For the life of me, I cannot remember the O.R.K. song that first introduced me to their craft but I do remember the confusion I felt when I found out who the band members were. I mean, grunge had never sounded so good since the heyday of SOUNDGARDEN and the like, a long, long time ago. Then, it turned out that this band featured a couple of musicians better known for their contributions in the ranks of KING CRIMSON and PORCUPINE TREE. What in the no-holds-barred-Generation-X-crossover-mayhem is this?! Yeah, that was pretty much my reaction. Just listen to the opener, “As I Leave,” from their previous studio album “Screamnasium,” released in 2022, and tell me you cannot feel the ghost of Chris Cornell hovering about it. It is not exactly something you would think about when listening to the quantum prog of KING CRIMSON or the atmospheric post-prog of vintage PORCUPINE TREE. Then again, there was always a progressive side to SOUNDGARDEN, what with all those mind-twisting, off-kilter riffs and crossover elements. So, giving it some more thought, it kind of makes sense that established proggers would choose to take on such a grungey approach. Now, it is the time to welcome O.R.K.’s fifth studio album “Firehose of Falsehoods,” released on March 21st, 2025, via KScope. In a way, the album picks up where SOUNDGARDEN left off with their progressively tinted 1996 endeavor “Down on the Upside,” layering the grunge riffages with all sorts of proggy nuances.
The album feels a bit retro in its approach, not only because of its strong grunge leanings but also because of its structure; the first half is mostly comprised of banging riff maelstroms, whereas the latter is substantially more mellow and atmospheric, almost as if it were designed to be released in old-school vinyl format; Side A would be filled with the bangers, whereas side B would introduce a more nuanced side of the band. Then again, the riffers are layered with all sorts of nuances, too, ranging from the acoustic verses of “Blast of Silence” to the almost KING CRIMSON-like riffs in the verses of “16000 Days,” leading into a slow-crushing ocean of distortion. The latter of these two is one of the highlights of the album; the riffs in the verses almost recall KING CRIMSON‘s “Three of a Perfect Pair,” whereas the vocals in the choruses resonate with an almost THE BEATLES-like air. How could that even work, in theory?! Perhaps by way of some utterly dark sonic magic, I don’t know, but it truly does. Then, “PUTFP” pays homage to LED ZEPPELIN‘s greatest epics in nothing short of a brilliant manner – the song’s brooding, acoustic atmosphere is broken by a few well-placed grunge riffs. The band has found quite an ingenious way to sound retro without being a mere pastiche!
While the grunge aesthetic of this album owes mostly to SOUNDGARDEN, “Hello Mother” resonates with an almost VELVET REVOLVER-like hard-rock aura. The riffs slither (sic!) to and fro while the vocals channel the ghost of Scott Weiland, especially in the verses. That said, the chorus is another story, completely; when vocalist Lorenzo Esposito Fornasari sings, “I’m not coming home,” it sounds so much like Chris Cornell in the chorus of “Superunknown” that it just might chill your spine.
Among the riffers, “The Other Side” stands out rather brilliantly. The verses are atmospheric, almost to the point of being ambient altogether, and then, the visceral grunge riffs bulldoze over you when the chorus kicks in. Talk about the beauty of contrast!
The atmospheric side of the album rolls out even more surprising jabs, beginning with the somewhat PUSCIFER-like vibes of the verses in “Seven Arms.” The song’s chorus is something more like NINE INCH NAILS on a more mellow note, so imagine that with a frosting of vintage grunge! And then, this change of mood is followed by a mellow, triplet-meter Andalusian swing in “Beyond Reach,” which is adorned by a Tom Morello-like guitar solo comprised of high-pitched screeches. Such nuances were quite unheard of back in the day. When SOUNDGARDEN tried to push the boundaries of grunge with their 1996 endeavor, the album was met with rather mixed reviews. Now, this sort of sonic diversity sounds like the most natural thing in the world.
And the plot thickens even further, first, with the “O.K. Computer”-era RADIOHEAD vibes of “Mask Becomes the Face,” featuring a guitar solo by John Wesley of PORCUPINE TREE‘s live line-up fame. The song’s unsettling atmosphere is rather strongly reminiscent of “Climbing Up the Walls,” from that 1997 album classic, and the falsetto screams in the coda echo DEEP PURPLE‘s “Child in Time,” even.
Then, the album ends with the post-prog atmospherics of “Dive In,” a song that would feel out of place on any of those grunge classics, that’s for sure! Obviously, the atmospheric soundscapes of the closer remind me that bassist Colin Edwin used to play in PORCUPINE TREE. The trumpet-like solo is pretty haunting, though I cannot tell whether it is played by a trumpet or some synth sounding similar. Whatever the case, the song brings quite a befitting closure to the band’s exciting new album. According to the Spotify stats, the closer is the least-listened-to song on the new album, so far, but the more I listen to it, the more I begin to feel that it is actually one of the most haunting songs of them all. The ambient melancholy feel of the song is nicely reminiscent of the 2003 endeavor, “Effloresce,” by the British proggers, OCEANSIZE. So, in terms of grunge, O.R.K. represents the more experimental and progressive side of the genre and, probably, this is the very reason why “Firehose of Falsehoods” sounds so damn good. The grunge is dead, long live the grunge!
Written by Jani Lehtinen
Tracklist
- Blast of Silence
- Hello Mother
- The Other Side
- 16000 Days
- PUTFP
- Seven Arms
- Beyond Reach
- Mask Becomes the Face
- Dive In
Lineup
Colin Edwin – bass
Pat Mastelotto – drums
Lorenzo Esposito Fornasari (”LEF”) – vocals
Carmelo Pipitone – guitars
with guest:
John Wesley – guitar solo on track 8
Label
KScope
