Orchid is an American

doom metal Doom metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music that typically uses slower tempos, low-tuned guitars and a much "thicker" or "heavier" sound than other heavy metal genres.K. Kahn-Harris, ''Extreme Metal: Music and Culture on the Edge'' ...

band founded in

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

, United States, in 2007. The band consists of Theo Mindell (vocals, synthesizer, percussion), Mark Thomas Baker (guitar), Keith Nickel (bass guitar) and Tommy Rickard (drums). They are named after the

Black Sabbath Black Sabbath were an English rock music, rock band formed in Birmingham in 1968 by guitarist Tony Iommi, drummer Bill Ward (musician), Bill Ward, bassist Geezer Butler and vocalist Ozzy Osbourne. They are often cited as pioneers of heavy met ...

song of the same name.

History

Orchid formed in 2007 with a lineup of Mindell, Baker, Nickel and drummer Carter Kennedy. The group released their first EP, ''Through the Devil's Doorway'', in 2009. It was followed by their debut studio album, ''Capricorn'', released in 2011. Both of those initial releases on the Church Within label were later reissued together on the

Nuclear Blast Nuclear Blast is a record label and mail order record distributor with subsidiaries in Germany, the United States and Brazil. The label was founded in 1987 by Markus Staiger in Germany. Originally releasing hardcore punk records, the label mov ...

compilation album '' The Zodiac Sessions'' in 2013. Orchid's second studio album, '' The Mouths of Madness'', was released via Nuclear Blast in 2013. In November of that year, the band embarked on a European tour, alongside

Scorpion Child Scorpion Child is an American rock band from Austin, Texas, active since 2006. They released two albums. History Scorpion Child was formed in 2006 as an acoustic duo, consisting of Aryn Jonathan Black and Asa Savage. The bands name came from a so ...

and Blues Pills. The band's next EP, ''Sign of the Witch'', was released by Nuclear Blast on July 17, 2015. On April 21, 2016, Orchid announced that Kennedy had left the band the previous July, that Ted "TJ" Cox had joined as their new drummer that August, and that they were writing and demoing new material for a third full-length album due out in 2017. Later in 2016, Tommy Rickard joined as the band's new drummer replacing Cox.

Musical style

Rooted in

blues rock Blues rock is a fusion music genre that combines elements of blues and rock music. It is mostly an electric ensemble-style music with instrumentation similar to electric blues and rock (electric guitar, electric bass guitar, and drums, sometimes w ...

and heavy metal, Orchid are highly praised by rock critics for their dark, riff-based

sound, influenced by pioneering metal band

. British heavy metal magazine ''

Metal Hammer ''Metal Hammer'' is a heavy metal music magazine and website founded in 1983, published in the United Kingdom by Future, with other language editions available in numerous other countries. ''Metal Hammer'' features news, reviews and long-form ...

'' said of the band, "Thought Sabbath had already written all the best riffs? Think again – these guys have some monsters"."Orchid"
at

They have also been described as

occult rock Occult rock (also known as doom rock or witch rock) is a subgenre of rock music that originated in the late 1960s to early 1970s, pioneered by bands such as Coven and Black Widow. The genre is influenced by hard rock, proto-metal, psychedelic ...

. Orchid also draw inspiration from other '70s rock bands such as

Led Zeppelin Led Zeppelin were an English rock band formed in London in 1968. The group comprised vocalist Robert Plant, guitarist Jimmy Page, bassist/keyboardist John Paul Jones, and drummer John Bonham. With a heavy, guitar-driven sound, they are ci ...

and

Pink Floyd Pink Floyd are an English rock band formed in London in 1965. Gaining an early following as one of the first British psychedelic music, psychedelic groups, they were distinguished by their extended compositions, sonic experimentation, philo ...

Band members

Current

*Theo Mindell – vocals, synthesizer, percussion (2007–present) *Mark Thomas Baker – guitars (2007–present) *Keith Nickel – bass (2007–present) *Tommy Rickard – drums (2016–present)

Former

*Carter Kennedy – drums (2007–2015) *Ted "TJ" Cox – drums (2015–2016)

Discography

Studio albums

*''Capricorn'' (2011, The Church Within Records) *'' The Mouths of Madness'' (2013,

)

EPs

*''Through the Devil's Doorway'' (2009, The Church Within) *''Heretic'' (2012, Nuclear Blast) *''Wizard of War'' (2013, Nuclear Blast) *''Sign of the Witch'' (2015, Nuclear Blast)

Compilation albums

*'' The Zodiac Sessions'' (2013, Nuclear Blast)

Singles

*"Heretic" (2012, Nuclear Blast)

References

{{Authority control American doom metal musical groups American musical quartets Heavy metal musical groups from California Musical groups established in 2007 Musical groups from San Francisco Nuclear Blast artists Occult rock musical groups