Orbital Albums Ranked

Orbital are an English electronic dance music duo from Sevenoaks, Kent, England, consisting of brothers Phil and Paul Hartnoll. The band’s name is taken from Greater London’s orbital motorway, the M25, which was central to the early rave scene and party network in the southeast during the early days of acid house. In addition, the cover art on three of their albums shows stylized atomic orbitals. Orbital has been both critically and commercially successful and known particularly for its element of live improvisation during shows. They were initially influenced by early electro and punk rock. Orbital’s main creative period was from 1989 to 2004. They have since reunited twice in the 2010s, producing new albums each time. Here are all of Orbital’s albums ranked.

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10. Monsters Exist, 2018

“The cover mislead hordes into thinking this would be a spiritual continuation of In Sides, creating disappointments comparable to the eve of the past millennium. What to say about Monsters Exists then? Hartknoll bros. have never totaled their talent, not even in their «darkest hours», so you won’t ever see me not defending even their least popular outings like The Altogether.”

9. Blue Album, 2004

“I would recommend this album to any Orbital fan. I’m not sure if I would recommend it to a listener with a tertiary appreciation of electronica. It is interesting how the music press has declared ‘Electronica’ “dead”. (Ed Note: I wrote this in 2005, I think ‘Electronica’ has risen from the dead again — I’ll keep you posted as to its most certain re-death) when It seems as if the mere suggestion of this untruth has brought down most of the pioneers record sales, (read: the Chems, Orbital, Fatboy et al)…and subsequently fueled the lie.”

8. Wonky, 2012

“Orbital are for me one of the best electronic groups of the 90s, their first 2 albums especially laid down the foundations for so many to come afterwards. I can’t say I’ve followed them much after 1996, but Wonky is close to a return to form. First of all the title can be misleading thinking that they are jumping on the Flying Lotus bandwagon, and while there is hints of dubstep here and there, the album is far from being something that Brainfeeder or Hyperdub would release. It’s a mixed bag of genres, and I even have a hard time calling it techno, something you’d automatically would associate Orbital with. But regardless if it can be pigeon-holed into one sound or not, it is a quality release and they show that they still master the art of making a good full length”

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7. Live At Glastonbury 1994-2004, 2007

“OK Orbital have always been the best of the recent electronic bands that rose after the rave phenomenon. They have produced some incredibly good records both in album and single form. Apparently they were great live: I never saw them live…once on MTV and I was blown away. This live collection from Glastonbury is simply a masterpiece. It is well known that their performances at Glastonbury have been epic and this really shows that. The playing and the sound is great. We get most of the hits of course.”

6. The Altogether, 2001

“‘The Althogether’ can be criticized for lots of things. After all, you’ll find some of their absolutely worst tracks here. The opening “Tension” is a complete failure. It’s trying to make a gabba/punk crossover, but is ruined by moronic sampling. Even worse is “Tootled” – another half-assed effort that tries to make creative use of a Tool sample. It’s probably the worst thing they ever recorded! I also have serious problems with the concluding “Meltdown” which is the longest track on the album. Much more could’ve been done about it.”

5. Orbital, 1991

“The whole of this album exists in the shadows of its great singles “Belfast” and “Chime” – two milestones of 90’s techno that still hold up today. Moby’s mix of “Speed Freak” on the U.S. CD has something approximating their excitement. In fact, it may even be more exciting in the realm of sheer physical sensation and structural build, but it’s less plainly pretty for sure, and as a consequence doesn’t stick in my memory as tenaciously. The album doesn’t ever dip too low, just kind of wallpapers out at times – songs get a good rhythmic start and then take their time going nowhere in particular, like Kraftwerk minus their melodic gifts. Believe me, I have a full appreciation for this sort of early rave-era sound – in fact it probably makes me rank this higher than it deserves – but this doesn’t cut it at full length.”

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4. The Middle Of Nowhere, 1999

“The Middle Of Nowhere takes the scope of a lot of ambient techno and instead makes the sounds louder and faster. The difference is between this and regular techno is the composition on this album is more impressive and elaborate. They didn’t push new grounds with this album but it’s so solid with only a few weak sections. What a listen!”

3. Snivilisation, 1994

“Really underrated if you ask me – okay, In Sides is really great too, but I love the experimental edge on this one. Every track takes a different approach, and some of them are so good that they work great even if you suspect Orbital is playing around with you a little bit (the main hook to “Are We Here?” doesn’t start until around nine minutes in!) The Harnolls wrote some of the best hooks in the business, so it’s no surprise that when they start experimenting that they could create some really fantastic work. I think pretty much all the tracks (except the short parody track “Quality Seconds”) have hit me pretty hard at some point. Currently it’s the operatic finale, “Attached”. One of my favorite electronic discs.”

2. Orbital 2, 1993

“One of the electronica album’s that basically define and mastered techno, the second Orbital release is one of the genre’s best and most focused moments. Though most of the songs feature huge, fierce, and fast beats, the songs each reveal themselves slowly, like watching trees change through seasons through accelerated video. The album is rarely subtle, but it does offer layers of sound that are better understood with repeated listens. The more blissful moments slowly evolve from pummeling beats and then back again, which actually becomes the basis for the whole album; it’s a constant evolution of sounds, ideas, and beats that flows and holds together better than almost anything in electronica. Many of the individual songs are great, but Orbital II is meant to be listened to as a whole, as few albums are this easy to get lost in. Especially album’s with this much energy.”

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1. In Sides, 1996

“On In Sides, Orbital continues to bring quality with their sound, but with a more patient edge to it this time around. The structures of the tracks are a lot more progress, layering and layering with some great rythms and melodies. In fact I think this aspect of the record can bring both good and bad. There are a lot of great textures and grooves to get lost in, but it does feel like you need to be in a certain mood to enjoy the tracks to their fullest. Like, through my listens of In Sides, I kept wanting for something more to happen, but it never does. They build, but some tracks don’t pay off. I’ve also heard this album has a bit of a concept around it. If so, I don’t necessarily that comes through in the music. For sure this is some unique sounding techno, but I don’t think this beats out what I’ve heard previously from Orbital. I would highly recommend the album, but I’m not excited about it if that makes any sense.”