Bleed The Way Review

©Rockstar

Orpheus are a band that deserve more press than they currently have.  Their debut album, Bleed the Way, is 46 minutes of excellence. Thundering, relentless drums and guitars which chug and scream catchy riffs in equal measure mesh brilliantly with the near non-stop vocal onslaught, punctuated with amazingly constructed solos and drum fills.

All this would make Orpheus a good melodeath band. Great, even. But one of the things that pushes them above the rest is the strong inclusion  of keyboards. Countless classic melodeath songs (Only For The Weak, In Flames or Lost to Apathy, Dark Tranquility) are built on a strong riff across the keyboards, and Orpheus takes this to another level, blending it perfectly into the musical texture.

My favourite track is undoubtedly Unscathed, a song which kicks off with an unshakable tune on the keys and thundering bass drum to slip into a cacophony of guitars, as the lead singer howls 'TEAR THE NEEDLE OUT OF ME'. The keys re-enter in the buildup to the chorus, which bores into your mind and simply refuses to leave, re-enforced by the brilliant riff.  The chorus exits and the song continues at a similar intensity until it launches into a soaring guitar solo which plunges back once again into the fantastic chorus.

The great thing is that I could have said that about ANY song on this album. Each one is an awesome demonstration of what a great band can produce in this field and I look forward to further releases from them.  If I had any negative things to say, it would be that this album (for me) is better enjoyed in pieces - there is no kind of progression or journey that makes me want to listen to it from start to end. However, like I said, this is a fantastic debut and I'm very excited to see where Orpheus go next.