Riffs are in their essence circular, a series of chords repeated over the course of a piece of music to make it feel more coherent or to carry a theme. On The Orb, Gorod ask themselves the scientific question of “What if the riffs were even MOAR circular?”, maybe even spherical? It is a simple idea that rests over their new songs and an interesting theme to base an album around. The riffs themselves seem constructed to lock into each other as well as they can, building up momentum in their repetition akin to how a discus thrower would spin a few times before launching the disc as far as possible. It is in this same way that the songs on The Orb build up momentum before speeding up and launching into somewhat unexpected yet tasteful turns. Standout track “Breeding Silence” exemplifies this well with a series of riffs that build up speed for half of its runtime before launching into a beautifully chosen Neoclassical riff. It is such a simple idea but it is done in good taste.
Of course, Gorod only use simple song structures here but are technically impressive as ever within them. This album falls more in the vein of the melodic side of the Technical Death Metal spectrum and while the performances are great, it does not spend as much time dwelling on virtuosity as most other bands in the genre do. The opening track gives you less than a second to get ready before smashing your face in, an occasional intensity that mixes well with Gorod‘s intent on this succinct 38 minute album. The only place I find them getting a bit indulgent is in “Savitri”, a song with a calmer Prog-like breakdown that briefly pauses the intense action before resuming the orb induced bludgeoning. Yet the only misstep I can really find on here is the title track, where the band takes a detour into a more -core led direction reminiscent of the latter era Gojira sound. It is an odd moment that feels like a bad fit for the rest of the material. Otherwise, The Orb can at times feel a bit too smooth and stick too slavishly to its theme without any rougher edges that might set the songs apart a bit better. This is still a minor fault that will not diminish the fact that Gorod have crafted one of the most enjoyably repeatable albums of the year so far, with enough going for it to capture its listeners in its sphere.
