Review - 'Ogre: Bastards of Death'

Ogre – Bastards of Death (2014)

Self Released - www.ogre.ie

Review by Trevor Proctor

Ogre are not to be confused with the American rock band of the same name as this bunch of maniacs are a just a bit more extreme than their US namesakes; originally formed in Dublin during 1989 Ogre started out as three mates having a bit of a laugh - it’s obvious with band names such as John De Baptiste on drums and effects, Forthron the Evil on guitar and vocals and not forgetting Chewed Giblet on bass and vocals these fellas don’t take themselves too seriously, and that’s before we even come to mention the track titles. 

Ogre released two demos and an album between 1992 and 1993 and played a number of gigs in Ireland before seemingly disappearing off the face of the earth; however, despite each member now living in separate countries they have just released their first album in twenty years, self-released and self-funded but that in no way means this is an unprofessional nor amateur release. 

Ogre play a combination of brutal death metal/ gore influenced grind with an element of doom thrown into the mix for good measure, the latest album Bastards of Death is already released via the band’s website for a mere twelve euros (approx. $9) including worldwide shipping. On receipt of the CD from the band the first thing that struck me was the quality of the gatefold CD cover and accompanying glossy twelve page booklet - this is no amateur release and there’s more effort and quality in terms of the packaging than many established bands deem necessary.

The six panel gatefold cover and accompanying booklet are littered with shit loads of gory, gruesome images reminiscent of Carcass’ Reek of Putrefaction with mangled bodies, blood, maggots etc. all there to capture the attention. As we all know you can’t judge a book (nor an album) by its cover but this is definitely one damn fine example of cd packaging. Ogre also have a seriously good video available to view on Youtube for title track Bastards of Death that’s essential viewing – it’s slick, well produced and gives you a good taste of both the band’s music and their professionalism – go to https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HqLdjschpZw and you’ll see what I mean.

The album itself is a concept album telling the story of the destruction of the world by giant robots with news reports, effects and interviews being used between most tracks to help tell the story of global destruction. The spoken word reports are brief but very effective and in most cases actually sound like real news articles – they are also very professionally made and greatly assist the telling of Ogre’s story throughout the duration of the album; the album is also very well produced, again screaming this is no amateur effort. 

The tracks are mostly fast, heavy, intense, concentrated blasts of extreme death metal/grind punctuated with guttural vocals though tracks like Mangled Bodies of the Children and Vadge of the Ogre show the band playing at a much slower, doom like pace. This is a good album from start to finish; the music is brutal grind influenced death metal played extremely well with the news reports and varying levels of heaviness and speed helping prevent it from ever becoming repetitive or boring.

The band currently has no plans for touring due to the fact they live in separate countries; however they did manage a one off album launch show in Dublin earlier this year. This is an album well worth having as everything from the packaging to the conceptual storytelling to their excellent brutal music makes for a very attractive proposition – professional, slick and brimming with professionalism effort, this is an excellent release, especially when we consider the fact it’s self-funded – Ogre may not take themselves too seriously but once you see past their humorous façade their music is quite good. 

Tracklist:

1 - “….Thermal Incineration…”

2 - Murdered By The Millions.

3 - “…The UN Has Declared A Global State Of Emergency…”

4 - Robot Bastard

5 - Bastards Of Death

6 - “…Confirmed Sightings Of Several Large Machines…”

7 - Mangled Bodies Of The Children

8 - “…Lawlessness Reigns In The Wake Of The Machine Attacks…”

9 - Brain Driller

10 - “…This Unstoppable Mechanical Madness That Slaughters Us Indiscriminately…”

11 - Pig Wizard

12 - Vadge Of The Ogre

13 - Genital Mutilator Rampage

14 - “…The Streets Are Littered With Dead Bodies…”

15 - Hunchbacks, Dogs, Priests And Whores

16 - Dark Lords Of Doom

17 - “…Imminent Demise In The Face Of Certain Painful Death…”

18 - Insane Decapitation By The Supreme Corpse Disposal Machine

19 - “…”

Ogre's Bastards of Death is self released and is available from the band's website.