Before reviewing their latest album I'd had no exposure to ORDEN OGAN, and so I was intrigued when I got my hands on a copy of Testimonium A.D. When a heavy band claims to incorporate folk music into their sound it's often hard to know whether the result will be closer to Finntroll, Skyclad or Subway To Sally. The promo photo of the band dressed in 1800's costume inside the CD sleeve interested me further and as the album opened with the haunting Gregorian chanting of the introductory title track I had absolutely no idea what to expect. It took me a couple of listens to fully absorb Testimonium A.D. but what I discovered was a thoughtfully crafted piece of progressive metal, subtly intertwined with folk instruments and melodies to create a unique and memorable album.

The beauty of Testimonium A.D. is the seamless way in which ORDEN OGAN mix folk, acoustic and choral elements into their sound. The intricacy of the riffs and songwriting on the album bares some resemblance to Dream Theater style prog, and as the chanting of the opening track dies away, Ethereal Ocean begins in grandiose style before flowing into a flourish of galloping progressive riffs. Frontman Sebastian Levermann's vocals are clean and powerful during the verses, and they combine with a lone violin that is perfectly balanced with the guitars and drums. But it's in the chorus that ORDEN OGAN truly shine, choirs joining the mix over power-chords and thundering drums to create a truly majestic sound.

Angels War is another epic track, beginning with a couple of heavy, chugging riffs and going on to incorporate flutes and acoustic guitars to excellent effect. As with the other songs on Testimonium A.D. the track has been composed so that transitions between the heavy and mellow parts are mostly seamless, and it's this ebb and flow with the tracks themselves as well as between songs that is a large part of the album's appeal. As its name suggests, Moods is a mellow, reflective track containing some excellent vocal harmonies and Y U Id ant my (what the hell does that title mean???) begins as a sombre ballad and builds into a majestic choir-backed prog-jam. It's also worth noting that unlike many prog bands, ORDEN OGAN resist the urge to add protracted guitar solos in all of their tracks. When they do include a solo, such as at the end of Golden, it is well composed and powerfully executed.

Even with all of the layers of sound on Testimonium A.D. the various instruments mix together so well that it's often easy to forget just how many different sounds you're listening to. This can be put down not only to skilful composition, but also the album's production which does an excellent job of keeping the many sounds balanced, even with guitars, bass, drums, keyboards, flutes, violins and choirs all playing at once!

With Testimonum A.D. ORDEN OGAN have produced an outstanding album, skilfully combining many sounds and influences to create a folk-prog combination that is both epic and moving. ORDEN OGAN have a truly unique sound and with Testimonium A.D. being only their second full-length, I hope that the band can go on to produce more albums of this calibre.