Orphonic Orchestra was a local band from my neck of the woods (Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA) that formed back in 2001 by guitarist/backing vocalist and all around mastermind Johnny Mars.
The bands debut full-length, ‘Free Me’ came out in 2005 and a year later they released this tasty little six-song EP that musically continued their hard rock/light harmonious metal style with pop catchiness and lovely female vocals along the lines of Lacuna Coil or Evanescence. However what separates Orphonic from these well established names is through the use of a violin and viola player that adds a neo classical touch to their music. Besides that I wouldn’t shudder to say lead vocalist Kassandra Quirke completely owns over Christina Scabbia from Lacuna Coil and John’s guitar work remains diverse, melodic and interesting for the entire twenty two minutes of this EP, which is something you really don’t see in those other bands.
I personally like the song, ‘Power Hungry’ the best, which starts out with a sample of Mr. Bush talking about the Iraq war, and then drives forward with a strong folky sort of main guitar riff, and one hell of a catchy chorus if I do say so myself. Plus the song features a totally bad ass guitar solo towards the end of the song that’s certainly hard to resist. ‘Left Behind’ & ‘Reasons’ also have similar traits but feature more participation from violin/viola player Mandy Leigh, and John’s backing vocals roll up more plus I also appreciate the darker vibe that Reasons seems to have and once again the guitar work is quite appealing in this one too.
Also for a self produced EP the whole thing sounds rather decent although the drums seem a little buried over the vocals and guitar at times, and the bass guitar is no more than a distant pulse, but that can be overlooked. There isn’t much to find negative about this EP (well... the lyrics don't appeal or apply to me much)and if these six songs were any indication of things to come then I wouldn’t be surprised if this band would have eventually landed a record deal. Unfortunately the band was laid to rest in 2008 after the drummer quit and the band was unable to secure a replacement. Nowadays some of the members are playing in some new bands which I haven’t heard, but perhaps they’ll capture a unique and interesting sound just this band did.
I have no idea if this EP is still in print, so I decided to upload it (hopefully they won’t mind). You can check it out here: Here
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