Search - Orphanage :: Driven

Excellent mixture between gohic and death...

Pablosa | Buenos Aires, Capital Federal Argentina | 03/31/2005

(4 out of 5 stars)

"What caught most my attention about this album is the combination of different styles. Combines gutural voices with female gothic-oriented vocals. But I found Orphanage hard to label if someone asked me. Black metal?! Doom?? Death metal?! Gothic??! A little bit of everything. Orphanage plays mostly mid tempos, without speeding too much, but sometimes slowing it a bit, reaching to a more doomy approach. Is not as brutal nor fast as Emperor, but it does have fine orchestral and gothic arrangements. And, why not, adding a progressive and modern input in their music with keyboards and synths.



The main vocalist is Gorefest and Dan Swano oriented. It's a little monotonous, and so is the female vocalist. However, the duo managed to add more versatility to an already versatile band with excellent musicians. I don't know why the band sticked too much to the mid tempos. I mean, the few parts in which they decided to speed up, it just fitted perfectly with Orphanage's style, with punishing riffing guitars and precise drumming.



But don't get me wrong, having a female vocalist and a gothic approach, doesn't mean the band loses heaviness. On the other hand, the band never leaves their death metal side.



Anyway, If you're into any the styles before mentioned, or simple like well done music, you should give "Driven" a try."

Haunting, Brutal, Elegant

heile_fatal | Cincinnati, OH United States | 07/23/2004

(4 out of 5 stars)

"This CD definitely pulls you in. It's like Six Feet Under meets Faith No More meets Meshuggah. The female singer, Rosan van der Aa, does not have a very good voice. Her high parts are beautiful, but her lower parts are reminiscent of "Miss Piggy". She doesn't ruin it though; definitely worth the purchase."

Everything I need in (not too gothic) metal !

Jaap Pietersen | the Netherlands | 06/16/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Mmm, listened to some samples on their website (...) a couple of weeks ago. Wow! I was amazed by the perfect combination of grunts and female vocals, together with the right orchestral atmosphere and groovy staccato guitar riffs. Finally I got my copy of 'Driven' three days ago and it hasn't been out of CD-player since then. I'd recommend it to anyone who's into heavy metal with a mix of aggresiveness and beauty, without being too gothic. But be carefull: there's a lot to listen to, so I would say: give it a try or 2."