I never thought I would be at the Triple Rock on a Sunday evening listening to metal. I never thought I would be there with a head-cold, a camera, and a mission…
The mission to see La Crosse natives Orwell rock the crowd (do their thing), and do a recap of the show and their CD afterwards. The incentive: the music, the atmosphere, and the unique aspect of the musical acts and their fans. I also enjoy Orwell’s live performance so much that I had to go and have a second viewing. They killed it at the Hex a few years back, and I had to catch another listen to their newer stuff. For $5 bucks and 5 acts you can’t beat that show price.
Upon entering I met up with Logan from Orwell (lead vocals), we chatted for a bit at the merch table, he was pretty psyched about the show and he gave me their latest CD (Avohfasih), which I am pretty impressed with (cover art: amazing, Music: also amazing). I received some really creative t-shirt swag as well, which I have been rocking for the last few days. Sick designs all around.
The show started up, Orwell was the third act, and the crowd started to the stage. Orwell has a hypnotic way of luring their fans to the sound, anyone in earshot was moving forward. They blew the doors off immediately and didn’t let up through their whole set. The ambience of the performance was entrancing. I thoroughly enjoy Orwell’s stage presence and attitude. The crowd was very into the music. I would say Orwell has a cult following in the cities, there was much respect. I love the Midwest music scene. Orwell rocked, as they did at the Hex a few years back, and I was very pleased to see a Metal band from La Crosse (Orwell) touring Minneapolis again.
Orwell’s sound at the venue was crisp, yet the set was a bit short; however, there was no shortage of quality songs and enthusiasm.
I put Orwell’s Avohfasih in my computer and uploaded it immediately, after I persuaded myself to tear through the beautiful packaging. I then handed it to my roommate and told her it was heavy, and to put it in and give it a listen. She was also impressed with the packaging, and the writing inside.
Album Liner notes: This CD is dedicated to anyone who has lost someone important. The message is solid, I have been listening to this album repeatedly for the past day and a half now.
The diversity of songs and sounds, respectively, tell me that Orwell is progressive enough to not lump distortion and heaviness of a genre into one big blur. I am not confused by this album, but I can be with other metal acts. I am able to distinguish from one song to the next, and the musical quality, and experience of the band shows in this album, and at their live performance. The production is of quality, and the synching of the album is prime. The song titles express to me that this may be a compilation album, but for better or worse it is spot on a good listen all the way through.
I hope to see Orwell play more shows around the Minneapolis area. If you are a Metal fan and you want to get down with some head-banging, or you just need to vent some anger, or you want to nerd out with sick riffs and throaty vocals throw this album in. And try to catch Orwell live.
Boom!
Orwell’s album Avohfasih is intellectually sound and impressive metal-wise. Catch it and give it a listen.
You can download their album here for free (get it!): aseatinhell.com
MIND INVERSION 