Oracle Hands - Dirge for the Doomed

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Oracle Hands is a doom/sludge/post metal band from Germany that formed in 2021. After releasing a demo in 2023, the band has dropped this slab of meaty metal in the shape of their full-length debut album, “Dirge For The Doomed.”

And it is indeed a dirge. Imagine starving to death while dying of thirst. Safety comes in the cold embrace of guaranteed death in the form of birds coming to eat your half dead body. You hear a rumble, the birds fly off and then some total asshole wraps a chain around your neck and pull you through the barren landscape, temporarily depriving you of death only to give you pain over hope. 


Got all that? Read it again. I'll wait. This album is the soundtrack for all that bullshit I just said.  Musically, it can be quite dynamic–going from dreaming sonic adventures to crushing riffs seems effortless for this band.


This dichotomy between either ends of their extremes works very well because it feels and flows so naturally. The songs don't sound like different pieces patched together but instead one huge tapestry of unforgiving waves of musical emmination.


Just listen to the precious opening seconds of “The Order,” as it builds up to chaos.  The vocals growl and screams while riffs that are both atmospheric and sludgy lay down the framework.  The bass slaps hard, an infinite reminder that the instrument is the heaviest on Earth when used correctly.   The last couple minutes see the band jamming it out, a dense and muddy sound that has a lot of depth.


The bass is centerstage for “Dissonance of the Tongueless,” guiding the song to the chorus where the guitars stretch and bend to new heights.  After the 2:20 minute, a ridiculously heavy passage cuts its way through to the song's end, bolstered by a clever and insane drum performance. 


The band throws dissonance into the mix and their brand of it is surreal and high with tension. Parts of this song sound like a much more extreme early Mastodon—the band just perpetually moves ever forward and anything in their way is dead.  I don’t know which part of the song is better—the barely contained fury of the first half or the more atmospheric and bass heavy second half?  Why not both?  Yep, definitely both. 


The final song, “Into The Abyss,” is the most methodical song, the band pulling back in places to let the madness sink in a bit more.  Between its sudden bouts of speed mixed with brief usage liminal spaces, it’s everything the band excels at rolled into one huge song. 


Oracle Hands’ “Dirge For The Doomed,” is quite the impressive debut album that has its own sound and style.  It’s extreme but constantly interesting and engaging—not a second is used incorrectly nor is there any moments where something happens that doesn't need too.  This is a very well composed album that needs to be on your radar.  Dirge for the doomed, indeed.


Rating: Excellent













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