OU (pronounced “O”) are a progressive metal band hailing from Beijing, and while China might not be your first thought when thinking of choice metal, be prepared to have your preconceptions blown to smithereens because this quartet have already made inroads into the Western consciousness with their explosive sound. Their sophomore album 蘇醒II: Frailty, finds them pushing at musical boundaries and solidifying their position as China’s number one musical export and is certain to propel the band towards the biggest stages.
Attesting to a sense of urgency, OU get straight down to business with opening (and title) track ‘Frailty’. There’s only time for the briefest of introductions as cascading keys entice us into their world, and once inside they proceed to scramble our minds with some nifty time changes and strange structures. Constantly evolving and revolving, this is an album that refuses to stand still with ‘Frailty’, a song of several suites, containing more ideas than most bands pack into an entire album as it spins like a glitter ball and fractures sound in every direction…and it’s still only the first song! This is progressive metal in it’s purest definition; it is forward facing and characterised by unorthodox time signatures, complex rhythms and intense syncopation, and it’s to the bands credit that they take all these elements and make them sound catchy. Despite its complexity, ‘Frailty’, as with the whole album, is a sticky number (like, flypaper sticky) and will affix itself to your memory bank, thanks in no small part to the central motif. It’s such anchors around which the album is tethered and ensures that no matter how experimental they get, they never lose sight of the important stuff such as melody and song structure.
Co-produced and mixed (and featuring guest spots) by Devin Townsend, 蘇醒II: Frailty has his fingerprints all over it, and especially on latest single ‘Purge’, yet it’s not to the point of overkill. He’s more of a guiding hand than an oppressive authoritarian, he hasn’t tried to change the band, rather he’s brought elements to the fore that were hitherto lost and cloudy. Subsequently, Lynn Wu’s vocals are more crystalline and prominent than on previous album and their ice cold Gothic tones give the album a glacial feel, while the band’s musical dynamics are given added emphasis and cuts like ‘Reborn’ position them somewhere between classic Marillion and latter day Haken. Yet, this record works because it retains its Chinese rhythms; closer ‘Recall’ bounces like a silver ball between pins, it takes the essence of guoyue, reinterprets it for a metal audience, and the result is jaw-droppingly spellbinding.
In 蘇醒II: Frailty, OU have produced an album that finds them taking a giant leap forwards, so expect to see them in the biggest arenas soon.
- 蘇醒II: Frailty is released via InsideOut Music Music on 26th April 2024.
- Official Website
Track List:
1. 蘇醒 Frailty
2. 淨化 Purge
3. 海 Ocean
4. 血液 Redemption
5. 衍生 Capture and Elongate (Serenity)
6. 破魂 Spirit Broken
7. 歪歪地愛 yyds
8. 輪迴 Reborn
9. 念 Recall
