OU – One | Album Review

Despite having no prior music released, and the fact that there is precious little information to be found about the band online, Chinese progressive-metal quartet “Ou” (pronounced “O”), recently signed to Germany-based Inside Out records for the release of their debut album, “One”.

The mere fact alone that the band hail from China may be enough to draw attention from a western audience, given the relative lack of Chinese groups in the western rock and metal scene; though they list Haken and Devin Townsend – some of the zaniest progressive metal acts around – as key influences. Along with the fact that they are making a name for themselves playing in Beijing’s jazz clubs, there is very little extra information publicly available about the four-piece.

The songs of One are named after various themes, as opposed to being more formal titles, in a similar vein to other Chinees acts such as Nine Treasures. “Travel” is the theme that opens up the album, jumping straight in with little means of introduction at all. From the start, it’s clear that Ou are a band with a unique sound – it is difficult to describe exactly what they sound like. There are definitely some Devin Townsend-esque elements in the composition, with chugging riffs and heavy drumming paired alongside sci-fi sound effects. There are of course also clearly some influences from traditional Chinese music that may make Ou’s sound sound weird to a western listener – but not necessarily in a bad way.

“Ghost” and “Euphoria” are two tracks that stand out in the middle of the album as a kind of emotional departure from what came before. The former is calmer, almost soothing, whilst the latter provides a kind of sonic journey across a soundscape that is at times also calm yet also eclectic and eccentric, reminiscent of the Japanese brutal orchestra, Vampillia, before we return to a more chugging progressive metal sound with “Prejudice”.

It would be good if the album came with some kind of information about the music – such as translations of the lyrics or even just a few comments about what messages the songs are trying to convey. As it is, the audience is left simply with a title and left to make up our own minds from there based on the sounds we hear – which is not the easiest thing when the lyrics are in a language not known to the listener. However, purely on a musical note, the songs sound generally well-composed and complicated, offering a fresh sound for the genre even if at times it sounds a little messy.

For an average western listener, One might prove an album that is a challenge to get into. There are a lot of different musical elements at play with precious little offered in the way of context. The range of the band’s sound is incredibly varied, which does at times make it seem slightly cluttered; as if there is almost too many different things going on together that can make the listener question if it really works. However, if you do happen to be interested in a progressive journey outside the realms of what western audiences are normally presented with – then this could well be an album for you.