So "Orphan" came out way back at the end of winter this year. I've been trying to keep it in rotation to fully digest it and get a feel for what's going on. What I like and don't like. The recording method (each song live in one take), production, mixing, all that jazz. At first listen, and reinforced by subsequent listening, I got a huge Hayaino Daisuki(Hi-No Die-Ski(or did I mean Hawaii Daisuki?)) feel. There's just sick speed metal shredding with Chang's high screams and fucking raging blast beats. Obviously faster with shorter songs then Hayaino Daisuki, and some of Chang's older low growls, there's not much of a difference to casual extreme music listeners. I'm not one of those and there's still not much difference. This isn't the Gridlink that fucked my skull a couple years ago, this is Hayaino Grindsuki. Chang and Matsuraba really outdid themselves on this album though. Everything is insane in speed and technicality. Where Hayaino Daisuki win in song writing Gridlink wins in skill and precision. Song lengths have been literally quartered. Gridlink's longest song on here is 1:28 with Hayaino Daisuki's shortest being just under 2:30, but averaging more at three minutes which is twice as long as any Gridlink song. Another huge difference is just production. The Hayaino Daisuki EPs sound crisp with an acute metal sheen of shredding seven string genius. They're the CD quality metal you would expect from Hydra Head circa 2002. Meanwhile this twelve song full-length is just as long as the new HD EP. Like stated earlier this album was recorded entirely live with each song being done in one take, this is very obvious in the four count that precedes almost every track. Think about that for a sec because it's incredibly impressive. Two footed blasting kept in time with staccato shredding riffs. This takes incredible amounts of practice to achieve. This very well may be what sets this LP apart from the previous "Amber Gray". A whole level of confidence and power. This record is several planes above "Amber Gray" in all aspects and it shows. All the hard work these dudes have put in yielded a truly insane piece of grind gold. "Orphan" is quite a fabulous record to sit down to sober or stoned. My favourite tracks are probably "Scopedog" and "I Accept Your Last Wish". I can't express why I like so much this time, but they stick out the most on repeated listens for me.
A fun experiment to do is listen to the four Chang/Matsuraba collaborations in order. HD, Gridlink, HD, Gridlink. There's an obvious progression one can see and hear.
