Ah, haven’t reviewed any Orchid for a while! So here we go with this old(ish) split 7″ which has been repressed or they found 100 copies under a bed or something. I’m not sure. Three songs from them here, and up to the usual fine standard indeed. The first two songs are particularly awesome, “Consumed” breaking in with a grooving intro then plummeting towards the depths via harsh screamed vocals, and their crushing and chaotic heavy hardcore. Relentless, even in the slower parts the guitars plough on and chop you up. “A Written Apology” has another super-cool intro then gets brutal again. At points on this one, the guy sounds like he’s about to burst into tears. Things end up on “Pledge” which has a little more drive and speed than the other two songs, but continues the sound that the band have.
Pig Destroyer on the other hand are doing metally cantplaycore in the mode of Combatwoundedveteran. Vocals are sick, instruments are played at speeds faster than before envisioned, and it’s not really music. Scary! I am sure the drummer must have robot arms to play this fast. Well, if for some reason you really want to explore the boundaries of cantplaycore, then here is another band doing it almost to the levels of amazingness that the ‘Vet achieve. Insanity squared.
Fine, fine record. Watch out for a tonne of new stuff this year from Orchid, before they have to split up.