Orchid (album)

Orchid is Opeth's debut album. Even so, it shows signs of Opeth's signature sound that can be found in all of their releases: the combination of heavy death metal elements, as well as softer progressive elements such as acoustic guitars and clean vocals. Most of the songs on this album run for at least 10 minutes, with the exception of "Silhouette", a three-minute piano interlude (played by Anders Nordin), "Requiem", a short acoustic interlude, and "Under the Weeping Moon" which clocks in at just under 10 minutes. Due to a mix-up in the mastering process, the end of "Requiem" was placed at the beginning of "The Apostle in Triumph". The band has expressed regret for this, and says it was of no fault of their own.

The album was released in Europe under Candlelight Records in 1995 and in the United States two years later under Century Media Records. It was reissued by Candlelight Records in 2000.

The reissue of the album added an early demo of the band recorded during a 1992 rehearsal. Parts of this track would later evolve into the track "Advent", which appears on Opeth's second album, Morningrise.