial and such; much thanks to the guidance of the record label Cold Meat Industry. Ever since the first release back in 1995 the label has been the home of the Swedish neofolk band Ordo Rosarius Equilibrio. This is their 8th full-length release and what we have here is a concept album on masturbation; and while this might seem unusual, erotica in various forms has been a part of the band for quite some time.

The soundscape is quite simple, we have subtle drums in the background and on top we get layers with guitars, piano and organ. We have (of course) samples with moans and some backing vocals but all of this mostly acts like a background to the vocals of Tomas Pettersson; constantly singing and chanting. Unfortunately it all gets too similar and when I have listened through the album everything blends together; none of the tracks stands out from the other.

After a few more sessions with the disc I release that there is variation in the music, but the vocals are so dominating that they really have to struggle to stand out. Instead of pushing the sounds down I think that they should allow them to explore, live and take place in order to create a more varied sound. My favourite track is “Confessions of a Sinflower” where they try just this and also add a more industrial feeling. This is really good and I hope to hear more in this direction in the future, because the other part doesn’t work for me.

TOBIAS ELIASSON