Beneath the modern day ambiguity of rock music resides the hyponym of ‘Orius’; a walking four-piece monument to rock and roll originating from Stourbridge. In essence, their music perniciously attacks the pretentiousness of a decade of overtly specific genre labelling and growing clichéd musical identity to provide their listeners with music that exponentially lives up to the clear ideals of rock and roll.

‘Black Turn Grey’ EP

‘Black Turn Grey’ is the band’s second EP release and serves to exemplify the musical talent ‘Orius’ are capable of. With a battle-hardened, soul-destroying, infectious sound ‘Orius’ deliver a seven track EP capable of providing a worthy catharsis to any rock fan. Within seconds of putting this CD into my CD-Drive I was overcome with a seemingly agentic drive to kinetically show my appreciation for the music that was exiting my speakers: ‘Orius’ provide a combination of soul penetrating drums, contagiously energised guitar riffs and emphatic vocals that make it literally impossible for even the most catatonic rock fans to not occasionally stamp their feet or nod their head to the rock sound. The exponential standard is set with the initial album-titled song, ‘Black Turn Grey’ a track worthy of being dubbed a rock anthem, which will immediately inflame the listener’s senses to the perpetual rock sound exhumed throughout the album. Each song serves to successively add a worthy virtue to the ‘Orius’ legacy and avoid falling into the trap of monotonous repetitiveness. However, I can strongly envisage that after a cohesive listen, several songs will stand out to receive continuous playback amongst a number of forgotten tracks. The production of the EP could also be placed under scrutiny as an area for potential improvement but is impressive by self-production means and presents nothing that substantially damages the sound ‘Orius’ create. Amongst the positive points of this EP is the fact that almost every song presents a fresh, yet warmly welcomed, opportunity to sing along to an ever-addictive chorus: a must for any avid rock fan.

Some of the standouts on the album, in my personal opinion, are ‘Black Turn Grey’ and ‘Game’. Conversely there exists the certain song or two that I would consciously avoid when listening to the EP again. Nevertheless, this is the case with a multitude of albums and will be, essentially, determined by an individual person’s preference. Included on this EP is a strange yet slightly alluring video of ‘In the Room’. Although the use of the formally recorded track over the video of a live performance ensures better sound quality, the slight lag of the music behind the band, which is overtly noticeable in parts, could create a minor disturbance in the minds of its audience. Nevertheless, its inclusion is a completed welcomed one: if not for the final comedy moment of a topless version of the band running for, what can only be described as, social freedom in complete exposure to the falling snow.

In essence, ‘Black Turn Grey’ is a worthy EP – with a few minor flaws in its generally impressive nature – which would get at least one cohesive appreciated listen in the CD players of any real rock fan.

Rating Out of 10:



‘The Document’ EP

I was also given the esteemed pleasure of reviewing the band’s third EP, which is slightly more concise; presenting four new tracks and a video of the superb track ‘Black Turn Grey’, which is taken from the first EP.

Once again ‘Orius’ thrust you into submission of their captivating, energetic rock sound through the opening track, ‘All’s Fair in Love and War’, which is essentially, in my opinion, the standout track on the album. The album’s production is noticeably better than the production of the previous EP, which serves as congruous evidence for the virtue of experience and allows the listener to experience and appreciate a better quality of recording. Despite the engaging introductory song, the general tone of the EP is a lot slower than ‘Black Turn Grey’ and begins to polarise from my tastes. Nevertheless, slowing down the tempo on ‘Jayne’ in particular, elicits an epic aura not touched on in the previous EP. Parts of this EP, namely the middle two tracks, will evoke an element of reflective and conscious listening rather than the all out foot-stamping and head-banging created by other ‘Orius’ songs and, if anything, serves to highlight the potential musical diversity ‘Orius’ are able to create and avoids presenting any listener with any clichéd material. The album ends on a slightly more upbeat sound, but regains the emphatic impact of earlier slower songs and rounds the EP up in a reputable fashion.

The inclusion of the video, and, consequently, the track, of ‘Black Turn Grey’ effectively improves the EP by gracing it with its presence and elevating a possible criticism of the EP verging on the short side. As this song is a personal favourite of mine, the video; with its musical value and artistic satire accentuates my already positive opinion of an impressive EP.

Another impressive release from the ‘Orius’ boys, with the clichéd array of criticisms; the fact that the EP is slightly on the short-side and some of the songs are a little too slow moving for my liking, nevertheless, that is open to personal opinion. ‘Orius’ present a listen that I overtly recommend to anyone who dubs their self a worthy rock music fan.

Rating Out of 10:



If you do anything after reading this review, make sure you visit www.orius.co.uk.