SINGLE REVIEW: Black Blooms(O.R.k feat. SERJ TANKIAN)

SINGLE: Black Blooms // ARTIST: O.R.k feat. Serj Tankian

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Boasting one of the rock world's most coveted lineups, prog supergroup O.R.k are this week set to unveil the feverishly anticipated full-length 'Ramagehead' off the heels of unveiling their moody belter 'Black Blooms' featuring the legendary Serj Tankian.

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The sum of the O.R.k parts are without a doubt the stuff prog rock dreams are made of, with King Crimson's Pat Mastelotto on drums, Porcupine Tree's Colin Edwin on bass, Marta Sui Tubi's Carmelo Pipitone (guitars) and Italian vocalist, producer and composer Lorenzo Esposito Fornasari, aka LEF, on vocal duties. But not content with their already stacked lineup, the brand new single 'Black Blooms' also brings in iconic System Of A Down frontman Serj Tankian for a mesmerising sonic journey.

Slowly building from ambient post-rockish beginnings, 'Black Blooms' quite literally blooms into a theatrical odyssey, with ferocious textures, stirring instrumentals and a powerful whimsy coating Tankian's familiar vocals. With such a powerhouse of talent behind the wheel, there's little shock the track holds its own amongst the crushing textures, with Tankian deftly guiding the sweeping dynamics along the way.

Of the collaboration with Tankian, O.R.k bassist Colin Edwin explains: "The involvement of Serj Tankian came about through legendary producer Bill Laswell, who played bass on Lef's 2018 solo album ‘Hypersomniac’. Laswell passed a copy of ‘Hypersomniac’ to Serj, who was impressed enough to also check out O.R.k. and our previous two albums. This led directly to Lef and Serj connecting and discussing potentially collaborating at some point; it was just at the time we were working on ‘Ramagehead’, so of course a suggestion had to be made. Lef sent him the tracks as a ‘work in progress’ and from this, Serj himself chose "Black Blooms" as the song he wished to sing and work with us on".

Ultimately, 'Black Blooms' is a sprawling beauty that brings a fresh coat to some good old-fashioned progressive rock, and no doubt we're set for more immersive adventures when the full 'Ramagehead' album drops this Friday March 22. For pre-orders, head here, and for all other O.R.k info head here.

'BLACK BLOOMS' (O.R.k FEAT. SERJ TANKIAN)

BY TIANA SPETER