Orphanage
Driven

Orphanage.

This Dutch band formed in the early nineties and later released their first demos, which are Morph (1993) and Druid (1994). A year later, their first studio album titled "Oblivion" was released, representing a good debut record for this group. In (1996), "By Time Alone" followed, this album is even more gothic than the first, a work that confirms the excellent qualities of the band. Beautiful and evocative are the Gregorian chants that make the sound original and interesting.

And so, Orphanage immediately conquered a good slice of the audience, thanks to their elegant and refined metal. The specialty of this group lies in blending the dark and mysterious atmospheres of Gothic with typical elements of Death Metal. Thus, their sound results being partly raw and massive, but at the same time also delicate and very melodic. The ingredients work well, and Orphanage has all the cards on the table to be an excellent band. Their music is intense, edgy, and of great depth, it's hard not to be involved in tracks like "At The Mountains Of Madness" and "The Sign" that transmit great energy and enthusiasm to the listener.

In Orphanage, we have two voices, one male and the other female. The first is that of singer George Oosthoek, endowed with great adrenaline. In the past, we have seen him duet with Sharon den Adel, singer of Within Temptation, and Floor Jansen of After Forever. He also collaborated with other groups like Delain and the Dutch Xystus, and he also appeared on an Ayreon album. As I mentioned earlier, in Orphanage we also have a female voice, and that is Rosan van der Aa, who replaced Martine van Loon in 1995.

The record I liked the most from this band is "Driven" (2004), and it is the last album released by Orphanage, since they disbanded in 2005. Driven is a varied and very intriguing album, which is certainly capable of attracting the attention of Gothic metal lovers and beyond, and I must say that it immediately impressed me at first impact. In my opinion, it is precisely with this album that this Dutch group reached the peak of their career, or so I believe. Fourteen tracks in all, well orchestrated and meticulously curated. A work that brings together everything Orphanage has done from the beginning of their adventure to today. Thus we have immense tracks, full of melody, like "Beyond the Fall" sung entirely by the sweet voice of Rosan van der Aa, perhaps one of the sweetest and dreamiest tracks of the entire album and the splendid "Driven".

The album also contains heavier tracks like "The Sign", a very strong and adrenaline-filled piece. Curious and very original is the subsequent "Black Magic Mirror", another gem of this album. Energetic tracks follow, like "Prophecies of Fame" and the driving "Dead Ground". Not bad is the subsequent "My Master's Master", which I like a lot. In short, a truly elegant album with great creative freshness, where the melody and poetry of some tracks perfectly blend with the hard and massive sounds of Death Metal. Highly recommended.