released February 6, 2017
Orthodox - "Supreme"
(released by Utech Records)
The relationship between spiritual jazz and doom metal may seem to be one of irreconcilable differences – the galvanizing, ever-ascendent language of freedom set against a moribund march to the tomb, but these divergent musical idioms exist in a similar liminal space on Supreme, each one reaching out from the corporeal now into the opaque otherworld beyond. The two impulses converge in a musical dramatization of Alexander of Macedonia’s allegorical ascension to godhead on griffin wings – and his subsequent return to the earthly realm to assume his proper role as a ruler of historical proportions.
– Jenks Miller, Horseback
Spain’s long-time purveyors of the leftist side of metal, Orthodox return with their sixth full-length. Augmenting the core unit of Marco Serrato (bass) and Borja Díaz (drums) is Achilleas Polychronidis (sax) of Skullfuck. Supreme is a slow beating that drags the listener in and out of a haze of improv, psychedelia and dysfunctional doom.
Art by Denis Forkas Kostromitin.
Calligraphy by Jamie Lawson.
Design by Keith Utech
URCD103
credits
released January 13, 2017
Achilleas Polychronidis - sax
Marco Serrato - bass
Borja Díaz - drums
all music by Orthodox
recorded at Kraken Sound studio (Málaga, Spain) by Gonzalo Presa and Daniel Torres.
mixed and mastered by Marlon Wolterink at White Noise studio.
REVIEWS:
"Like Naked City’s doom-indebted Long Tch’e, it’s a death march, grinding endlessly on. Serrato’s bass and Diaz’s drums are punishingly heavy; it’s possible to picture them locking eyes before each low end explosion, as Polychronidis harmonises with himself via pedals... perhaps Orthodox's heaviest and most imposing release to date".- Phil Freeman (WIRE)
"Supreme is a glorious burden to carry hinting at both Orthodox’s doom metal roots under the guise of Coltrane’s “Ascension”." -
Jon Rosenthal (Invisible Oranges)
"Supreme may well be the band’s slowest, most ponderous album yet, and as such is perhaps the perfect combination of free jazz and doom".- Joseph Burnett (Dusted Magazine)
"Hard to appreciate, more than a bit challenging to listen to, Supreme is nevertheless, imaginative expression that deserves a place in the continuum of creativity". - Karl Ackermann (All about jazz)
"you can only admire the single-minded vision of the three musicians to go that far and to really shy away from any concept of compromise."
.- Stef (Free Jazz Blog)
"This is probably what Cthulhu listens to on his days off." - Dave Foxall (a Jazz noise)
" In all seriousness, darkness and gloom Orthodox, or to make a wonderful contrarian and overwhelming doom-free plate that once gripped by it, not let go." Gert Derkx (Opduvel)
"The monk companies of the early period are back, had probably no one expected that it was end in this hypnotic exercise in stubbornness of the most recalcitrant." Guy Peters (
Enola.be)
"War sounds like this." - Coronel Mortimer (La Muerte Tenía un Blog)
"One track thirty-six minutes, not easy to handle at all but very satisfying once you're in tune." Fabrizio Garau (The New Noise)