Black Sabbath, Paranoid, Master of Reality, and Vol. 4...that's really all that needs to be said when talking about San Francisco's Orchid. These guys are so in tune with the early albums of the legendary Black Sabbath that you'd swear at times that Iommi, Butler, Ward, and Osbourne had something to do with the recording of their albums. Well, that's not the case obviously but Nuclear Blast saw the potential in this band and recently signed them to their ever growing roster, and The Mouths of Madness is their latest platter of classic hard rock & early doom.
I mean, so many of these songs could have easily slid into any of those early Sabbath albums, like the absolutely crushing "Silent One", or the dark, menacing, and mysterious "Marching Dogs of War", each one complete with foreboding, heavy riffs to die for and ominous vocals. Even the production here just screams 1971, which just adds to the enjoyment factor. How about that brontosaurus riff on "Mountains of Steel", or the groove laden yet massively heavy "Leaving It All Behind", which could be the long lost sibling to "Spiral Architect" ? Just impressive on every level. If you're still not convinced, check out the psychedelic/blues/doom romp that is the creepy "Loving Hand of God", which is like a distant cousin to "Hand of Doom" by way of cult act Pentagram. The band even gets all 'Symptom of the Universe" on us with the chugging "Wizard of War", and "See You On the Other Side" is pure 1970 proto-metal at its finest.
If you love vintage Black Sabbath, there's probably no band out there doing that same style any better than Orchid. This is a pure delight folks, so crank it up loud and enjoy!
Track Listing
1) The Mouths of Madness
2) Marching Dogs of War
3) Silent One
4) Nomad
5) Mountains of Steel
6) Leaving It All Behind
7) Loving Hand of God
8) Wizard of War
9) See You On the Other Side
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