Orchid | Artist
Orchid is an American hardcore "screamo" band formed 1997 in Amherst, Massachusetts, by Will Killingsworth (guitar, keyboards), Jeff Salane (drums, percussion), Jayson Green (vocals, keyboards, percussion), and Brad Wallace (bass, guitar). Geoff Garlock joined the band playing bass in 1999. The band was formed while the members were studying at Hampshire College in Amherst, Massachusetts in early 1998. Orchid released three full-length albums during their initial run between 1997-2002 and played their final show on the same day as the release of their final album. The band reunited for a tour in 2024, their first shows in 22 years. During their extended hiatus, band members went on to form new bands Wolves, Panthers, Ampere, Bucket Full of Teeth, and Transistor Transistor. Orchid was first and foremost a hardcore band, combining a post-modern aesthetic with emo/screamo and even added prominent powerviolence/grindcore elements, an approach which positioned them as one of the most iconic 'emoviolence' musical groups; a genre humorously invented by In/Humanity several years prior to Orchid's existence. Their sound is a highly frantic and chaotic amalgamation of blast beats, distorted tremolo picking/octave riffing and high pitched shrieks that gave way to very short and erratic/spastic songs; a style that would not be too far off from condensed black metal. Orchid's members more often cite the German bands Systral and Carol as influences but they are said to particularly have borrowed a considerable amount of their sound from Canadian band One Eyed God Prophecy. Other influences include the French philosopher Michel Foucault. As for their record releases, the three studio LP's: Chaos is Me (1999), Dance Tonight! Revolution Tomorrow! (2000), and Orchid (2002) are all excellent, as is 2005 compilation of Singles and EP sides Totality, and the and 2025's Skull Sessions which is an archival collection of live material. They also released several now hard to find splits (with bands including The Red Scare, Jeromes Dream, Combatwoundedveteran, Encyclopedia of American Traitors and the grindcore band Pig Destroyer), a 10" record (Dance Tonight! Revolution Tomorrow! on Ebullition Records) and an LP (Chaos Is Me on Ebullition Records). Band member Will Killingsworth opened his own label called Clean Plate records, which now is producing Orchid shirts. He also founded a highly popular recording/producing facility referred to as Dead Air Studios dedicated to hardcore as well as independent music.
Artist Website: wikipedia/Orchid
Featured Albums: Orchid
Related Artists: Ritual Mess
