Albums like Orchid by Opeth?

[Orchidphile666]

I've been looking for stuff that's like Orchid for a long while because I just really, really hate the rest of Opeth's catalogue.

What I'm specifically looking for: the riffing style, that sort of power metally/trad heavy twin guitar melody work (think, say, the intro of "In Mist...") where both guitars are playing slightly different melodies or harmonies at the same time (as opposed to have one playing melodies and the other doing chords), yet with a certain rock 'n' roll sloppiness to it. Important that there's little to no tremolo picking and the riffs are never chunky or groovy. Also that it has a dry, thin guitar tone. Also, and this is primordial, NO blast beats!

What I'm not looking for: stuff that's also melodic but is heavy on tremolo and blasts (literally any melodic black metal), stuff that is just atmospheric but has nothing on the riffing style (Agalloch or Deafheaven). Also, Morningrise. Just no.

• The albums I've found the closest thus far are:
• Dreichmere - Dispair the Withered Shadows
• Autumn Requiem - As I Beheld the Blazing Glory of the Rising Dawn
• Ophthalamia - A Journey in Darkness (this is literally Orchid 2!)
• Orphaned Land - El Norra Alila
• Garden of Shadows - Oracle Moon
• The first 3 Katatonia releases (Dance of December Souls, Brave Murder Day, For Funerals to Come)

I should also mention Amorphis, Dark Tranquility, Edge of Sanity, Anathema, Obsequiae and Eucharist, who don't really sound like what I'm looking for, save the odd song.

Sorry for being picky, but I wanted to be specific on what I want. Thank you for your time.

[FatherAlabaster]

The first October Tide (Rain Without End) is really good if you like the older Katatonia stuff. Second one (Grey Dawn) is good too but feels a little more polished and less interesting to me. I don't know if it'll appeal to you. But honestly, I've never come across an album that really sounds like Orchid. Unique and one of my favorites. I like everything from Opeth until Watershed but there was a bit of magic in that early sound that they lost afterwards. It also took me a while to come around to some of their later albums, so who knows, you may find yourself warming up to something unexpected.

Rain Without End:

 

[Orchidphile666]

4 hours ago, FatherAlabaster said:

The first October Tide (Rain Without End) is really good if you like the older Katatonia stuff. Second one (Grey Dawn) is good too but feels a little more polished and less interesting to me. I don't know if it'll appeal to you. But honestly, I've never come across an album that really sounds like Orchid. Unique and one of my favorites. I like everything from Opeth until Watershed but there was a bit of magic in that early sound that they lost afterwards. It also took me a while to come around to some of their later albums, so who knows, you may find yourself warming up to something unexpected.

Rain Without End:

 

Thanks for the rec! I already knew them and I agree they have some of that early Katatonia sound. If you know any more bands that fit the criteria feel free to tell me about them! I'm not willing to revisit Opeth's discography any time soon, though. I relistened to Morningrise yesterday and I liked it even less than the first time...

[Necrolord]

On 12/6/2023 at 1:43 PM, Orchidphile666 said:

I've been looking for stuff that's like Orchid for a long while because I just really, really hate the rest of Opeth's catalogue.

 

I really like Orchid too and not a huge fan of Opeth in general. 

I don't have any recommendations for you but find it interesting that their 1st album stands out so much to yourself and a lot of others vs the rest of their discography.

A band's first album is usually one that they had "a lifetime to write". So it's probably stuff they wrote when they were young over many years. It's no wonder their sound changed and never went back to the old mentality. They couldn't write another Orchid if they tried.

I don't remember much of Morningrise but to me that's probably the closest thing out there to Orchid.