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Orchid

Opeth - Orchid Audio CD

A fair review of the Opeth "Orchid" Audio CD. Please note that the below review is the views of the authors, and authors only. You can get a complete list of all Opeth reviews here, or go back to the Opeth tabs.

Band: Opeth
Title: Orchid
Rating:

Release Date: 2000-10-02
Media: Audio CD

Tracks: 1: In Mist She Was Standing 2: Under the Weeping Moon 3: Silhouette 4: Forest of October 5: Twilight Is My Robe 6: Requiem 7: Apostle in Triumph 8: Into the Frost of Winter [*]

The Origins Of Opeth
There are alot of choppy bits in songs that seem rather disorganized and take away from the flow of the album as a whole. Though Orchid is (in fact) one of the best albums to ever grace my stereo i had to knock one star for its sheer lack of production. For instance, the transition between Requiem (an acoustic instrumental) and the Apostle In Triumph is an extremelly shoddy act of production. One that was openly admitted as a mistake but still never fixed for the reissues. Even though this is Opeth's first album I would highly recommend listening to Still Life or Morningrise first.

A wonderful tapestry of differing moods and textures.
I'd been hunting for black metal bands and pretty much anything violent and dark at the time. Opeth took me completely by surprise back in 1995. I therefore purchased a Candlelight compilation CD and two of the tracks on there were by a band called Opeth whom I'd never heard of. They didn't fit the description of what I'd been searching for and yet a couple of spins later and I would be thoroughly convinced that these Swedes were something very special indeed.

The first word that comes to mind on listening to their music is class. Whereas so many bands around are trying to be as fast as they can, or as desolate as they can, or as evil as they can, Opeth just try to write damn good music. As far as I'm concerned they've never failed to do that in the 12 plus years of their existence. It helps that each member of the band is extremely talented, but talent doesn't always equal quality music, which is abundantly present in everything they touch, including this debut album.

Not many metal bands would run with the idea of calling their debut album "Orchid" and displaying a pink flower on the cover. But that's a sign of the intellectual qualities of the band. They don't get caught up in all the seemingly necessary nasty image portrayals that so many other bands use to catch your attention. The cover is perfect in that it presents a depiction of the beauty held within its content and it's memorable in its uniqueness.

There are five epic tracks here with a length of 10 or more minutes each and two short instrumentals to keep the listener occupied. Normally when albums contain tracks of such extended lengths, you can assume each one contains a certain degree of repetition. But that's not the case here. Each track contains a wealth of variety, generally not holding to constant themes and instead, branching out in many directions of differing moods and texture. Which is one of the things that differentiates the first two Opeth albums to the rest of their work. While later releases do contain songs that are easily recognisable due to constant themes running through the underbelly of experimentation and musical adventure, both "Orchid" and "Morningrise" tend to move from one gripping section to another, never really inhabiting the one place for too long. One minute it's beautiful acoustic, next it's crushing death metal, then doom-filled harmonies and so on. I see this as both a positive (each section is both fresh and captivating) and a negative (it's difficult to hear part of a song and actually know which one it belongs to due to this lack of focus).

This is not Opeth's best album, but it's excellent nonetheless. If you're into extreme metal (melodic and progressive death metal in particular), then this band are the holy grail. "Orchid" is the first of many masterpieces and an album I can go back to over and over again and still be filled with admiration and wonder.

Personally my favorite Opeth CD
They have definantly evolved over the years since making this one. If you are one of the opeth fans who hate screaming than this one might not be for you. I on the other hand love the distorted vocals as well as his singing voice. I think that the style of screaming on this cd is better than the type on there later cds. However if you can get past the screaming This is a masterpiece. Making masterieces is nothing new for opeth. It seems like they cant pick up the guitar without making a genious riff. The accoustic sections are also shorter but no less brilliant. The song Forrest in October is so awsome that it is quite possible it might end up being my favorite song of all time. That is if it stands up to the test of time. As with all opeth that I have everytime I listen to them they get better. Some thisngs that are obviously different here are mikaels clean vocals are not as refined as later cd's. For the most part the accoustic breakdowns are shorter, and less frequent than in later albums. The melodies themselves dont feel as progressive. To me they sound more like the melodies of norwegian folk metal. Having said that they are still great. And obviously the production is not as clean as later cd's. This might bother some people. I on the other hand listen to mostly black metal, so I have an appreciation for underproduced sounds. It gives this cd more of a underground metal feel, which they were at the time.
In Mist She Was Standing 9 Opens with the usual steller Opeth riffs. They deliver the first solo about three minutes in. At about the 5:30 mark the first accoustic breakdown eases in. Man is it beautiful. Underneath it a soft serene electric guitar glides to and fro hyptnotizing the listener into a state of bliss. That is my favorite part of this song. After that the usual series of riffs, solo's and accoustics go by.
Under the Weeping Moon 10 This is probably my third favorite song on this cd. At about 3 minutes in the first accoustic breakdown starts. It is very similar to that of the first song except this one has a darker tone. While the first song had more of a serene feel. There are also some strange fluttering sounds that help to dramatize the aptmosphere. All in all this is an excellent song with many memorable parts.
Silhouette 9 A piano instrumental by Anders Nordin the drummer. It is an exquisite piece that winds through my soul everytime I hear it. Somewhat somber, yet beautiful. Its kind of a tease because it would be nice if they would have used this type of stuff more often. Perhaps even mixing it with the accoustics and riffs during the songs. Than again who the hell am I to interfere with the minds of these geniuses.
Forest of October 20/10 This is not only the highlight of the cd, but I think it is the highlight of opeths entire career. Definantly in my top 10 metal songs of all time. I could write an entire page describing in detail each and every riff, solo and melody here. The opening riff is slow and full of emotion. My favorite part of this opus is at 4:50 all the way to the end. It is filled with some of the best riffs, solo's, melodies and even some psychadelia.
Twilight Is My Robe 10 This one opens and closes with godly riffs and melodic guitar. However the heart and soul of this song is the long accoustic section, that has some of Mikael's best singing on this cd. His vocals were'nt as refined this early in opeths career. They are still great and add a soothing feel to this otherwise metal album. His voice is more of a soft low humming compared to the heavenly vocals he would aquire in later releases.
Requiem 6 This low rating in no way cuts down this track. It is some really good accoustic strumming. My problem is that it is rather short, and should have been added to a existing song rather than given its own track.
Apostle in Triumph 10 Picks up where the last one left off. A pretty good accoustic intro. Than there is a lull before the song picks up again. This is probably my second favorite song on here. At 7:25 there is some strange sounding istrument that is really good and gives this song a strange medieval aura. My only complaint with opeth is that I wish they would do more experimenting with different instruments like this. Another example is the celtic sounding melody that appears briefly in "Black Rose Immortal".

Anyways this is an awsome cd that you have to get if you are a fan. Some may just look at this as the cd opeth got their start with. Now I agree that opeth has become more complex over time, yet this one will always hold a special place with me.

.

I love this album!
Too many people ignore Orchid and Morningrise but they are great albums produced and probably influenced by Dan Swano. This is a really good melodic piece of work, opeth has a lot of catchy riffs, bass lines, and beats in this one. On a side note it was good to see Mikael and Dan team up on the first two Bloodbath albums, check them out if you are looking for some metal to add to your collection.

The Beginning of A Legacy
However, I am completely in love with every song on it, and I plan to purchase it, along with the rest of their albums which I either have burned or have already bought. Before I say anything, let me admit that I dont actually own this album; I burned it, so therefore I have not heard the bonus track. Now, that that is out of the way, THIS ALBUM IS SHEER BRILLIANCE! Nothing short of genius. It all starts off with In The Mist She Was Standing, which, to be quite honest, with its use of wonderful melodies and harmonies and intricate guitar work, is my favorite song on this album. Next is Under The Weeping Moon. Great track with many acousic riffs. Kind of mysterious. After that is a track that proves that the piano is not just a classical instrument. Sillhouette is a great piano piece that absolutely sends chills down my spine to hear. Next up, Forest Of October. Another great song which has a wonderful, flowing intro. Track 5 is The Twilight Is My Robe, a wonderful song. Then comes Requiem, an awesome little instrumental (two guitars and a bass) that leaves you wanting more. The Apostle In Triumph gives you just that. It has a short intro that fades out and then out of nowhere the music starts again. The song is mostly acoustic and has a cool keyboard interlude towards the end. All in all, one of my favorite albums. Opeth is one of the best metal bands of all time, no question, and they deserve their own genre, for it pains me to see them lumped into the same general category (death metal) as bands like Cannibal Corpse and Dying Fetus.

You can see a complete list of all Opeth discography, or go back to the Opeth tabs. There is also a good guide on how to read guitar tabs here.