This seven minute track telling “the story of a desperate struggle to survive in a post apocalyptic future” feels particularly pointed at the time of release, at the beginning of 2026. Dropped into the middle of a struggling world, the number finds Finnish prog metallers Dust Orchard in a particularly aggressive and nihilistic mood.
Despite the extended playing time, this single doesn’t waste time by teasing the audience with a slow build up. The intro drops the listener squarely into a barrage of heavy riffs and jagged rhythms that fuse a classic prog metal approach with a pinch of hardcore. This immediately showcases the drums and guitar as being the dominant force, as per classic Symphony X, but it’s the arrival of a very melodic vocal that makes the first few bars more interesting. This sets a great contrast in place, suggesting that although the riffs are very heavy, the track isn’t completely impenetrable in a way that some twenty first century prog metal can seem.
Moving through the verse, frontman Tommy Olenius continues to make his presence felt, and this becomes even more the case when he contrasts his melodic, flowing tones with a round of melodic death metal sounds that compliment the band’s heaviest side. There’s a constant push and pull between these two vocal extremes, which might be make or break for some listeners, but stick around until the chorus and you’ll discover more flowing vocals backed with bright sounding guitar work that pays tribute to more of a trad metal sound, and it all sounds great.
On this track, Dust Orchard really excel when settling for something between the two extremes, however. On the second verse, a riff and melody that’s very Threshold influenced shows off the superb unity between Tommy and guitarists Petri Siikander and Marko Hanski as they work through something that comes very close to sounding like flawless prog metal. This, for those who’ve not been affronted by the melodic death metal/hardcore elements creeping through, will certainly be enough to ensure a further exploration of the band’s catalogue is on the cards. The second half of the extended number takes an even deeper dive into extreme heaviness, but the results are superb, and the tightness of the rhythm remains especially impressive.
Although this doesn’t showcase the violin work – an integral part of the Dust Orchard sound – quite as prominently as some tracks, this is a genuinely epic single, showing the Finnish act in a position of strength. For lovers of slightly more extreme sounding prog metal, it’s a must-hear.
Take a listen below.