Review | Orion – Into Darkness

Independent Release

Ben Jones has built Orion into a one-man prog-rock force, blending personal philosophy and sweeping soundscapes since his debut `The End of Suffering’. That first album drew on Eckhart Tolle themes from his book “The Power of Now” and decades of writing, establishing Jones as a refreshing storyteller. Musically it was a bold prog rock album, pressing Ben’s stamp on the genre. His follow-up `The Lightbringers’ arrived in 2024 with confidence and stunning art by Rush collaborator Hugh Syme. The visionary cover perfectly matched Orion’s ambitious vision. No one expected Syme’s art piece for the Orion song ,,The Ghosts Among Us” to pop up, on Dream Theater’s album `Parasomnia’ deluxe edition, little over 6 months later.

When Jones saw the artwork, he’d paid for repurposed on a prog giant’s release, it shook him to the core. He considered walking away from music. But instead of quitting, Jones channelled that shock into the new release, `Into Darkness’. Determined to prove that amid confusion he creates a vital proggy strike. Orion’s new album pours all that turmoil and resolve into seven powerful tracks. From the moment the title took shape during the grim 2024 summer news headlines, the theme crystalized to form: heading `Into Darkness’ confronts the paths leading us there.

INNER DEMONS

The world’s crises and our own inner demons feed into his compositions. Jones doesn’t simply drown in despair, he rises above. The music balances brooding depth with unexpected light, finding hope in the act. Throughout `Into Darkness’ we hear glossy Emerson-like synths, scything guitars and Jones’s intense vocals moving from gravelly to plaintive, driving toward liberating tenure. It’s progressive rock at its most emotional: thunderous riffs one moment, fragile piano the next, all intertwined by masterful bass work.

The title track inspiration came amid turmoil, the war in Ukraine and conflicts abroad. Even local tragedies played a part and Jones felt everyone was drifting into darker places. Realizing darkness isn’t an alien force ‘out there’, but rather something within us, unwelcome yet unavoidable. Believing otherwise, he suggests, is what really leads us astray. Listening to `Into Darkness’ feels like a voyage through those ideas, like a portal conveying thoughts and emotions. The album’s sound is claustrophobic and open. Thrumming with tight grooves sonically brooding, while other moments it is swells into spacey melodies.

Synths and electronics give it an 80s glare on songs like ,,Someday”, with guitars aiming for intense power and gripping atmosphere. The crisp production makes every instrument breathe and its bass chords and melodies establish a heartbeat in its core. When mood turns shivering grim, you catch glimmers of warmth and hope. Ben stated he wanted to explore how good can emerge from bad, and musically this tension is present on all accounts. By the end we feel a spark of hope taking shape.

PROGRESSIVE CORE

,,A Father’s Love” opens the record and wastes no time in establishing mood. Jones builds a slow-burning tension from the first notes, weighty and deeply ominous, it traverses straight into your soul. The verses growl with drama under deep thumping bass thumps roaring with low-end licks, while quietly fierce guitars scat riffs and melodies. The layers of instrumentation keenly balanced, add to the magnitude of the track. The tune balances gritty and gentle in a way that feels dangerous and inviting at once. By the chorus, the concealed intensity bursts into its soaring vocal line and tight harmonies. Frailty turns to gloom, and Ben’s vocal delivery is a stronghold amid the turbulence of the song. Not the most gifted vocalist, Jones is very aware of his register and fires enormous amounts of heartfelt emotions into your gut, it is dazzling. Perfect!

The mood shifts with the witty 80s synth opening of ,,Someday”, with its shimmering synths, computer drums and sound effects, and soft-rock guitars. Gentle electronic textures wash over the song, then Jones sneaks in subtle hooks, that nest instantly. This is the track where the tone brightens: the chords shift from minor to a warm major feel, with the bass discharging a wide variety of tone. There are keyboard swells and subtle drums transcending into growling hooks supporting turbulent instrumentation. The guitar screams into the front with a great solo juxtaposing on the clinical synth.

URGENT ENERGY

Things slow down with ,,Ordinary Men”, Jones lays off the heavy dramatics and lets a reverting piano motif and quiet acoustic guitar guide the track in its melancholic peak. The effect is intimate and reflective. His voice vulnerable against a simple backdrop, the bass anchoring everything with an assuring pulse. It’s a moment to look inward and the ‘darkness within’ lingers. Intensifying, Jones growls the song into its bridge and chorus, where it unloads an enigmatic bliss. Drums shift time and polyrhythmic fills mark its progressive core, with the bass alternating alongside into pitch. The lyrics hint at regrets and hope unearthing. Ben’s vocals are belted out intense and dramatic, hitting the right nerve and resonance to land deep in you.

,,Left Behind” opens with urgent energy. Double bass blasts and bass droning, falling harshly into a frail verse with meandering guitars. Bright guitar arpeggios and brisk percussion drive it forward, giving a feeling of racing through life. The verse melody holds back before chorus finally lands, channelling a 70s and 80s neo prog feeling in this multi-dimensional depletion of styles. Warmth floods in before you finally exhale, with the bass snarling at you, morphing into Geddy-styles chord changes and licks, with its thick, animated lines propelling the song and giving it a funky undercurrent that contrasts the guitars and vocals. One feels the narrator clutching onto that chorus as a lifeline amid adversity, with Jones invigorating gnarls in his soaring delivery. Echoes add mischief.

A FUSION OF PAST AND PRESENT

,,The Ant” is a short instrumental eruption that leans on raw prog energy. The guitars chug with almost mechanical precision while the drums and bass lock into a punishing groove. The Rammstein stance in the middle, right before it goes jazzy with bass singing and swinging. It is here where Jones displays his skills, drawing from Claypool to Lee. This is adrenaline-shot straight into the veins. ,,The Antidote to Life”, begins dreamily with quiet synth and vocals, flute and ethereal shine. Wordless choirs, as though hope is fragile at first. Then shadow creep in with ominous synth chords and wordless choirs chanting. The sound is larger than life, blending Yes and ELP in a mix of modern djent and Evergrey’s soaring (prog) metal. A rumbling undercurrent wells with tormenting glare.

The flute returns and the rollercoaster of emotions falls into its freefall of instrumental mayhem, over and over again. Gradually the tension releases into a buoyant mid-tempo section full of bass and guitars weld onto the polyrhythmic drum discharge. A cheerful guitar melody and playful bass licks take over, giving the feeling of climbing out of the depths. Jazz-like swings and upbeat keys make this unexpectedly catchy. The doom and gloom returns, with the song intensifying once again. The song fuses past and present of Orion with the lyrical content gripping in its predecessors.

IMMERSIVE AND COMPELLING JOURNEY

Finally, ,,Bleeding Hearts” closes the immersive and compelling journey. Ethereal cinematic synth and sounds are waltzing around Ben’s subtle vocals chanting. There’s a pulsating undercurrent gradually picking up towards the distorted guitar and growling low bass. The shift here is jarring in the right way: after the odd lightness of the last song, we suddenly plunge into full darkness again. Spiky guitar chords and powerful drums sound immediately, and Jones’s vocals return with raw, urgent and melodic power. The arrangement swells grandly. Strings or synth strings amass, and every instrument climbs, layering on dramatic crescendos. It picks up so much power that it feels going rampant. This track feels like everything from the whole album merging, its heartbreak and defiance, its melody and fury. Jabbing keys start to whirl and the final chords fade out into soaring echoes, as if admitting that darkness can never be fully escaped.

The imagery accompanying the tracks reveals the deeper meaning of its lyrics and adds to the overall genuine approach Ben retained. He created everything himself, and this one-man army is ready to challenge each and everyone in the field. From Syme and Rembrandt, to Dream Theater and Rush.

AMBITIOUS AND DAUNTING

Throughout `Into Darkness’, the songwriting is ambitious and daunting, and the performances passionate and overwhelming. Ben Jones plays every part himself, but the result sounds like a full band locked in tight, dazzling the audience at a bouncing and baffled club. The album is a testament to his vision as a producer and multi-instrumentalist. You can almost sense the weight on Jones’s shoulders in his voice and searing guitar tone. Above all, this weight doesn’t crush the music’s shimmering beauty and glare. In each song where the darkness threatens to overwhelm, there’s a counterbalancing light. Whether it’s a soaring chorus, a gentle key change, a shimmering synth line, flutes and acoustic melodies, or Ben’s the refusal to drop the volume.

Jones’ evolution from the powerful anchoring `The End of Suffering’ to the spiritual `The Lightbringers’ was already astounding, but with `Into Darkness’ he proves to be a musician unafraid to tackle heavy ideas and double down on the outcome. Where the debut was a decades-spanning personal triumph, and `The Lightbringers’ delivered epic modern prog with heroic flair, `Into Darkness’ is grittier and more introspective, firing on the heavier engines. It feels like the most honest Orion album, dismantling its insecurity. A mirror held up to fear, frustration, pain and suffering, and ultimately determination. It is the fire that started blazing from the initial spark….

ORION – THE CONCLUSION

`Into Darkness’ wouldn’t exist without the trials Jones survived: the artwork scandal and his momentary loss of faith. Ironically, it is all woven into its fabric. The album’s sombre mood and defiant heart seem born of that struggle. I’m relieved he didn’t throw in the towel and rose above. Ben poured everything into this record, and the result is powerful and dramatically charged. `Into Darkness’ stands as the story of an artist fighting to keep his light alive. It’s an emotional charge forward for Orion, and fa must hear for fans of prog and metal!

SHEER FREAKIN’ GENIUS!

Release date: 16 August 2025