Reader, I don’t like to waste your time with these reviews. So let’s just cut to the chase: the new Orden Ogan album — the sorta-self-titled The Order of Fear — is a goddamn gem. It starts as a very good listen and only improves on repeat. In short, it’s the kind of album I’ve been hoping they’d make for the better part of a decade.

In short: fuck yeah.

…What’s that? You don’t want “in short”? You want “in long”? Alright. Come along then.

As you may recall, I liked — but didn’t quite love — the last Orden Ogan album, Final Days. The thing had its moments, but ultimately marked the German power crew’s second album running that felt like a step back from its predecessor. As I said at the time: “it’s hard not to think there’s still something bigger, untapped, in their tank.”

Well, consider that tank fully tapped. Right from the get-go, Seeb Levermann and Co. show they mean business. (And I literally mean “right from the get-go”; opener “Kings of the Underworld” boasts an absolutely mighty cold open, with the full band, at full speed, fully leveling you with melody in the best way possible. And its chorus is, just, pants-shittingly wonderful.)

From there, the album twists and turns through a variety of tempos and styles — all of which the band juggles effortlessly. There’s the title track: a stubborn, fist-pumper of a tune with a catchy-as-all-hell gang chorus. Credit to Levermann for his production work here, in particular; that chorus feels like a goddamn explosion when it hits.

But then, just a couple of songs later, comes “Conquest” — a folkier track that gives guitarists Niels Löffler and Patrick Sperling a chance to show off their melodic sensibilities. The song’s built around their jaunty, yet wistful intro lick, and the band develops their arrangement tastefully throughout. (There’s also another gang chorus, which… if you haven’t figured it out by now: Hi! I like gang choruses, and Orden Ogan does them very well. Kbye.)

A few tracks later, we come to the ballad, “My Worst Enemy,” which — I have to admit — I approached with a bit of trepidation at first. Last time out, on Final Days, the ballad “Alone in the Dark” was where things started to go off the rails a bit. I know past performance doesn’t necessarily indicate future results, but still… I found myself treading lightly as this one rolled around. But! Fortunately, the fears were unfounded. “My Worst Enemy” is great. It changes the album’s pace without slowing its momentum one bit.

I keep trying to pick nits with this album. I don’t really love absolutely, unconditionally, blowing my load on an album I’m enjoying. But… there really aren’t a ton of issues to take with The Order of Fear. Gun to my head, I’d say…

• The chorus of “Moon Fire” is a little silly. (Moon fire, moon fire, fire of the moon fire, fire of the moon) Okay, maybe a lot silly. But the rest of the song is solid!

• “The Long Darkness” feels slightly disappointing as a closer. It’s the longest song on the album, and it has its own spoken-word introduction! But it ends up feeling a bit plodding. It’s perhaps easier to underwhelm when the bar’s been set so high by pretty much the entire rest of the album, but… it underwhelms all the same.

Other than that? I’m coming up empty. And even these, given the tremendous quality on display throughout the rest of the album, feel like relatively minor issues. Orden Ogan’s absolutely nailed this one, guys. It’s their best since at least Ravenhead and one of the highlights from this [or any] subgenre so far this year.

Your move, rest-of-the-power-metal-landscape.

Keep it heavy,
—Dan

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The Order of Fear will be available July 5 on Reigning Phoenix Music. For more information on Orden Ogan, visit the band’s Facebook page.