Only just caught up on Deliverance, pretty good! Might be tied with Ghost Reveries as my favourite.
― the joke should be over once the kid is eaten. (chap), Monday, 7 July 2014 13:30 (ten years ago) link
A Fair Judgement is massive.
― the joke should be over once the kid is eaten. (chap), Monday, 7 July 2014 13:47 (ten years ago) link
the new one sounds awesome, straight up complex and intricate, unabashedly progged out, way more what i was expecting from 'heritage', which i think half-stepped it a bit. just a few listens and already this is edging into motorpsycho 'death-defying unicorn' decade highlight territory
― reggie (qualmsley), Friday, 18 July 2014 00:35 (ten years ago) link
Ghost Reveries was the last one I loved, but i didn't hear Heritage.
― Neanderthal, Friday, 18 July 2014 00:41 (ten years ago) link
New one's fantastic.
― Humorist (horse) (誤訳侮辱), Friday, 18 July 2014 01:41 (ten years ago) link
"goblin" lives up to such a tall name. the versatility of these guys is really kind of staggering
― reggie (qualmsley), Friday, 18 July 2014 15:24 (ten years ago) link
where are you hearing this? it's not out yet is it?
― odd proggy geezer (Moodles), Friday, 18 July 2014 15:27 (ten years ago) link
It's not out until August 26, but it leaked yesterday.
― Humorist (horse) (誤訳侮辱), Friday, 18 July 2014 15:38 (ten years ago) link
it is available. sound quality is no good though. this is gonna sound enormous legit
― reggie (qualmsley), Friday, 18 July 2014 17:20 (ten years ago) link
The problem is that Opeth are both brilliant and shit, usually in the same song, since Mikael Akerfelt's way of writing a prog 'epic' is to sling disparate and unconnected riffs/parts together until he has 10 minutes worth of music. Or at least that's what it sounds like to me a lot of the time.
I love a lot of prog but Heritage was not a good example, it was just bloated and disjointed in all the bad ways. I'll still give this new one a listen, but my hope aren't high.
― ultros ultros-ghali, Friday, 18 July 2014 22:16 (ten years ago) link
lol my favourite opeth song is 'the baying of the hounds' but that's basically because of its 7 only vaguely connected parts about 5 or 6 are absolutely brilliant, their best strike-rate imo
― i'm elf-ein lusophonic (imago), Friday, 18 July 2014 22:18 (ten years ago) link
Akerfelt's way of writing a prog 'epic' is to sling disparate and unconnected riffs/parts together until he has 10 minutes worth of music. Or at least that's what it sounds like to me a lot of the time.
to be fair, this is pretty much what constitutes 95% of current "prog"
― Bus Sex Teen Busted After Queef Beef (jon /via/ chi 2.0), Friday, 18 July 2014 22:19 (ten years ago) link
depends what you mean by ""prog"", mayne
― i'm elf-ein lusophonic (imago), Friday, 18 July 2014 22:22 (ten years ago) link
I'm not even sure I know what I mean by """prog""", I just know that digging into the current bands that get hyped in places like the progarchives, a huge percentage of the bands are really bad at composing "epics" for the very reasons you suggest. I was just trying to say it isn't a trap that only Akerfelt falls into. The good thing about him is that his highs are so fucking high that it covers for the lackluster bits, for the most part.
― Bus Sex Teen Busted After Queef Beef (jon /via/ chi 2.0), Friday, 18 July 2014 22:24 (ten years ago) link
that's fair
― i'm elf-ein lusophonic (imago), Friday, 18 July 2014 22:26 (ten years ago) link
Album with the most highs per song = Blackwater Park, for me
And jon/via/chi I'm sure I'd be in agreement if I listened to more modern *prog* prog, as it is I prefer the more avant/RIO-leaning stuff that's bloated and disjointed in GOOD ways, y'know? (OK not all the time)
― ultros ultros-ghali, Friday, 18 July 2014 22:33 (ten years ago) link
blackwater park title-track and the drapery falls are up there yeah
ultros otm, the best 'prog' usually chooses to not define as such
― i'm elf-ein lusophonic (imago), Friday, 18 July 2014 22:37 (ten years ago) link
I think "Lotus Eater" is a brilliant assemblage of different segments, one of their best songs.
― Robert Adam Gilmour, Saturday, 19 July 2014 00:39 (ten years ago) link
yeah Watershed's a good record. I quite like Opeth!
― i'm elf-ein lusophonic (imago), Saturday, 19 July 2014 00:43 (ten years ago) link
I've always thought the "omg Opeth is nothing but Frankenstein-ish melding of parts that don't go together for ten minutes" accusation was greatly overstated. Not that I'm saying there's zero truth to it, but it isn't as if they sounded like a bunch of dorks in a guitar shop dicking around for a half hour.
They managed to write compelling songs and over time, streamlined their sound and honed their songwriting skills considerably (hell, "Still Life" and ongoing often have traditional song structures!).
I still love old Opeth too though - even when it's all over the place at times.
― Neanderthal, Saturday, 19 July 2014 00:49 (ten years ago) link
My Arms, Your Hearse through Blackwater Park is a pretty astonishing run. always thought they dropped off significantly after that, perhaps even getting progressively worse with each album. this new one seems a step up from Heritage though.
― charlie h, Saturday, 19 July 2014 00:50 (ten years ago) link
and not all of their stuff has been particularly disjointed. take a listen to Moonlapse Vertigo, for instance. that thing's a 10-minute opus and it flows gorgeously.
― charlie h, Saturday, 19 July 2014 00:53 (ten years ago) link
"April Ethereal" is one of my fav songs by them as well
― Neanderthal, Saturday, 19 July 2014 00:55 (ten years ago) link
she faced me in AWWWWEEEE
― charlie h, Saturday, 19 July 2014 00:56 (ten years ago) link
When could be my favourite Opeth song. the second half of that song is incredible.
― charlie h, Saturday, 19 July 2014 00:59 (ten years ago) link
The second song on the new album starts in one mode and stays there for the entire run. In fact, their guitarist Fredrik Åkesson joked about it in a recent interview - he said it was the first of their songs not to have a "forest-y part" in the middle.
― Humorist (horse) (誤訳侮辱), Saturday, 19 July 2014 01:02 (ten years ago) link
people who were disappointed by the last one might be more into this new one
― reggie (qualmsley), Saturday, 19 July 2014 14:54 (ten years ago) link
Saw them the other night on tour, fuck they are great live. I love their albums but I have to say that live it all kind of washes past me; he's doing much more growl-voice live than I expected. Anyway Sorceress is very good, I like it more than Pale Communion and maybe more than Heritage. That is all.
― akm, Thursday, 27 October 2016 23:56 (seven years ago) link
Massive C. Every decade has its bad metal, but all this gentrified middlebrow "smart" "artistic" metal for Hillary voters makes me kinda nostalgic for the bad metal of the 90s.
― punksishippies, Friday, 28 October 2016 00:35 (seven years ago) link
I mean D.
..............
Anyway, I tried to give Sorceress a go the other day but only got like three songs in. They just make me want to go and listen to some actual good prog, you know? Even their buddies Anekdoten do the retro-prog thing much more convincingly.
― ultros ultros-ghali, Friday, 28 October 2016 13:55 (seven years ago) link
It's fun to imagine Iron Mike saying it:
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10153966086531299&set=p.10153966086531299&type=3&theater
― Blood On The Knobs, Friday, 28 October 2016 15:30 (seven years ago) link
lol punksishippies you wasteman even phil fr33man thinks opeth are real metal
― imago, Friday, 28 October 2016 15:42 (seven years ago) link
punksishippies doesn't like anything the imaginary square living in his head wouldn't hate.
― Don Van Gorp, midwest regional VP, marketing (誤訳侮辱), Friday, 28 October 2016 17:07 (seven years ago) link
"the wilde flowers" rules. opeth going full prog is still totally mindboggling, like motorpsycho-, decemberists-, his name is alive-, and enslaved-level amazing imho
― reggie (qualmsley), Wednesday, 12 July 2017 15:43 (seven years ago) link
Nah I keep frustratedly waiting for the shouty bits. D since Ghost Reveries pretty much.
― chap, Wednesday, 12 July 2017 16:02 (seven years ago) link
That's not entirely fair of me, there have been some decent tracks.
But it's the tension between the pretty sections and the punishing sections that made them interesting to me. The pretty sections are pretty on their own, but somewhat inert.
― chap, Wednesday, 12 July 2017 16:08 (seven years ago) link
No you're absolutely right. I wouldn't mind that Opeth went straight prog if they were any good at it, and they're not particularly "pretty" anymore anyway
― ultros ultros-ghali, Wednesday, 12 July 2017 16:11 (seven years ago) link
To clarify, I meant they went off after Ghost Reveries. GR is excellent.
― chap, Wednesday, 12 July 2017 16:22 (seven years ago) link
An important Facebook page:
"The Same Picture of Mikael Åkerfeldt Every Day"
https://www.facebook.com/SamepictureMikael
― akm, Wednesday, 24 January 2018 04:26 (six years ago) link
I don't know much about these guys, as people, but Mikael seems pretty cool. And to be honest, more than most rock guys I kinda feel like learning he was an asshole would totally bum me out. Anyway, this is entertaining:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vPRCNGE9H9Y
― Josh in Chicago, Wednesday, 11 September 2019 20:11 (five years ago) link
Like the last few, the new one is unapologetically prog, pomp and cheese and all, modestly heavy at times but kind of awesome at all times.
― Josh in Chicago, Saturday, 28 September 2019 00:11 (four years ago) link
I was surprised how much I enjoyed the new one
― Brad C., Saturday, 28 September 2019 12:23 (four years ago) link
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xedYz1vZWsA
― Stockhausen Serves Empirical Jism (Matt #2), Saturday, 28 September 2019 12:47 (four years ago) link
That's awesome.
The addition of keyboard to Opeth really underscores the Van der Graaf influence. I've never heard of Univers Zero, where to begin? Also reminds me that I've never really listened to Jethro Tull, but it might be too late, because there are too many Jethro Tull albums.
― Josh in Chicago, Saturday, 28 September 2019 13:09 (four years ago) link
I'm liking this so far. Maybe a little more focused than the last couple ones. Sorceress was pretty good though.
― Mario Meatwagon (Moodles), Saturday, 28 September 2019 13:36 (four years ago) link
I've never heard of Univers Zero, where to begin? Also reminds me that I've never really listened to Jethro Tull, but it might be too late, because there are too many Jethro Tull albums.
Univers Zero - 1313 or HeresieJethro Tull - Aqualung or Thick as a Brick I guess?
― Stockhausen Serves Empirical Jism (Matt #2), Saturday, 28 September 2019 13:43 (four years ago) link
lol at Mikael on Opeth covering Gershwin: "I think it might be a good idea if we don't"
― Brad C., Saturday, 28 September 2019 13:54 (four years ago) link
The new one is the heaviest of the prog-era albums, but it's also really beautiful. "Ingen Sanning är Allas" is one of the most Floyd-ish things they've ever done (with some OK Computer thrown in, weirdly enough) and it's fantastic.
― shared unit of analysis (unperson), Saturday, 28 September 2019 13:57 (four years ago) link