Band:	Orchid's Curse
Album:	Voices: The Tales Of Broken Men
Style:	Metalcore
Release date:	September 2010

01. Above Moyobamba [euphoria]
02. The Delicate Art Of Dying [despair]
03. The Workhorse Walks Alone [regret]
04. Rites Of Sacrifice [hope]
05. It Was The Darkest Day We'd Never See [mourning]
06. Let The Ashes Bury this Life [anger]
07. Shadows Of Imitation [envy]
08. ...Of The Flesh [ecstasy]
09. The Animal [contempt]
10. The Voice:
    1 - Into The Beyond [apathy]
    2 - The Cold Whisper [empathy]

Oh great, more hardcore...Just what we need. Then again, it's like any genre, things get pretty tiresome when new bands are popping up around every corner, this fact also makes bands like Orchid's Curse all the more enjoyable.

So what separates Orchid's Curse from the flood of hardcore/metalcore-ish acts popping up today? Well, quite frankly, not much. They do exactly what many other bands are doing, just a lot better. Unlike many hardcore acts, this band seems to have a more intelligent design to their music rather than your typical rhythmic chugging with some guy yelling about his "bro's" over top, with some predictable breakdowns, of course. Contrast dominates Voices, it drives forward with heavy riffs built for headbanging, which act as the basic skeleton of the music. Then we have the melodic leads weaving in and out; from prog shredding, to the almost epic sounding, and even some that would sound somewhat haunting if they weren't laid on top of the aforementioned pounding rhythm section. This album seems to avoid any holes that many similar bands fall into; they only make the songs as long as they need to be. Usually with the exploration of a few different riff styles, bands feel the need to make songs 8+ minutes long. People bow down to any band who writes 10 minute songs, whats even more impressive is when a band can fit the quality and variety of those 10 minute sleeping pills into an intense 4-5 minute ride. There's something to be said about brevity.

Is this album perfect? No, it does have it's fair share of generic moments, but you'll be hard pressed to find a better (relatively) new band making this type of wholesome hardcore. Be warned though; it takes at least 3 or 4 listens from start to finish to appreciate the beauty behind the a lot of the guitar work and song structures. A definite grower for sure.

Stand out track: "The Animal {Contempt}"