ORBS: Asleep Next to Science

ORBS: Asleep Next to Science
ORBS is a supergroup of sorts. Comprised of current and former members of Between the Buried and Me, Fear Before the March of Flames, and Cradle of Filth, the band obviously has a metal/hardcore pedigree but instead the band makes prog rock similar to The Mars Volta.
“A Man Of Science” begins with keyboards that remind me of Muse before breaking into a more hard rock sound. The track also features an arena rock breakdown with vocals that sound like Billy Corgan even though they are done by the female, Ashley Ellyllon.
Like most prog rock, the songs do not conform to verse-chorus-bridge structure and often go through movements like a symphony. Of course, that also means that songs are horrendously long. The nine song album clocks in at just over an hour and only one song is under five minutes while four songs clock in at over seven minutes including two songs over 10 minutes. But if song length is the biggest complaint, that is pretty good.
The album is full of complex songs that are not easily digestible to ears that are accustomed to popular music. But after giving the album a couple of listens, I was able to parse out plenty of worthwhile moments in the tracks. Whether it is worth the effort to listen to over an hour of music to hear a couple of good minutes interspersed across sprawling self-indulgent rock tracks, is another question. I know fans of the group will tell me I just don’t get it, which might be the case, but for me ORBS is pretty good but I probably will not listen to this album ever again.
Rating: 7.0/10
MP3: ORBS “A Man of Science”
Buy: iTunes

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