ORCHID

As one of my favourite bands (and the band that got me into death metal in general,) I had listened to Opeth quite a bit before moving onto their first record; 'Orchid.' With a raw production and a sound that can be likened to blackened death metal, 'Orchid' has many of the traits that got me to fall in love with this band's music; just unrefined. This early on there trademark melodic hooks, brutality interspersed with acoustic segments and an eerie vibe to the music. What makes this release a bit of a step down from latter albums however, is that it doesn't have that overall feel of cohesion and function alot of the others do, as well as being a little too long for it's own good.

With five of the album's seven tracks clocking in anywhere from ten to fifteen minutes, it can be difficult to listen to the album from start to finish without some level of fatigue. Each of the tracks (including the two interludes) have qualities about them, but they don't sound so much like effective compositions as they do a collection of (albeit good) riffs and inspired sections clumped together in different tracks. This is not at all to say the songs are not 'good,' but it's hard to tell most of the songs apart from one another.

The grand exception to this rule however, is the highlight to the album; 'The Twilight Is My Robe.' Although the first listens to this interesting album didn't distinguish this song from the others, it quickly grew on me that this track was quite a bit more accomplished then the others in terms of composition. A galloping intro and mournful verse structure segues into one of the band's most beautiful acoustic passages before erupting into a headbanging instrumental section reminiscent of Iron Maiden. While the song set up is much akin to the other tracks (heavy/light sections,) the riffs here are more vibrant and above all; memorable than on the other songs. The metal instrumental section rates as being one of the highlights of the album, as it had me pumped from the first intent listen onwards.

The good news here is that Opeth would go on to perfect this style with their next album 'Morningrise' and lead to a much more functional album. As far as 'Orchid' goes, it's clear that Opeth was still trying to work out some kinks in their act, and while this debut is impressive and gives a good idea of what the band is about, the compositions (and eventually, the production) would be cleared up to make way for some of the best heavy music ever written. A great album for riffs and some really inspired sections, but not quite as good as some of the real gems Opeth has to offer in their repetoire.

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