ORCumentary - Orcs 1 Goblins 0

[orcslayr23]

This review was not done by me: Bair Grills? Orcs 1, Goblins 0 by ORCumentary | Alternative Control ‘Incomparable’ is a difficult adjective to use appropriately. Everything in music is relatable in some way to something else, influences will often tell in the composer’s tendencies. And after thousands of years of purported civilization, all of the stories have been told. It’s a unique perspective that keeps these same, re-treaded tales fresh, and an original application of existing elements is what keeps a musician’s offerings intriguing. ORCumentary has taken influences in both storytelling and music-making, and created something compelling and singular that still hearkens back to its origins. ORCumentary mastermind and sole musician Orc Adams has achieved for medieval fantasy what New Orleans legend Damien Storm has for horror; one man has taken a devotion to a genre and created an entire catalogue of metal that pays fitting tribute. The means by which one person can create an entire album’s worth of music have become more accessible than ever, to the point where even a handheld mobile device can simulate guitar, drums, you name it. Adams has put these methods to good use, and applied the techniques in a way that doesn’t distract the listener. Truth be told, the drums sound electronic, but paired with a variety of voices, synthesized horns, strings, hell even accordions at one point [“Black Forest Ham” is a winner]… the listener forgives the virtual band and starts pumping their fist and banging their head to the destruction of all goblins, elves, dwarves, and humans. I was told that the material speaks of J.R.R. Tolkien’s world specifically, as a tribute to Lord of the Rings and all of its related literature. A quick Google and Wikipedia delve shows no sign of Gor-Nacular (this story’s Orc God of Battle) or D’Lagrolon (referenced in the ominous and triumphant “Plains of D’Lagrolon” off the album). While an edition of The Bair Truth with Orc Adams is inevitable, I can only speculate at this point that he has created his own medieval fantasy realm, including characters that exist within it, which bear similar motivations to prototypical orcs. Meaning, of course, the complete obliteration of everyone else. One thing that is particularly interesting to me is that Adams’s orcs are clearly at war with goblins in this go ‘round, when they are often allies against men and elves in similar literature. I like this deviation, it’s like big brother’s disdain for little brother, or meathead’s contempt for nerd, the latter a comparison I drew from the album artwork. On the CD’s cover, a blood-splattered scoreboard proclaims the orcs’ dominion, and a goblin’s corpse wears star-patterned wizard’s garb (everyone knows fighters are cool and mages are lame). Much of the music is driving and militaristic, and rightly so, but delicate keyboard interludes or intros provide a welcome contrast at many junctures. As alluded to earlier, any number of instruments can be heard, and it all fits in splendidly. Orc Adams employs guttural growling most of the time, but surprises at several points with clean singing and even some falsetto crooning. He’s a very ‘legible’ growler, and following along with the story is never too difficult. You’ll find yourself chuckling aloud, the rhymes tend to be clever and the subject matter is far enough gone to be both intense and ridiculous. Seriously, being cut down by a sword is rough, but being “Strangled By Your Own Swordbelt” is that and outright shameful. These are heavy metal limericks for everyone who watches The Two Towers whenever it’s on HBO for the fight scenes at Helm’s Deep. If you, like myself, can’t believe this is all one guy, catch ORCumentary at any of these upcoming shows. And unless he’s a barren recluse, scorning humanity to grovel in a dark cave for Gor-Nacular’s favor, expect an edition of The Bair Truth to further illuminate the world that ORCumentary invites you to glimpse through the portal that gives way to the “Goblin Death March.”

[orcslayr23]

The guy who reviewed my album interviewed me a couple days ago. Click here for the full interview; I could only copy and paste so much Some time ago, I had the distinct pleasure of reviewing ORCumentary’s most recent release, Orcs 1 Goblins 0. I love metal. I love medieval fantasy. And I love when an artist can take their craft seriously but have fun at the same time. This stuff is pure gold, a dragon’s hoard of songs about vanquishing enemies. One man is responsible for all of ORCumentary: he calls himself Orc Adams, and he composes all of the music, plays it all, and sings it all. He employs several distinct voices and tells tales about a handful of characters, and manages to make a one-musician act sound like a marching horde of monsters. The story takes place in a world that hearkens back to that of Tolkien while existing entirely of its own volition, and I said in my review that I wanted to have a sit-down with Adams to discuss his universe. So without further ado, the long-awaited conversation with the brains, beats, and brutality behind ORCumentary. Alternative Control: You are Orc Adams, the sole soldier in the army ORCumentary. A pleasure to make your acquaintance. Orc Adams: Greetings, foul human! AC: What I want to get into is the world your music takes place in, but let’s begin with the music itself; do you only play keyboards? ORC: Yeah, just keyboard. I’ve been known to carve flutes out of elf bones, but as of yet, I haven’t had the opportunity to showcase this skill to the world. AC: Well you certainly achieve a massive sound, despite that. Everyone I talk to about ORCumentary asks why you don’t enlist more servants to trumpet Gor-Nacular’s glory. Is it because of your derision for every other race of beings, that you go it alone? ORC: Thank you. ORC started in 2006 as a way to combat boredom and somehow it really clicked. Especially these past couple years with the Praise Gor-Nacular EP and onward, people are really getting into the music, and people come up to me after the shows and say how impressive it is that I am a solo performer. I’m pretty lucky that things have worked out like they have so far. I’ve considered putting a live band together once or twice, but ultimately I’ve decided to stay solo. The only way I’d work with a live band is if I were to do a special show or if I were to get signed and the label said “Get a live band.” For the record, I am not seeking label support at this time, and don’t plan on it. I want everything to be 100% me for as long as possible. AC: That’s interesting, considering what drives a lot of musicians is precisely that; get signed, get on the road. What makes you hesitant to embark on that voyage? ORC: I’ve heard so many horror stories about how signed bands get raped by their labels, whether it be money-wise or music-wise. This isn’t always the case, of course, but it’s much more important to me that I make the kind of music I want to make than it is to achieve ‘fame’. ORC has been my creative outlet for 7 years and I am extremely hesitant when it comes to letting anyone else have a say in what goes on. While I do enjoy playing shows, ‘life on the road’ is kind of scary for me. I’ve done mini tours, but I like having stable income. As un-metal as that sounds. AC: I can definitely relate to your concerns about touring though; as amazing as it sounds, there’s a lot that goes into constant travel. What other artists would you cite as your primary influences? ORC: My biggest inspiration when creating ORCumentary was the Lord of the Rings movies, as weird as that sounds. When I started ORC, I didn’t even listen to screaming metal. It was more like “Hey, I can do a funny orc voice, why not make songs about it?” It took me a while to take it seriously. Musically though, it’s hard to say an artist directly influences me, because I’m not trying to emulate anyone, nor was I inspired to make music by a certain band. I love melodic death metal, folk metal, progressive, and power metal, and a lot of those influences are strong in the music I make. Ironically, my favorite band is Elvenking (the second metal band I ever got into). I also really enjoy Scar Symmetry, Mnemic, 3 Inches of Blood (they were definitely a big influence), Fear Factory, the list goes on. Most of the metal I listen to is singing-oriented, as weird as that sounds. Eluveitie is another one, mostly their album Slania. Not a big fan of their other stuff. Soilwork. AC: Well, since you brought up Tolkien/Peter Jackson’s influence before listing fellow bards and minstrels, you’ve swung this conversation in the direction I am most eager to explore… the world of ORCumentary. So your primary medieval fantasy influence is indeed Lord of the Rings… Have you also read the books? Or simply enjoyed the films? ORC: I have only read the books twice, once right after I saw The Two Towers and once as part of a college course (which was fuckin’ amazing; there was a Lit course on The Hobbit and LotR, as well as a science class on The Silmarillion and LotR). I enjoyed the books, but the movies were a revelation to me. It’s hard to say how they changed my life, but I had never seen anything like them and they are definitely the best movies I will ever see. In my opinion the movies are superior to the books and every change that was made was for the better. I want to re-read the trilogy but I may not get to it for a while, I have a huge ‘to-read’ list. AC: Yeah man, fuck Tom Bombadil and barrow wights. So what else have you read? What’s on that mighty to-read list? We in Lyra (at least the guitarist and I) are giant Wheel of Time geeks; we’ve played together for a year and a half and two songs are already about Jordan’s fantasy masterpiece. ORC: Wheel of Time is a series I unfortunately haven’t gotten into. By that time I had read a lot of series, and I am unsure if I want to commit to another lengthy saga. Blind Guardian has an awesome song about Wheel of Time. My reading list is basically re-reading everything in my library. Before this year, I had been ‘out’ of reading for a couple years. I’m currently re-reading The Heritage of Shannara quadrilogy, on the last book. Afterwards I’ll be re-reading more Terry Brooks, R.A. Salvatore, Dragonlance, Harry Potter, and I might try The Sword of Truth series again. I loved the first four books, but Book 5 was weird; after a few chapters centered around the main characters, there were like five chapters centered around completely new characters that seemed irrelevant. I’ve been recommended by so many people to pick up The Kingkiller Chronicles. No idea when I’ll get to that. AC: It’s great to see how wide a range of material you draw from! I loved DragonLance, the Weis & Hickman stuff anyway. So your orcs, the world that Gor-Nacular inhabits, wreaking misery from his lofty seat… Tell me about it. If you need a starting point, how about the way that goblins and orcs are not aligned. Do your orcs rampantly destroy everyone else? ORC: Right before the Praise Gor-Nacular EP starts, the orcs are not in a good place. A few hundred years ago, The Five Lands were in an almost constant state of war. The orcs had once been allied with the goblins, but they were betrayed by those green, scrawny, cowardly fuckers. As a result, the orcs were annihilated and the elves, men, dwarves, and goblins were happy and at peace. That all changes when Gor-Nacular ‘chooses’ Orc Adams, in the song Sword of Iron. Chooses him to bring about “Orc Supremacy”, where the other four races would be crushed under Gor-Nacular’s heel, utterly. My new album, Orcs 1 Goblins 0, tells the first chapter in that story, how the goblins were defeated. Each of my next three releases will be about how the dwarves, elves, and humans get their just desserts. AC: Sweet! And can you describe Gor-Nacular, physically? What sort of being is he? And how did he come to power despite the trounced state of orcdom? ORC: Well, he’s a God. Orc Adams, still a living being, hasn’t seen Gor-Nacular in the flesh yet, and only sees his head (bulbous, tusked, grotesque; a real orc’s orc, if you will) when in his dreams. Or when he “smokes the ashes of his enemies with a pipe carved from their bones,” which is a ritual where an orc can communicate with Gor-Nacular. Unfortunately, I haven’t thought about my world as much as Tolkien, so I don’t think I’ll be able to answer your question…yet. Insight may be revealed in later songs, but right now I honestly don’t know. A few hundred years after the orcs were utterly defeated, the balance of power shifted in favor of the orcs, so they could change their fortune. AC: That’s great! And how far along is the next chapter? Taking on the elves next, if I’m not mistaken? ORC: Dwarves are next, actually, then the elves and then humans. The story for the next album is very cool and surprising, Orc Adams will be faced with new challenges that will push his abilities to their limits, and he’ll be faced with some very difficult decisions. The plan right now is twelve songs (eleven on the digital version) and so far I have complete lyrics for five songs and music in various stages of completion for nine. I’m taking my time with this release though, shooting for Spring, 2015. I am extremely proud of Orcs 1 Goblins 0, and not only do I want to allot enough time to properly promote it (that album was in the works for at least five years), but I want to be sure that every track on the next album, Destroy the Dwarves, is a winner. Next spring I’ll premiere a new song and in the summer it will be released as a digital single.

[FatherAlabaster]

Good for you for getting your name out! I enjoy fantasy novels but I've never been drawn to fantasy-inspired music. I liked your stuff, it was a bit darker and more melancholy than I'd expected given your lyrical themes.

[orcslayr23]

I wasn't really intentionally going for a "dark" sound, it's just what came out when I was writing. What's happening in the story is kind of matched by the music, so if a song sounds darker/more downtempo it's because Orc Adams is lost with his incompetent companion in a dark forest, they're travelling across a desolate plain with dust storms all around, etc. Sure, the whole thing is a bit silly, but there are more "serious" moments. It's really more about the music anyway. There are definitely more upbeat-ish songs on the album, but the ones I posted were darker.

[RelentlessOblivion]

posting reviews of your own albums tsk tsk

[RelentlessOblivion]

Good for you for getting your name out! I enjoy fantasy novels but I've never been drawn to fantasy-inspired music. I liked your stuff' date=' it was a bit darker and more melancholy than I'd expected given your lyrical themes.[/quote'] Come now FA you know Orcs better then that, they're a grim people

[orcslayr23]

A new review of the same album, this time by Metal Underground. Scored 4/5 ORCumentary - "Orcs 1 Goblins 0" CD Review - in Metal Reviews ( Metal Underground.com )

A combination of humor, tongue-in-cheek fantasy, and brutish “Metalocalypse” style bravado (all presented by one man and his trusty synthesizer) may be a tough sell for some. But if any of the above appeals to you, or if you don’t take your metal or yourself too seriously, ORCumentary may just be your thing. The bonus? “Orcs 1 Goblins 0” contains some genuinely good and surprising music. In every conceivable way - composition, arrangement, production - the ten tracks herein are all leaps and bounds above mastermind Orc Adams’ previous effort, the EP “Praise Gor-Nacular!” Opener “Cast Your Lot With The Orcs” introduces a full well of sonic elements from which the rest of this full-length disc will draw: ‘80s New Wave and old school Nintendo intertwined with synthesized death metal riff tones, tack-sharp programmed drums (including blast beats), and outlandishly silly lyrics delivered in Adams’ guttural croak. “Goblin Death March” provides your requisite singalong headbanging chant, “Troll The Brave And True” is a straightforward and fully realized speed metal anthem, and the bouncy “Black Forest Ham” embraces circus-level goofiness without shame. It’s with the slower, eerie “Troll Snot” that things take a far more interesting turn. A lush, melancholy layer of piano reveals the deeper, more deceptively complex nature of Adams’ vision, echoing the likes of Amorphis and Insomnium. “Strangled By Your Own Sword Belt” continues this journey, tossing some Janne Wirman (Children Of Bodom, Warmen) into the keyboard strains for good measure. Notice that all the above cited comparisons hail from Finland? That’s not an accident; Adams roots his melodic influences in Scandinavian folk metal, where moody atmosphere is king above all. He even offers a clean instrumental, “Gor-Nacular’s Grove,” which functions as a necessary interlude amid the lyrical shenanigans, and gradually segues into a soothing soundscape of thunder and steady rain. However, closer “Fuck The Elves” brings us full circle and back to the pint-raising, with the refrain “Fuck the elves / Fuck the elves / They are so full of themselves / Fuck the elves / Fuck the elves / Fuck those fucking elves!” The juxtaposition of these masterful, credible musical pieces with such outrageous (and sometimes profane) lyrical themes may seem jarring at first, but on second thought, no more so than a standard GWAR or Dethklok album, or even any work of melodic death metal. The big difference is all in the presentation; “Orcs 1 Goblins 0” is literally a single handed effort, from recording and production right down to the live performance. If that throws you off, take a minute to untie the knot in your panties and open your mind along with your ears. This is a glorious, original piece of art, and a breath of fresh air.

Highs: Skilled arrangements, amusing concept, and a deeper-than-expected melodic sensibility. Lows: Adherents of the traditional rock unit may be turned off. Bottom line:

From Connecticut keyboard wizard Orc Adams comes a brilliant full-length serving of humor, fantasy, and synthesized metal.