Alcatraz Line up: 2018, 2021

Wild West metal! Doesn’t ring a bell? Don’t worry, we didn’t have a clue either. Oddly enough the new term wasn’t coined in the Far West but in the German North-Rhein-Westphalia region. Orden Ogan, which translates to ‘order of fear’, have built a reputation as an excellent power metal outfit (think Helloween, Blind Guardian and Running Wild) but apparently they’ve always wanted to make a dark fantasy western album. When we asked frontman Seeb what the idea was behind the new ‘Gunmen’ (2017) CD, he told us that “the first two tracks we wrote for ‘Gunmen’ (2017) were so reminiscent of Ennio Morricone that it was now or never”. The album has done well in Germany and beyond, consolidating their status as one of the heirs to the German power metal throne. High-octane riffs and blazing solos are legion and the huge singalong choruses invite crowd participation. The occasional folk metal and progressive elements help to keep things vibrant and interesting.