Öröm
8

The Öröm (not to be confused with fellow townsmen Korai Öröm) hail from the Hungarian lands, specifically from Kazincbarcika. They were formed in 1998, and at the dawn of their career, the band was composed of three musicians. Currently, only one remains in the project: Kalinka István, who handles all the musical parts.

The album in question, "8", is dated 2006 and is the group's first full-length after a series of Demos and EPs. The sound presented is very original and captivating, difficult to describe and confine to just one genre. The album is a journey within the passions that burn the soul of man, through lyrics that speak of Melancholy, Despair, Nature, Desire, Solitude... Sometimes Nature itself is integrated into the tracks, with backgrounds of babbling brooks, gentle gusts of wind, or a sweet chirping of birds. All the lyrics are written in the group's native language and are thus "untranslatable" at the moment and challenging to understand, but this is not a drawback at all, the singer is tremendously expressive, his performance is more of a continuous narration than actual singing, from faint whispers to gentle growls, calm moments are accompanied by a tone of voice of disarming sweetness and simplicity, there's no need to understand what the vocalist is saying, just let yourself be guided by the extension of his vocal cords to be overwhelmed by a flood of emotions.

The musical parts are ethereal, sweet, and melancholic at the same time, they enter the listener's mind, cradling and rendering them inert in front of such emotional depth, a musical catharsis. The soundscapes of a solitary acoustic guitar (sometimes replaced by an electric guitar without the slightest distortion) intertwine with a melancholic keyboard that is at times essential, at other times vaguely gothic, supported by subtle bass lines and a very light drum that simply keeps time without a hint of flair or imagination, but it is precisely this minimalism that makes the percussion "agonizing", marking the beats like a slow and inexorable march. Alongside the classic instruments occasionally appear flutes and violins that only make the atmospheres even more peculiar, sometimes making them gloomy and anxiety-inducing, other times offering true glimpses of light. Not neglected are Folk-flavored interludes that reflect the typical music of Eastern Europe; these parts are perfectly integrated into the general harmony of the tracks, almost hidden from the audience for how seemingly they are the natural continuation of the basic melodies of the compositions, an excellent work of musical weaving, not a flaw at a compositional level, everything is arranged perfectly to achieve the intended effects.

The melodies are capable of provoking the most diverse sensations: total relaxation, anguish, mental abstraction... One must be emotionally predisposed to savor Öröm's music; they are certainly not the type of group to listen to on a sunny day full of life. However, perhaps, who knows, someone might find hope in their music, their name translated into our language means Joy, and perhaps upon reflection, this ethereal state and ecstasy their listening sends us into can easily be associated with positive feelings as well; as I mentioned earlier, there are many emotions that can be experienced depending entirely on the subject's disposition. Each track directly transports you to the next; it is completely useless to make distinctions and list titles, each composition is transcendent compared to the other, they cannot be separated, one must live the journey to the fullest, attempting to fully enjoy the emotions that are offered.

A truly fantastic album from this band from the Eastern European scene; perhaps it's the territory, or maybe it's the history that these peoples have behind them, but the music coming from these lands in the eastern part of our continent (as I had already experienced with Drudkh and now with Öröm) offers truly endless emotions to inhale until the last breath, without however dispersing them any longer...