Review Summary: A killer album that ranks in the upper echelons of debut metal albums.
Debut albums are an interesting thing. Ones from good bands at least. You either have complete ass, like Pantera's Metal Magic or The Wonder Years' Get Stoked On It, where you're left completely baffled as to how they got any better at all, there's those that are just plain mediocre, like Thrice's Identity Crisis or Depeche Mode's Speak and Spell, where it made sense how they got so good, but they just weren't there yet. And then there's those that absolutely knock it out of the park, like Dio's Holy Diver, Black Sabbath's self titled, Metallica's Kill 'Em All, Pearl Jam's Ten, The Clash's self titled, Coheed and Cambria's The Second Stage Turbine Blade, The Gaslight Anthem's Sink or Swim, Ghost's Opus Eponymous, Iron Maiden's self titled... y'know, I really could go on, but I'm sure I've made my point. Metal really seems to have an abundance of these, and Opeth's Orchid fits in gorgeously with those as prestigious as some of the ones mentioned above, but has just enough drawbacks to keep them out of the limelight until later albums.
The thing most potently visible on Orchid is the talent and potential of the musicians at hand. Every single orchestration on the album seems perfectly calculated and then performed to the highest quality possible. Pieces that clock in at an average of 10 minutes have to truly excel to keep the attention of most listeners for the entire runtime, and despite a few spots where this doesn't work to full effect (see; Under the Weeping Moon, which is far too repetitive to be as long as it is, and The Apostle In Triumph, which is still a good song, but the intro segues into the meat of the song very awkwardly), it fulfills the need to the utmost. Songs are ear-catching and even catchy, and flow gorgeously for the most part, carried by Mikael Åkerfeldt's incredible knack for writing hooks into some of the most extreme progressive metal around. This talent is apparent from the start of the band's career, something that isn't always there for even some of the great bands, and it really serves as a true testament to how much of a genius Åkerfeldt is. Not to mention the absolutely incredible vocal performance given, proving that Åkerfeldt is, always has been, and always will be, one of the greatest, if not the greatest growler metal has ever seen.
From start to finish, Orchid is a joy to listen to, showcasing a band with talent to spare. The only things that hold it back from being a true classic are the obvious and inherent growing pains of a young band, and the production, which is perfectly acceptable, but it clearly could've used a larger budget to really push it over the top.
At this time, Opeth were, more than anything, exciting. They impressed with this intricate and wonderful album, and they were only getting started.
Favorite Tracks: Twilight Is My Robe, In the Mist She Was Standing, Forest of October
Least Favorite Tracks: Under the Weeping Moon, The Apostle In Triumph
