Crimson Orchid-A chosen path

Crimson Orchid-A chosen path
Self-produced
2008

This is the third album from Crimson Orchid who hail from Baltimore, Maryland. Their music has relied on more than their fair share of contrasts and I am sure that is all part of their overall design. “A chosen path” sees the band becoming even more ambitious in the attempts to widen the scope of their sound. They have never been ones to limit themselves to just one style as this time around they bring elements of death, thrash, rap and others into their swirling arsenal. I think that as a whole that this album takes more risks than does their “Nightmares and Fairy Tales” album. I think they bide their time a little more and seem to have a bit more control. Yet the results are that while it’s more versatile certainly the overall impact wasn’t quite as strong as I was hoping for. There are some moments where they bring the hammer down and really bring out the kind of force I think that they intended. However there just seem to be a lot of moments where the more aggressive parts are held at bay by them perhaps trying to do a bit too much. Still their emotion and belief in their lyric has and still is very evidently real because it consistently shines through no matter once. I think the attempt here is commendable and they have certainly progressed some, but there are a number of occasions where the music seems spread a little too thin. I think there were times where everything could benefit from being more compact and direct. My hope is that they keep striving forward and concentrate on harnessing their ideas and perhaps focus a bit more the next time around.

http://www.myspace.com/crimsonorchidband