Orchid
Sign Of The Witch (EP)

From the outset, it must be said that Orchid are derivative. Yes, this Californian quartet is a direct emanation of Iommi and the sabbathean creature, and what they play we have already heard and re-heard, chewed and re-chewed. Nevertheless, in the vast and sulfurous world of metal, now adrift, they are at least a remnant of hope in the face of the imminent end of a genre on the brink of suicide.

"Sign of the Witch" is only an EP (July 2015), delivered two years after the second album, "The Mouths of Madness". Four tracks and nothing more. But sometimes even four songs can say something: without hyperbolic musical sophistications, Orchid spew out doom-laden echoes with an extremely vintage seventies flavor, and the canonical song forms of "Helicopters" and "John the Tiger" actually betray a closeness to the old blues of sunny California. Langevin's bass builds and pulses as Geezer has taught, and Baker's guitar reeks as it rightly should. Mindell's voice calls to mind the coarse one of Ozzy, but we've mentioned it before, we've already heard Orchid. Who doesn't find convergences between the immortal "Supernaut" and "Sign of the Witch"?

Now, save for some repeated iterations in the acidic ballad "Strange Winds", this EP is a "heard it before" that still deserves to be listened to. Perhaps it's those stale and dissonant sounds that awaken old emotions.

1. "Helicopters" (4:06)
2. "John The Tiger" (4:53)
3. "Sign Of The Witch" (4:23)
4. "Strange Winds" (5:30)