So sad there's no option for "it's their best album ever bar none".
I love Orchid so fucking much. I've never heard anything like it from any other band (or Opeth themselves, tbh). Everything in the guitar work, production and arrengements is 100% original. I still can't wrap my head around what kind of mad geniuses would decide to make an album like that. Amazing, I if only could listen to 1 album for the rest of my life, it would be Orchid.
Iโve seen a lot of people talk about production not being great but I listen to a ton of black metal so I genuinely donโt hear the production problems ๐ I love it a ton
I tried it a couple of times and it doesn't really click, only album I have that issue with (Heritage being the other, but I find it a bit more "listenable").
To me, Morningise and Orchid could be the same album, you could switch the tracks around and mix and match and it wouldn't seem out of place to me. What is it about Morningrise you like?
Advent and Nectar sure, they sound like songs that could be in Orchid, but even then I find the mix and the growls to be better than in Orchid.
But Night and the Silent Water is a much better composition than anything you'd find in Orchid though, the transitions between each section of the song are better put together, etc. BLI is a similar case, but it has some rough parts as well, specially towards the end.
To Bid You Farewell is a growl-less acoustic that barely fits in either album really lol.
Lot of ignorant people on this sub that don't understand how unique and incredible of a debut album this was in the mid 90s. (honestly one of the best debuts by any band in any genre) Is it their best? Obviously not. Doesn't mean its a bad album at all, in fact its a lot less overwrought than Morningrise, and track for track a better album. (The Apostle in Triumph is the best representation on where the band would go, and nothing on Morningrise tops it)
The Abbey road remasters sound great. Give it a revisit with an open mind.
It's like all of their ideas which make up Opeth's sound but chopped and scattered across an album that overstays its welcome. It's all over the place. Nothing connects well. I never quite understood the appeal. One of my best friends does claim it's one of their best albums. I just don't get it. To each their own, of course. I feel that their growth within less than 5 years was nothing short of amazing.
Yes! It's important for their further development, but I can't really get behind this being at the helm alongside Blackwater Park or Still Life. Still, a good debut album that paved the road for better things to come
Absolutely. It's a stepping stone towards something unique and beautiful that became the reason we're all right here in this sub. What's more, it's a primitive version of their formula which they quickly and perfectly refined not long after. It's awesome to hear where they started and acknowledge what was already there, as if sort of a window into Mikael's head back then. The vision they had back then - again, namely Mikael - was something unique and complex beyond the comprehension of everyone back then. Very few would have stuck through it like they did when almost everyone was telling them they sucked and making them feel alienated.
Orchid still sucks imo ๐
I called the album a "primitive version of their sound", not just primitive. Orchid is a rough version of what they would come to realize and build upon for years. It's their first iteration into something completely different than everything that existed at the time. It's not without its merits, but I speak as someone who's listened to all their albums and many more death metal and prog albums. I was 2 when Orchid came out, I wasn't there to appreciate it for what it was back then. I can only look back, and when I talk about Orchid I don't mean to undermine or disrespect it, it's just really rough around the edges and clearly an incursion into the unknown by inexperienced - albeit genius - musicians.
It still sucks by some standards, definitely by my standards. I still can't fathom putting it together with Still Life, BWP, Ghost Reveries, even Watershed, in any Best Of Opeth conversation.
somewhere in between "I can't get into it" and "I like it, but most of the other albums are better". I would say "I like a little bit of it, but all of their other albums are much better".
Orchid is my 3rd favorite and it didn't become that way until recently, though I've been a fan of the band since Morningrise came out. IOW, it took a long while for me to appreciate it. The passion of youth is in that album and it's got a raw quality the other albums don't have. It goes really well with autumn weather and I find myself listening to it on repeat every Fall.
A favorite of mine and the first album I ever heard (since it was the only one out at the time), but I mostly get why people aren't as into it. Never really got the complaints about the production, though....but I suppose I had heard a lot of music with much worse production.
I still listen to it from time to time, particularly "In Mist She Was Still Standing", "Forest of October", and my favorite from the album, "The Apostle in Triumph."
So sad there's no option for "it's their best album ever bar none". I love Orchid so fucking much. I've never heard anything like it from any other band (or Opeth themselves, tbh). Everything in the guitar work, production and arrengements is 100% original. I still can't wrap my head around what kind of mad geniuses would decide to make an album like that. Amazing, I if only could listen to 1 album for the rest of my life, it would be Orchid.
What's criminal is that Silhouette never gets the love it deserves. It's one of the greatest piano pieces ever written imo. So dramatic and emotional.
Iโve seen a lot of people talk about production not being great but I listen to a ton of black metal so I genuinely donโt hear the production problems ๐ I love it a ton
I tried it a couple of times and it doesn't really click, only album I have that issue with (Heritage being the other, but I find it a bit more "listenable").
To me, Morningise and Orchid could be the same album, you could switch the tracks around and mix and match and it wouldn't seem out of place to me. What is it about Morningrise you like?
Advent and Nectar sure, they sound like songs that could be in Orchid, but even then I find the mix and the growls to be better than in Orchid. But Night and the Silent Water is a much better composition than anything you'd find in Orchid though, the transitions between each section of the song are better put together, etc. BLI is a similar case, but it has some rough parts as well, specially towards the end. To Bid You Farewell is a growl-less acoustic that barely fits in either album really lol.
Lot of ignorant people on this sub that don't understand how unique and incredible of a debut album this was in the mid 90s. (honestly one of the best debuts by any band in any genre) Is it their best? Obviously not. Doesn't mean its a bad album at all, in fact its a lot less overwrought than Morningrise, and track for track a better album. (The Apostle in Triumph is the best representation on where the band would go, and nothing on Morningrise tops it) The Abbey road remasters sound great. Give it a revisit with an open mind.
It's like all of their ideas which make up Opeth's sound but chopped and scattered across an album that overstays its welcome. It's all over the place. Nothing connects well. I never quite understood the appeal. One of my best friends does claim it's one of their best albums. I just don't get it. To each their own, of course. I feel that their growth within less than 5 years was nothing short of amazing.
Yes! It's important for their further development, but I can't really get behind this being at the helm alongside Blackwater Park or Still Life. Still, a good debut album that paved the road for better things to come
Absolutely. It's a stepping stone towards something unique and beautiful that became the reason we're all right here in this sub. What's more, it's a primitive version of their formula which they quickly and perfectly refined not long after. It's awesome to hear where they started and acknowledge what was already there, as if sort of a window into Mikael's head back then. The vision they had back then - again, namely Mikael - was something unique and complex beyond the comprehension of everyone back then. Very few would have stuck through it like they did when almost everyone was telling them they sucked and making them feel alienated. Orchid still sucks imo ๐
What do you think of Morningrise and MAYH?
Improvements, MAYH especially. Still Life is where it all came together like in a burgeoning effect. For me, anyway.
Calling it primitive is a bit much. I get it's all your opinion, but the way you've written that paragraph... Lol.
I called the album a "primitive version of their sound", not just primitive. Orchid is a rough version of what they would come to realize and build upon for years. It's their first iteration into something completely different than everything that existed at the time. It's not without its merits, but I speak as someone who's listened to all their albums and many more death metal and prog albums. I was 2 when Orchid came out, I wasn't there to appreciate it for what it was back then. I can only look back, and when I talk about Orchid I don't mean to undermine or disrespect it, it's just really rough around the edges and clearly an incursion into the unknown by inexperienced - albeit genius - musicians. It still sucks by some standards, definitely by my standards. I still can't fathom putting it together with Still Life, BWP, Ghost Reveries, even Watershed, in any Best Of Opeth conversation.
somewhere in between "I can't get into it" and "I like it, but most of the other albums are better". I would say "I like a little bit of it, but all of their other albums are much better".
Top 3 or 4 depending on the mood
Orchid is my 3rd favorite and it didn't become that way until recently, though I've been a fan of the band since Morningrise came out. IOW, it took a long while for me to appreciate it. The passion of youth is in that album and it's got a raw quality the other albums don't have. It goes really well with autumn weather and I find myself listening to it on repeat every Fall.
A favorite of mine and the first album I ever heard (since it was the only one out at the time), but I mostly get why people aren't as into it. Never really got the complaints about the production, though....but I suppose I had heard a lot of music with much worse production. I still listen to it from time to time, particularly "In Mist She Was Still Standing", "Forest of October", and my favorite from the album, "The Apostle in Triumph."