The Beginning: ORCHID

[Wolff]

This is an ORCHID thread exclusively. Discuss.

No stupid comparisons. Spin the CD, and write something unique/striking about it. Comment if you will. Whatever. Keep the thoughts coming.

 

[Manbient]

umm.... yeah. It is a bit uneven.

 

[Useful Idiot]

Under the Weeping Moon and Forest of October have two of the best intros ever. The sheer emotion contained in this debut is remarkable.

 

[Wolff]

Just listening to Under the Weeping Moon. I must comment on the guitar work from 3:44-4:10. It sounds as the guitar is "crying"... a great eerie moment...

And then Anders does some beautiful drumwork... He adds in a very polite way... almost nonintrusively... little by little he just increasese intensity/apprehension...

Listen to the great riff on 6:09, and then the spacious solo immidiately after that.


I just love how guitars start toying around, and then the drums/bass increase intensity, until the music heats up... and then slows down and picks up in a mellow way.

I'm surprised people criticize the perceived lack of flow...

 

[Wolff]

Originally posted by Bumblefoot
umm.... yeah. It is a bit uneven.

If you have nothing more thoughtful to add, don't bother posting. Ummm.... and your teeth are uneven... that's about it.

 

[Useful Idiot]

5:11 in Under the Weeping Moon is eerie as well. I think it was you that said it's like the sound of the Cyclops...for some reason that image stuck with me.

 

[Jayde]

Forest of October is one of the most emotional songs ever. It's one of their best. It's emotional to me, at least.

 

[Wolff]

You're right

5:10-17 Guitar? Is that how the cyclops sound? Or echoes far far away? Anyway, the earthquake's coming. Get ready.

 

[Manbient]

Originally posted by Wolff


If you have nothing more thoughtful to add, don't bother posting. Ummm.... and your teeth are uneven... that's about it.

you just KNOW i'm gonna reply to this if you instult me... good job on contaminating your own thread. And i did have something to say before but you deleted it and i didn't want to type it all out again. and i'm a babe hound, i dunno what you're talking about.

 

[Wolff]

Originally posted by Jayde
Forest of October is one of the most emotional songs ever. It's one of their best. It's emotional to me, at least. Wolff, why don't you write something about it?

No prob:

Forest of October

starts slow, subtle... settled.
1:03 drums take off.
accompanying the MAIN RIFF (1:03=1:30)
New riff 1:42: drums, dbl base!
2:22 awesome mood swing!!! acoustic guitars
2:24 again politely the drums and then the guitars are added to the mix; the other way around would have been more abrasive to the ear. bass work is great. Guitar riff is 70's like, wondering, curious... Gazing into the stars/please take me there...
3:03 Doom influence: heavy riff, twin guitars, slow tempo. MDB in the house? No just Opeth, hence the riff altering 20 secs late once again. Notice how great Mikael growls are.
4:41 back to the acoustics
5:46 fast solo; wakes you up from the mellow/sleepy/thinking mode
6:32 wailing guitar; back to melancholy
(notice the shifting of the movements/moods; great piece!!!)
nice acoustics in the background
7:02 acoustics take gradually centerstage; drumming is mellow; again their introduction is very subtle and never abrasive.
7:26 bass is added to the mix.
8:38 back to another riff; piercing guitar work. drums and bass adapt accordingly
9:18 another solo leading to
9:54 yet another great riff (The forest of October...last trace )
10:20 notice the drum work; difficult and sublime; reminds of ulrich's drumming in orion
10:44 Mikael rapz. Yo MTV!!! (just kidding)
11:11 somewhere in between humming and singning an aria!!!
11:27 another great solo
12:01-12:08 fades, lights out!
12:09 acoustic riff [hell, it's the MAIN RIFF (1:03=1:30)]
slower pace, wiser, more sophisticated; also the drumming is like a military march; the composition comes full circle. Outstanding!!!

 

[Useful Idiot]

What do you guys think of Silhouette and Requiem? Do they achieve their goals as instrumental interludes?

 

[YaYo]

The first 2 minutes or so of In Mist She Was Standing is great.... that song had a huge affect on how i write music personally. how the riffs are basically the same but continually have subtle differences and slight changes to alter the feeling and mood. The first Opeth CD that i ever fell in love with at first listen and its solely because of the start of this song (the first 4 minutes or so i guess). Beautiful.

 

[Wolff]

I think Silhouette is an incredible piece in its own right. Sandwiched between two heavy songs to serve as an intermission adds to its beauty and austerity imo.

Requiem is the same story. Different approach to the same principle, although I think the piano in Silhouette just stands out.

 

[YaYo]

What do you guys think of Silhouette and Requiem? Do they achieve their goals as instrumental interludes?

Silhouette i heard as an mp3 long before i got the CD, and it never really fit into the album as i had imagined it would, i usually skip this song actually and its not because i dont like it, i just find it far more appropriate to put this song on by itself.

Requiem on the other hand is perfect. Love it. Fits in perfectly.

 

[The_Wanderer]

The twilight is my robe is beautifull.
A great song: Cool beginning, extreme parts, slow beautyfull part, cool bass, coll solo, cool song.
The tu interludes are great too.
I also love the beginning of the apostle in triumph.
Great album. A masterpiece.

 

[Kushantaiidan]

Orchid Is simply their best album.

First track, the galloping horses, the begginning of the album. It takes you straight in. Straigh into his long search.. It's great.

Under The Weeping moon. Structuraly, it's a fucking weird track, and the middle quiet bit simply send shivers down my spine.

Sillhoutte, a beuatiful piano track, that has a rel metal sound on it. The only piano track that I've heard that sounds like metal riffs or something. Great stuff.

Forest of October, an epic track and my favorite on the album. I love it..

The Twilight is my road, prolly my least favorite on the album, but I love it none the less..

Requem, I love this peice, I love the title. It's like a technical work, but still has a great feeling.

Apostle in Triumph, What a climax...

And that's all I have to say about that.

 

[Kushantaiidan]

And thank you wolff, we need a lot more opeth discusion in this forum.

Too many "Would you date Racist Negroes" Polls by our favorite little speed poster.

 

[Morningrise]

Well in Forest of October, I love that folky riff! Just the opening of In the Mist She Was Standing really got to me, such power, though it does kind of drag on, it really caught my attention. The beginning to Apostle In Triumph, I call that Opeth's dancable moment, the acoustic guitars just jamming with the bass soloing, one of my favorite Opeth moments ever right there. The "AAAHHHH" in Apostle in Triumph is also amazing!

 

[Cutter]

What can I say, the opening riff to In mist was the first piece of Opeth I heard. I guess it just drew me in. My whole concept of metal changed when I heard that initial riff.

not much more to be said...It changed my life...

 

[D Mullholand]

Awesome album, from start to finish, and there are almost no flaws in the flow, wow. More moving, fresh, exciting and enchanting than its immediate successor.

I even started a whole thread on Orchid somewhere in August, when I first heard it, with a detailed description... but I can't find it now.

D Mullholand