RED ORCHID

"Revive" sounds good to start with the strummed guitar and melancholic mood. Again the vocals are "off" though in places sadly. Some heaviness before 4 minutes then a guitar solo joins in. It settles back again. "Walking In The Sky" is a brighter and more uptempo tune to start.It settles back when the vocals arrive. I like the synths that join in. It picks back up with vocals as contrasts continue.It's okay. "Sky Is Falling" has some chunky bass with drums to start as vocal melodies join in.Synths follow as the vocals stop then guitar. I like this section.Vocals come in after 2 1/2 minutes. Just not a fan of those vocals which is too bad because this is a good tune. "Eclipse" is a short piece with acoustic guitar and piano leading the way.Synths do join in as well. "Silence Within" opens in a melancholic manner as the guitar echoes.Strummed guitar as the sound changes and vocals join in. It's heavier before 2 1/2 minutes then it settles back with tasteful guitar.Themes are repeated.

They can certainly do better. Fans and collectors only for this one.

This is another CD I won ages ago from PA's price draw and which I should had reviewed months ago too. Shame on me. I also interviewed the man behind Red Orchid some time ago and that is a good interview. It therefore pains me to write this, but.....

I was quite looking forward to an album with sitar when I put this album on. What I got was some sort of arty student type of rock with no sitar. The instruments sounds a bit shoddy and the same does the vocals. The sound is OK though. Hence, I cannot compare this to a demo recording. But music wise, it sounds like a demo. The songs are pretty boring and only half decent. There is nothing here I really enjoy. Does the world really need another half decent rock'n'roll band ? Nope. Next time; please play on your strenghts and do not copy what thousands of other bands is doing.

2 stars

Red Orchid is a young crossover prog band that have currently released one album, "Red Orchid." The songs on the album are, like i said, a nice try. The music certainly has passion, but (not be a bad critic) the musicianship of the album is a little bit shabby. The song structure is a little too traditional, and the music itself is hanging on to the progressive tag by a fishing line ( or just a thin, thin, thin, string). It definitely has the passion and the drive to try to be both popularly acceptable and progressive, but it falls short. The songs are alright, but thats all.

Real rating around 2.5.

Better luck next time.

It's probably not Prog masterpiece, but good album nevertheless. More than dull, average, simply normal album, better. The most omnipresent piece of entire artwork that Red Orchid is weaving is melody. Optimistic tones are through all 46:03 lined like red string. Does "Sky Is Falling" break boundaries of Prog ? I think not, but it's good addition.

3(+), however final impression isn't that great. I get bad feeling of uncertainty while listening this album. Feeling that something isn't exactly right. It's not so solid though and music is still listenable.