They have been hailed as one of Atlantic Canada’s best heavy metal bands but if their powerful new record, Words, is any indication, Dartmouth band Orchid’s Curse might not be one of the region’s best-kept secrets for much longer.
Incorporating elements of traditional heavy metal, doom, hardcore, death metal and rock and roll with progressive tendencies, taking such a diverse range of music and making it into something coherent is no easy task. For Orchid’s Curse though, they make it seem like child’s play.
With three releases to their credit, the growth that the group underwent in the time between Words and 2010’s Voices: The Tales of Broken Men is impressive.
Performing at the Esquire Tavern next Thursday night, both Orchid’s Curse vocalist Josh Hogan and guitarist Brian Jones chalk up the growth to simply not being content to settle for the status quo.
“We are a by-product of ourselves,” Hogan begins. “Both consciously and subconsciously, this was the album we needed to make at this stage in our career.”
Jones adds, “Since our previous two releases were done with minimal budgets and less of a team infrastructure, we really as though we needed to bring the band to the next level with Words.”
Orchid’s Curse entered Halifax’s Coda Pop Studios last summer to begin the process of making Words. Enlisting the talents of studio engineer Erien Eady-Ward along with producer Jason Vautour of Halifax band Pith, Words is a world-class record, which could stand shoulder-to-shoulder with arguably any other heavy metal album.
Since 2005, the group has shared the stage with a who’s who of the heavy metal world including Children of Bodom, 3 Inches Of Blood, The Black Dahlia Murder and more. Both Hogan and Jones say that it is performing along side these internationally known bands that push Orchid’s Curse to step up their own songwriting game.
“The amount of shows that we have played in the last few years, in addition to playing along side some truly high calibre metal bands has really pushed us to step up our overall songwriting game,” Hogan says.
“Many of those bands that we have performed with have also helped to inspire our songwriting,” says Jones.
What is remarkable about the growing success of Orchid’s Curse as well as the sustained success of metal bands in general is the fact that their careers have continued to flourish despite the lack of support from mainstream media outlets such as television and radio. Many metal bands earn their fans via their live show.
“Oddly enough, Orchid’s Curse has been quite lucky with some of the mainstream attention that we have received,” Hogan shares. “We’ve made an appearance on The Candy Show (hosted by Canadian comedienne Candy Palmater) as well having a song placement on Todd & The Book Of Pure Evil.”
“When it comes to the live show however, we try to perform the same quality of show whether there are five people in the audience or 500 people,” Jones says. “As five guys who all work day jobs, there is nothing that we love more than shutting off our lives for a couple of hours and performing live.”
Article published in the April 5, 2013 edition of the Times & Transcript