Orchid's Curse

Many bands declare themselves the meeting place between the metallic and punk rock sub-genres. Few embrace those influences deeply enough to live and breathe them while still allowing innate inventiveness to shine through, creating something of magnificence and brutality. Orchid's Curse are one of those rare bands. Drawing influences from everywhere, including thrash metal's barbed energy, both hardcore and death metal vocal patterns, and even some guttural, Pantera-esque rhythmic dexterity, Voices: the Tales of Broken Men is a wonderfully expanding exercise in fusing unique drive with welcome inspiration. Thick, brutal, aggressive and borderline cacophonous, at times, Voices is relentlessly engaging and explosive while maintaining a decisively melodic essence. Factoring in some prodigious guitar noodling only Dethklok can usually pull off, these ten tracks are so beastly and dynamic they're like mainlining a turkey baster full of adrenaline and following it up with an energy drink taken rectally.