Outside of “Blue Monday” being Orgy’s universally acknowledged claim to fame, the band very rarely come up in music discourse. There’s obviously good reason for that; the band fell into the NU-metal whirlpool at the height of the genre’s popularity and were quicky chewed out with the slew of other bands clambering to make a decent name for themselves. Unlike most bands in that scene though, I always lamented the unharnessed potential Orgy wielded in the early noughties. Candyass and Vapour Transmission were really solid albums, and, while far from perfect, demonstrated a competent blend of NU-metal and industrial in a way that gave them an edge over their peers – their own inimitable identity. Unfortunately, the band were never able to make that potential truly flourish, as their third album, Punk Statik Paranoia, sealed their own demise (at least until their return in 2015).  It was a record that stripped the band of their fundamental qualities in favour of derivative trend chasing, which ultimately finished the band off in the process.

Since their return in 2015, the band have followed suit in a way that feels as though they never really left or learned from their previous shortcomings – that glaring wound of unfettered, untouched potential staring back at me as they bleed generic dance beats and vapid pop melodies into my ears. This new single, “Empty”, stays the course in this vein, vomiting autotune and scintillatingly optimistic electronics with the only consistent thing to survive the band’s creative endeavours, their static, low-fi production style. The problem, like Talk Sick, is that it all sounds terribly forgettable. Inoffensive at best, shallow and cynically cobbled together at worst. It’s equivalent to the vacuous, ubiquitous swill a band like Skillet will churn out every couple of years. I will say, unlike Talk Sick, the hook to “Empty” feels like it has a little bit more gravitas and purpose, which helps it along, but I long for the days when Orgy could write a song that mixed NU-metal chugging with that downcast NIN attitude; creating that slim beam of dejected, claustrophobic, dystopian rock music they were so good at delivering, for the most part. Sadly, I think it’s safe to say we’ll never come anywhere near that untouched potential ever again.

2/5

Sputnik Singles Chart:

1. Blut Aus Nord – “That Cannot Be Dreamed” (3.9)
2. Regina Spektor – “Becoming All Alone” (3.9)
3. The Wonder Years – “Oldest Daughter” (3.7)
4. Yeule – “Too Dead Inside” (3.5)
5. Arcade Fire – “The Lightning I, II” (3.2)
6. Phoebe Bridgers – “Sidelines” (3.1)
7. Bad Omens – “Like A Villain” (2.8)
8. Muse – “Won’t Stand Down” (2.5)
9. Red Hot Chili Peppers – “Black Summer” (2.3)
10. Avril Lavigne – “Bite Me” (2.3)
11. Weezer – “A Little Bit of Love” (2.3)
12. Shinedown – “Planet Zero” (2.2)
13. Grimes – “Shinigami Eyes” (1.9)
14. Daine – “Boythots” (2.7)