Artist: Orphanage
Label: Nuclear Blast
Release Date: 8/00
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Title: Inside Artist: Orphanage Label: Nuclear Blast Release Date: 8/00 |
Judgment Committee Reviews | Rating |
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4 | ||
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Abyss's Review:
Ever since I was lucky enough to get my hands on Orphanage's last effort, By Time Alone (DSFD Records, 1996) I have considered myself a pretty big fan. Their unique brand of epic metal seems in a class by itself. Whenever I try to explain their music it comes out in some pathetic crossbred string of comparison. Like Opeth meets Septic Flesh or something lame like that, but it never really fits. I believe this band is from the Netherlands, but I think they sound more like the Black/Goth inspired bands coming out of the Peloponnesian Peninsula. Well, comparisons be damned, I think it's safe to say that Orphanage has a very unique sound.
Their previous music consisted of heavy, but simple, stuttering guitar riffs that often set the rhythm for the whole song. To this they would add growling vocals, angelic female vocals, and atmospheric keyboards. The songs are long and feature a great many changes and sounds, and it seems they've kept up with that framework for this album, their debut on Nuclear Blast. The song structures remain basically the same, especially in the beginning of the album, but that's not to say they haven't made some significant changes. The songs evolve from material much like their last album into a much more contemporary sound. The simple, stuttering riffs change, in later songs, into a doom inspired guitar theme, not unlike the band Down and some of the mid-tempo Pantera stuff. This may seem like a travesty, but they keep enough of their own selves in this new style to pull it off. This newer style is most easily evident on the song "Kick", which also seems to feature an attitude shift, emphasized by lyrics that abandoned what we might be used to. Instead of towering spires, and mountains of madness, we hear lyrics such as "I'll kick your fucking ass!" ("Kick"). This shift makes the acquainted listener feel a little out of the loop, and it's pretty alienating at first, but the material was strong enough to win me over.
"I think it's safe to say that Orphanage has a very unique sound."
For all the props these guys deserve for evolving their sound (even though I think most bands should move away from the new influences these guys are using), the best material on this album is that which is most closely associated with their previous work. My favorite so far is "The Stain Remains" which takes the old formula and tinkers with it only slightly. The female vocals take a major part in the melody, and seem to have much more time dedicated to them than on the last album. The low-end vocals are similar to what we're used to, but they've been more liberal with injecting a Black Metal scream in as well.
"The songs evolve from material much like their last album into a much more contemporary sound." Not everything on this album seems complete, and some of the chances they take don't pay off (e.g. the growling a'cappella that begins the song "Grip" is awkward, but the song eventually makes up for it), and with their new musical direction they are on the edge of falling into the realm of machismo-infused crap, but so far they're able to make it work.
Death's Review:
This is my first exposure to Orphanage. For those others to whom the band is new, Orphanage play a wierd sort of goth-death, combining folky, experimental, European death metal with multi-layered instrumentation which at varying points features heavy doses of keyboards and prominent secondary female voices from Rosana Van Der Aa (I just like that her last name is "Aa" so I had to mention it.) Not features I usually covet (I don't mean that comment to read as personal to Ms. Aa, it's the "prominent secondary female vocals part" I fail to yearn for. She is actually pretty good.) Worse still, George Oostroek's (it would be funny if he shortened his last name to just "Oo," wouldn't it?) vocals sound frighteningly like Animal from The Muppets when they are first introduced on Inside's opening title track. By the second song, "The Stain Remains," however, he is more in decidedly-Max Cavalera territory (Cavalera? Muppets? Both jump around and pound on bongos with bright-colored clothing and goofy dreadlocks flying... I guess they aren't all that different.) Although the downtuned riffs and middle-eastern theme to those same tracks give the keyboards enough of a Dream Theater -feel to somewhat cover a bit of the dangerously-close-to-ELP element, at the outset, it is only conscious open-mindedness which keeps me listening.
"Orphanage play a wierd sort of goth-death, combining folky, experimental, European death metal with multi-layered instrumentation." But track three, "Grip," immediately grabs my attention. "Swallow your pride and follow your dream," Mr. Oostroek implores in the chorus, as well as in the funny a capella intro (think Muppets when listening to that if you didn't understand my earlier comment!). We're immediately hit with an extraordinarily low-tuned, slow and heavy bass riff which is only briefly interrupted by the misguided, saccharine, female vocals and atmo-keys. But the riffs are sick enough to carry me through. At least for a bit.
So I've made it to track four, and I haven't even listed my usual "sounds like a combination of" knee-jerk comparisons. The quick-and-dirty, cheap way to review a metal record! OK, here goes: Opeth, Dream Theater, The Gathering, Soulfly, Pissing Razors, Skinlab, Cradle of Filth, Crisis, and Cannibal Corpse without the blastbeats. Put 'em all in a giant blender, mix well, and out will poor a disgusting, bloody goo which, when drank, is sure to taste like Orphanage.
"Twisted Games" rules, with a killer groove and surprisingly catchy songwriting which continues into the next track, "Pain," but drifts away in much of the balance of the record. And so it is with Orphanage, an interestingly difficult band to describe. At times it is amazing and deserves a 5, others it plays more like a 3. I'll split the difference and give Orphanage 4 solid skulls. And if you're into the adventurous, multi-dimensional European death thing, you might think about upping things a notch.
"The riffs are sick enough to carry me through." Before I go, I thought I'd throw out this extra little nugget of descriptiveness, relevant to fans of Orphanage's prior efforts but not my own thought. I quote from an email exchange I had going with Pestilence, ye of Summary Judgment fame, as I listened to Orphanage earlier in the week. Pestilence: "First of all I LOVE this new album, but here is my one complaint: The congruence is not that same as on the previous album that I own. Basically on the previous album the production was not as good and all of the musical elements blended in with each other more giving you a more layered ambient sound. It sounded very creative and original, not for the individual pieces (instruments and voice), because there was nothing very original or new about any of them individually, but for the melded whole. The new album separates out the elements more and I feel that the tapestry is not woven as completely. I would still give it a 4, just because I enjoy it thoroughly and it may prove to be more than what I know now as it grows on me." Even though I haven't listened to the prior effort myself, listening to Inside I can somehow hear that this comment is probably right on the money. So I thought I'd share it. You tell me if it's correct.
Hel's Review:
This is my very first Orphanage experience. And, wow, this is some wierd shit. As I first started taking notes on this, I wondered, "How many synonyms can you come up with for 'strangely cool shit'?"
"This is certainly a talented, creative band. And undeniably metal." It is possible to hear everything from black metal to prog metal to traditional folk songs & everything in between - all within the same part of one song. You never know what's next, musically. There can be no question, this is certainly a talented, creative band. And undeniably metal.
Each song is hauntingly epic, in its own unique way. Sometimes the crazy juxtapositions work well - maybe even most of the time, but I liked some songs more than others. Some things were simply more successful than others. Some of it I just didn't get. Frankly, it occasionally loses me.
For example, the beginning of "From the Cradle to the Grave" strongly evoked images of the movie "Braveheart" for me, and I began to wonder if they had ripped off the soundtrack to that movie, when it shifted into a completely different part of the song. And I realized at that point, I like some parts of songs better than others, but I like at least one part of every song.
"A quality album that anyone who considers themselves a knowledgeable metalhead should get to know." Listening to Inside, I realized that I'd really like to see Orphanage perform live. I think there's a lot to this band and it would be much better appreciated in the live setting. In any event, the current release is a quality album that anyone who considers themselves a knowledgeable metalhead should get to know.
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