ORCHID

Being Opeth's first album, it is obviously the rawest in terms of production and recording quality. In particular, the bonus track "Into the Frost of Winter" sounds like it was recorded straight into a laptop using an inbuilt microphone. Furthermore, the intro for the first track "In the Mist She Was Standing" is just far too long and repetivitve. However, that having been said, the riffs are catchy and memorable, the song writing is just as fantastic as the rest of their albums and Mikael Akerfeldt's vocals are as amazing as usual. I was divided whether to give this album a lower rating due to the relative lack of sound editing compared to their other, more polished albums, but decided not to, giving special consideration for how original and groundbreaking this record must have been upon its release, and the simple fact that Opeth were clearly doing their best (amazingly so!) in unchartered territory. And the songs still sound great with that characteristic autumnal Opeth sound to them! Technically, it may be death metal, but it is intelligent, creative, VERY melodic, and has a rich texture contrasting the soft serene accoustic guitar & clean vocal passages and mixing them seamlessly with tastefully delivered and masterfully executed blasts of beastly death metal growls & heavy, distorted guitar work. I'd recommend checking out either "My Arms Your Hearse" (If you like heavy), "Damnation" (If you like soft) or "Still Life" (If you like a bit of both) first, but if you discover that you love Opeth, please do check this out afterwards to see where it all started. This album is one of those milestone moments in metal.