Orchid (hardcore punk band)

Orchid was an American hardcore punk band from Amherst, Massachusetts. Often considered one of the pioneers of screamo, Orchid combined an extreme yet emotionally complex sound with a cerebral aesthetic. Active from 1997 until 2002, they released several EPs and splits as well as three studio albums. The band consisted of Jayson Green as lead vocalist, drummer Jeffrey Salane, guitarist Will Killingsworth and bassist Geoff Garlock.

For the Californian band of the same name, see Orchid (heavy metal band).
Orchid
Jayson Green (front) and Jeffrey Salane (back) performing in Bloomington, Indiana in 2000
Background information
OriginAmherst, Massachusetts, U.S.
Genres
Years active1997–2002
Labels
Associated acts
Past members
  • Jayson Green
  • Will Killingsworth
  • Jeff Salane
  • Brad Wallace
  • Geoff Garlock

In 1999 Orchid released their first record Chaos Is Me and a year after in 2000 released Dance Tonight! Revolution Tomorrow! In July 2002 they released their third studio album Gatefold and later in the year, in September, Orchid released a compilation of both their first and second albums onto CD containing all 21 tracks from both. After the release of both they split up. Posthumously, in 2005 Orchid released Totality, a compilation album comprised all of 24 tracks from out of press and hard to find B-side and split EP material previously only available on vinyl.[3]

History

The band was formed while Jayson Green, Will Killingsworth, and Brad Wallace were studying at Hampshire College, and Jeff Salane was attending the University of Massachusetts Amherst in early 1998. They played their last show in 2002.

Jayson Green later formed a hardcore punk supergroup named Violent Bullshit, with members of Black Army Jacket and the Fiery Furnaces.[4] Jayson Green, Will Killingsworth, and Geoff Garlock currently play together in the band Ritual Mess.[5]

Style and legacy

Orchid's musical style, which has primarily been described as hardcore punk and screamo, is highly dissonant, fast and chaotic.[6][3] It combines the melodic and poetic approach of post-hardcore[7] and emo[1] with the extremity of powerviolence (a fusion sometimes termed emoviolence) and grindcore.[1] Italian site "Emotional Breakdown" gave a positive review of Orchid's compilation album Totality, saying: "[Orchid] are the concentrated essence of the most poignant music you can imagine: the vocal cords that are pulled until they tear, the music sounds dark and desperate. They possess all these characteristics as the undisputed masters they have taught many proselytes, in all of their cynical splendor."[8]

Orchid is considered a prominent and quintessential band in screamo.[3] Lars Gotrich, when writing for NPR music credited Orchid alongside bands Pg 99, Circle Takes the Square and Majority Rule as being prominent influences on emotional post-hardcore.[7] In January 2012, Canadian post-hardcore band Silverstein released a sixth studio album titled Short Songs, which included a covered Orchid's "Destination: Blood". The cover was included on a second disc of covers of, in the band's opinion "classic punk songs" which were all less than 90 seconds in length.[9][10]

Members

Final line-up
  • Jayson Green – vocals, keyboards, percussion (1997–2002)
  • Will Killingsworth – guitar, keyboards (1997–2002)
  • Jeffrey Salane – drums, percussion (1997–2002)
  • Geoff Garlock – bass (1999–2002)

Past members
  • Brad Wallace – bass (1997–1999)

Discography

Studio albums

Compilation albums
  • Dance Tonight! Revolution Tomorrow! + Chaos Is Me CD (Ebullition, September 10, 2002)[12]
  • Totality (Clean Plate, CD January 15, 2005, Vinyl 2014)[13]

EPs and split records
  • We Hate You Demo Cassette (Self-Released, 1997)
  • Orchid / Pig Destroyer Split 7" (Amendment, 1997)
  • Orchid 7" (Hand Held Heart, 1998)
  • Orchid / Encyclopedia Of American Traitors Split 7" (Witching Hour Records, 1998)
  • Orchid / Combat Wounded Veteran Split 6" (Clean Plate, 2000)
  • Orchid / The Red Scare Split 7" (Hand Held Heart, 2000)
  • Orchid / Jeromes Dream Skull Record (Witching Hour Records, 2000)[14]

References
  1. Greg, Pratt (22 September 2010). "Altered States, Grindcore Special part 2". Terrorizer. United Kingdom: Miranda Yardley (181): 43. Another interesting sub-subgenre was this strange crossover of first-generation emo and grind. Bands like Reversal of Man or Orchid may not have stood the test of time, but it was a pretty cool sound at the time and one that was pretty uniquely American
  2. "Heathen Reign (Orchid, Creepoid): 'Heathen Reign'". Retrieved December 16, 2020 – via Punknews.org.
  3. Anchors (December 27, 2005). "Punknews.org Orchid - Totality". Punknews.org. Retrieved 26 March 2011.
  4. Ryan Duffy (August 8, 2008). "NEW YORK - VBS IS VIOLENT BULLSHIT". Vice Magazine. Retrieved November 13, 2011.
  5. Zachary Lipez. "Listen to a New Track by Orchid Spinoff, Ritual Mess". Vice Magazine. Retrieved December 28, 2014.
  6. "Orchid". NTS. Retrieved August 29, 2018.
  7. Gotich, Lars (August 17, 2011). "pg. 99: A Document Revisited". NPR. Retrieved December 30, 2011. [...]there's a renewed interest in the emotional post-hardcore that bands like pg. 99, Orchid, Circle Takes the Square and Majority Rule pioneered, mostly by an audience that was far too young to hear it the first time around.
  8. "Emotional Breakdown - Recension/Orchid - Totality" (in Italian). Emotional Breakdown. Archived from the original on 2008-01-07. Retrieved 2009-10-20. Italian: "[Orchid] trovate concentrata tutta l’essenza della musica più straziante che possiate immaginare: corde vocali tirato allo spasimo fino a strapparsi, suoni cupi e disperati. Ovvero tutte quelle caratteristiche che loro, da maestri indiscussi, hanno insegnato a tanti proseliti e che qui troviamo in tutto il loro cinico splendore."
  9. Paul, Aubin (December 1, 2011). "Silverstein album features Rise Against, Propagandhi, Anti-Flag, Swellers members". Punknews.org. Retrieved February 10, 2012.
  10. "Silverstein's "Short Songs" Now Available For Pre Order". Hopeless Records. December 1, 2011. Retrieved February 10, 2012.
  11. "Interpunk.com - Gatefold". Interpunk.com. Retrieved 4 May 2011.
  12. "Interpunk.com - Dance Tonight! Revolution Tomorrow! + Chaos Is Me". Interpunk.com. Retrieved 4 May 2011.
  13. "Interpunk.com - Totality". Interpunk.com. Retrieved 4 May 2011.
  14. "Jeromes Dream / Orchid (3) – Jeromes Dream / Orchid". Discogs. Retrieved October 27, 2011.
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