Actually
the band started out a little earlier, but to keep things simple we set the
'official' date of birth on the 26th of April 1995 ; the day the line up was
complete. At that moment the band existed out of four permanent members : Dieter
Rijmen (vocals/guitars), Johan Hillen (guitar), Jef Porto-Carrero (bass) and
Daan Govaerts (drums). Their hometown : Zandhoven, a village 20 km from Antwerp,
Belgium. With this strength Orchrist played several gigs (pe. With Enthroned,
Avatar, The Darkening, Oceans of Sadness, Brutal Exposure, etc. …).
So
the Group rambles on, gets kicked out of his rehearsal room twice, had some
trouble with the mayor,but finds a home in the attic at Jef's. And at the
end of 1997 some drastic changes take place ! Johan Hillen on the guitars
is being replaced by 'Sarcasm' guitarist Robin Godrie. In May 1998 Orchrist
records its first demo tape called 'Path to Glory' at the Soundshape Studios
in Arendonk (Belgium).On this tape you can find four songs, good for 20 minutes
of heavy whining , hitting pots and pans, raw trashmusic ( literal meaning
of the word).
From
then on the band decides to strike into a different way, and to take things
a little more serious. The new songs are worked out much better and sound
more Heavy/Death. Also in that period gigs don't take place frequently, what
gives the band the chance to focus on making new and better songs.
Time
passes by and after a while 'The Four' think the time has come to get in the
(local ?) spotlight again. So in the summer of 2001 Orchrist enters the well-known
Harrow Studios in Losser (the Netherlands) to record their first CD.
A few months later 'ECHOES OF THE VOID' is born ! ! ! A truly and greasy sounding
album full with lashing, heavy flamboyant death metal !
Orchrist
is a band that started out from nothing and is still here to exist, evolving
throughout all these years. So, things can only get better !
