Track Premiere: Ordh – “Apis Bull”

Progressive death metal is one of those phrases that either promises transcendence or excuses excess. Ordh don’t seem particularly interested in either. On their debut Blind In Abyssal Realms, due April 17 via Pulverised Records, the band treat the “progressive” tag less like a badge and more like a license—permission to stretch death metal outward without sanding down its teeth.

Today, we’re premiering the album’s opening salvo, “Apis Bull.”

Before ORDH, there was Barishi. When that chapter closed, guitarist/vocalist Graham Brooks took it as an opportunity to finally indulge his first love: death metal. Not the polished, hyper-technical kind, but something rooted in the old ways—he’s cited names like Entombed and Demilich—while still leaving room for labyrinthine structures and long-form immersion.

“Apis Bull” makes that intent clear from its first ominous chord. The track unfolds over six-plus minutes, moving from cavernous churn to unexpected melodic lift without ever abandoning its subterranean weight. Jonathan Hébert (Come to Grief) delivers a performance that feels less like a vocal track and more like an invocation—deep, guttural, and commanding—while Brooks’ guitar tone scrapes and spirals in equal measure.

There are shifting time signatures, sure. There are moments where the riffs twist in on themselves like collapsing architecture. But the real hook is the atmosphere. Ordh operate in negative space as much as distortion, letting passages breathe before dragging the listener back under. It’s death metal that feels cosmic rather than claustrophobic—ominous, yes, but occasionally even beautiful.

The band’s lineup reads like a natural evolution: Brooks joined by longtime collaborator Dylan Blake on drums and Josh Smith (Kiefcatcher) on bass, with Hébert stepping in at just the right moment to complete the vision. Most of Blind In Abyssal Realms was crafted in-house, with drums tracked at Guilford Sound by Mikey Allred (Inter Arma) and mixing handled by Andrew Oswald (Mortiferum) at Paradise Recorders. The result is organic and unvarnished—powerful without feeling sterilized.

Even the name Ordh—an archaic English word for the tip of a spear—feels deliberate. “Apis Bull” doesn’t bludgeon so much as pierce, driving forward with intent before blooming into something stranger and more expansive. And if the rest of the album follows suit across its five sprawling tracks (including the twelve-minute closer “Hierothesion”), this debut won’t just flirt with the progressive death metal label—it’ll justify it.

For now, step into the abyss and press play on “Apis Bull” below.