opeth C or D

How I heard of the band in the first place, actually! Thanks to Steven Wilson producing...

they get points for naming one of their albums using a line from a comus song, though.

I can see why Opeth is so popular outside metal circles, it's very much a metal band for people who don't like metal. They're very conventional melodically, not very inaccessible or harsh and keep the distorted guitars and growly vocals in bite-sized 2 minute chunks. They might be formulaic, but they're not one-dimensional and can pull off a range of vocal styles and melodies. Plus they don't talk about Satan, Odhinn, misanthropy or nuclear armageddon, which also broadens their appeal...

'still life' is still the masterpiece.

everything else with the exception of 'damnation' (which is pretty average) ranges from very good to excellent. at their sharpest and most focused, they are pretty unbeatable in the metal genre, i'd suggest. they are weaker at times when their songs don't follow a cohesive structure and there's discordance between the heavier and more mellow parts.

I haven't heard anything earlier than Blackwater Park, but everything I have heard ranges from very good to excellent. Both the clean and death vocals took some getting used to for me, but I don't mind them now. I suppose they might infuriate metal purists because of their prog/folk tendencies. Great riffs, melodies, and musicianship; interesting textures, arrangements and song structures. They might be a bit too earnest for some tastes.

the deeper I got into metal, the less I liked Opeth, though Blackwater Park still does the trick for me - it's pretty much all the Opeth I need

IOW Siegbran OTM, unsurprisingly

i still like the old stuff best. the last album lost me completely, even though it's a pretty impressive performance. well, i did like damnation/deliverence, so i guess i don't only like their old stuff. the only album i truly love by them though is morningrise and i haven't played it in ages.

well, the last album didn't LOSE me, really, it's a natural progression from damnation/deliverence, i just never want to play it. i listened to it twice, i think.

i would definitely recommend damnation/deliverence to prog fans and hard rock fans and i would definitely recommend morningrise to metal fans. most metal fans have probably already heard it though. but just in case!

the deeper I got into metal, the less I liked Opeth

I'm curious- is that because you found other metal bands that do what Opeth does, only better? Or is it because your tastes changed and you found less need for what Opeth does well? Does that make sense? I suppose maybe that what you liked in Opeth when you first heard them was their metal side, and as you got more into metal, you found other bands that hit that nerve more directly. However, if what you liked about Opeth at first was not their metal side but the way they fused different styles, then perhaps you would have had a different experience as you listened further into metal.

yeah - other bands who on the surface seemed super-harsh turned out to be up to at least as much interesting stuff as Opeth. Especially Katatonia (who have also jumped the shark tho), the Brave Murder Days comp was kinda my "why would I listen to Opeth when this is sorta aiming for the same mood only hitting it so much harder and deeper" moment - Opeth starts to seem like the whitewashed version of something a lot more complex & interesting

I'll check out Katatonia. The first thing I noticed when I looked up Brave Murder Day on Amazon is that Mike Akerfeldt (Opeth's vocalist, guitarist, and, from what I gather, primary songwriter) is also the vocalist on it.

I'm still into Opeth plenty...they're definitely one of my faves. And I thought still think Ghost Reveries is fantastic. Right up there with Blackwater Park, Still Life, and My Arms, Your Hearse.

And Katatonia jumping the shark??? The Great Cold Distance is the strongest thing they've ever done.

"The Great Cold Distance is the strongest thing they've ever done."

it really really isn't, but i think it's nice of you to feel that way.

It has some of the best clean vocals I have hear on a metal album in years. And yeah, in this band's case, I prefer Renske's more understated vocal approach, it works extremely well.

well, yeah, but it's similar to their last four albums in that regard. i just don't think the songs are as strong.

listened to Brave Murder Days on the airplane today for, like, the tenth time this year - Christ but Katatonia was well beyond great in those days. I don't think Opeth ever did anything as good as that early Katatonia stuff.

i agree with a. begrand about 'the great cold distance'. and contrary to what a lot of people think about it being 'alternative rock', it's actually a pretty HEAVY record. i think it's just got the edge over 'last fair deal gone down' which is more rock-based, with a pervading cure influence (see: intro to 'tonight's music')

and i think 'still life' is much more developed and interesting that early katatonia, which i nevertheless still like a lot. :)

Morningrise is the only Opeth I like as much as early Katatonia. Morningrise and Damnation/Deliverence might be all I need from the band. Or the only ones I want to play anyway.

i just want a new October Tide album. Or a new Diabolical Masquerade album.

this is cool info too about the Diabolical Masquerade albums:

ENTIRE BACK CATALOGUE TO BE RE-ISSUED

Peaceville records has bought the rights to the back catalogue previously released under Avantgarde and Adipocere records and will re-master and re-issue each title in the near future. Up first on November 6 is Nightwork with bonus track called Cryztalline Fiendz (previously only available on the Nightwork LP version, ltd to 500 copies) now entirely remixed and orchestrated. The digipak will also feature liner notes + different photos.

~BlaKKheim

though i think i'm only missing the first one.

any katatonia fans who have never heard the october tide albums need to beg borrow or steal copies:

http://www.myspace.com/octobertideband

(i like them just as much as prime katatonia)

yeah, they're pretty mega - scott is correct. check it out

wondering what opeth's next one is going to sound like (yes, i still care)

Just watched Lamentations. I think it's probably better (for me, anyway) to approach Opeth as if they are a prog band rather than a metal band.

This means, of course, approaching them in a cape.

Right, that does it. I only have 4 of their albums, my bro has the rest. *gets copying*

the first four albums are definitely classic, especially Orchid, Morningrise, and STill Life (I really like My Arms Your Hearse too)

I was bored by Blackwater Park and haven't heard the rest.

I have seen Opeth 5 times. I am Agalloch's booking agent. I have never heard Katatonia. Where the hell do I start?

OK now I have all the Opeth albums, but no real inclination to listen to them. I think Siegbran has a point when he says that they don't really stretch themselves towards dissonance or unusual sounds. It's generally either heavy-ish melodic metal or folkiness, with little in between. Their very best songs make this not matter, but there's no way I can love this stuff as much as the majority of new-era black metal I've heard so far.

"The Baying Of The Hounds", "The Moor" or "The Drapery Falls" are as good a place to start as any. Their best folky section IMO is the bit between about 2 and 5 minutes in "Blackwater Park". That bit actually chills me slightly.

"Their very best songs make this not matter, but there's no way I can love this stuff as much as the majority of new-era black metal I've heard so far."

Why compare it to this (not that you have with this sentence, but it sounds like you have compared them or are associating the two in some way)?

"...they don't really stretch themselves towards dissonance or unusual sounds"

Unusual sounds? I agree. Dissonance? They use dissonance all the time!

Dissonance is perhaps too general. I'm talking about what many would term 'noise', clashing genuinely obtuse amelodic sounds in order to disorientate and challenge the listener. Too much of Opeth is, I believe, comfortable in its tried-and-trusted melodicism. The dude's cookie-monster vocals don't count!

My comparison is perhaps a fallacy, based on my relatively recent pledge to 'get into metal'. I've known about Opeth a lot longer than I've known about all this wonderful stuff I've only recently found out about, and it's natural to compare the two. As you say, treating Opeth as a prog band may bear more fruit, and may prevent me from abandoning them entirely.

Certainly clean production is a key ingredient in Opeth's studio work. It was the first hurdle I had to get over before beginning to love them.

But I agree that there's plenty of dissonance in say the title track on Deliverance.

Just understand that they were a studio band for years and years, almost never playing live at all until Blackwater Park. And as for the noise... they are really technically advanced players. They don't want to be Darkthrone.

These guys are by far the best at what they do.

My only gripes about Opeth are:

1) The production on the first 3 albums is sub-par
2) The first song on Ghost Reveries has a Tool-ish riff
3) Their incredible drummer has left the building

Otherwise, I love love love Opeth.

"I have never heard Katatonia. Where the hell do I start?"

brave murder day. then discouraged ones. then continue forward if you like that stuff.

Even Though Katatonia Are One Of My Very Favorite Rock & Roll Bands I Do Have A Complaint

Hmm. Well my comments on this thread amount to a battle within myself, really. I want to have absorbed and appreciated their entire output, but I'm not sure whether I can motivate myself to go through the process. Some of what I've heard demonstrates inspired songwriting and breathtaking musicianship, but equally a lot merges into an indistinct soup of Nordic handwringing. If you could suggest a couple of songs from each album to concentrate upon, I'd be grateful!

"Bleak Harvest", "Windowpane", "Deliverance", "Baying of the Hounds" are a few of my favorite tracks from the last 4 albums respectively.

Haha, "Baying of the Hounds" is my favourite Opeth song full stop (at this point)!

i think this is my favorite metal album:

http://static.metal-archives.com/images/4/7/4/474.jpg

just sayin' (although the dude from opeth does guest on it).

A friend of mine criticized Lamentations for not containing enough chaos (haw), but, as I said before, I think this is an innapropriate way to approach a band that is essentially a prog band anymore (ok, there are the occasional deathy vox, but what else, especially anymore?). I appreciate Lamentations as a musical performance, not in the same way that I would appreciate, say, Bad Brains Live at CBGB's (as a show). It seems like a common criticism (from metal fans) of Opeth is exactly that: not enough chaos (dissonance, heaviness, etc). This isn't really a criticism in itself, though. It's just about frustrated expectations.

*inappropriate, ugh

Frustrated expectations, yes, but I can't help listening to this stuff and sometimes really wishing they'd throw in a really awesome techno breakdown or noisescape or whatever, just to heighten the sense of progression, to give the ear more things to play off one another.

See, I can't imagine any of that in Opeth's music. There is a lot of stuff going on in there as it is!

other albums i liked in high school:

http://www.icedearth.com/discography/c_burntofferings_400.jpg

http://fsmat.at/%7Eatrax/Florilegium/Paradise-Lost_Draconian-Times_cover.jpg

http://www.metal-rules.com/zine/images/stories/interviews/amorphis/amorphis-elegy.jpg

(lj this one has a silly techno break in one song)

Yeah, Roxy, there's a lot, but I dunno, a lot of the loud parts and a lot of the folky parts sound similar to one another, even if they're devilishly complex or immaculately juxtaposed or whatever.

Look, I'll shut up and listen to the yet-unheard albums, see if anything changes. :)

Haha, I only threw techno breaks in as an example of contrast, of surprise. I can't imagine many bands pulling it off *in actuality* without it sounding a teeny bit incongruent/silly.

lol punksishippies you wasteman even phil fr33man thinks opeth are real metal

punksishippies doesn't like anything the imaginary square living in his head wouldn't hate.

"the wilde flowers" rules. opeth going full prog is still totally mindboggling, like motorpsycho-, decemberists-, his name is alive-, and enslaved-level amazing imho

Nah I keep frustratedly waiting for the shouty bits. D since Ghost Reveries pretty much.

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.

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

To clarify, I meant they went off after Ghost Reveries. GR is excellent.

An important Facebook page:

"The Same Picture of Mikael Åkerfeldt Every Day"

https://www.facebook.com/SamepictureMikael

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

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.

I was surprised how much I enjoyed the new one

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xedYz1vZWsA

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.

I'm liking this so far. Maybe a little more focused than the last couple ones. Sorceress was pretty good though.

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 Heresie
Jethro Tull - Aqualung or Thick as a Brick I guess?

lol at Mikael on Opeth covering Gershwin: "I think it might be a good idea if we don't"

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.

Have all the albums been released in English and Swedish? I've only heard the new one in English, I should listen to the Swedish version, might (er) cut the cheese a little. (Which of course is a joke, this album is awesome.)

Really good video but I just cant respect the crazy collector stuff at the end. Had a similar feeling with Geddy Lee collecting signed baseballs.

Geddy also collects wine and, apparently, guitars!

At least Mikael collects, you know, music. I saw some other interview with him that suggests he's taking these collectors items away from other people, but he defends it by saying actually he buys multiple copies of stuff to give as gifts to friends who have never heard his favorite albums. Like Robin Hood!

I have the Geddy Lee bass collection book, it is absolutely bonkers, hundreds of pages of rare basses. I would be super psyched if I owned one bass like that.

Presumably Geddy tries out the bass guitars and uses some of them and drinks the wine. But all those baseballs?

It would be nice if Mikael was gifting his multiple copies but would he really say he owns all these multiple copies if he is gifting them?

Have all the albums been released in English and Swedish?

No. This is only the third time they've recorded in Swedish at all (they've done Swedish-language covers on the deluxe editions of Watershed and Pale Communion).

export No, I mean, apparently Geddy collects guitars, too! Like, six-strings.

https://www.mecum.com/auctions/las-vegas-2019/collections/a-boutique-selection-from-the-geddy-lee-guitar-collection/

That '59 Les Paul alone could very well go for over $250k.

I read an interview where Mikael says he writes in Swedish and then translates to English.

Probably their best since Heritage and my favorite since Ghost Reveries

Listening to the Swedish version now, it's fascinating how in English my ear goes right to the lyrics, rising out of the music, but in Swedish it all sounds very much of an equal-tiered piece.

Really like this

I love listening to Mikael talk about music he likes. That "Whats in My Bag" makes me want to go out and listen to all of those records.

I shot this video with him back in 2012, when I worked at Roadrunner:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QgbEajT3TnE

Probably their best since Heritage and my favorite since Ghost Reveries

Same. Hoping they do all their future records in Swedish as well.

this album just didn't do anything for me on first listen, and I've really liked their stuff since Ghost Reveries or so. Will give it another shot.

North American tour dates!

Feb 13 - Cleveland, OH - The Agora Ballroom
Feb 14 - Chicago, IL - Riviera Theatre
Feb 15 - Detroit, MI - Royal Oak Music Theatre
Feb 17 - Worcester, MA - Palladium
Feb 18 - Montreal, QC - Mtelus
Feb 19 - Toronto, ON - Rebel
Feb 21 - New York, NY - Apollo Theater
Feb 22 - New York, NY - Apollo Theater
Feb 23 - Silver Spring, MD - The Fillmore
Feb 25 - Indianapolis, IN - Egyptian Room at Old National Centre
Feb 26 - Nashville, TN - Ryman Auditorium
Feb 28 - Houston, TX - House of Blues
Feb 29 - Dallas, TX - The Pavilion at Toyota Music Factory
Mar 1 - Kansas City, MO - Arvest Bank Theatre at the Midland
Mar 2 - Denver, CO - The Mission Ballroom
Mar 4 - Los Angeles, CA - Hollywood Palladium

Also, there's a non-album track streaming on Decibel's site.

I gotta admit that having never been to the Apollo Theater, the idea of going there for the first time to see Opeth feels a little weird.

I bought Ryman tickets. Unless something comes up it'll be my first Ryman show and it's definitely an odd feeling.

opeth are playing the ryman? that fuckin rules

They're hitting so many classic venues on this tour.

Another good one, includes embarrassing drunk Steve Wilson story
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AjV8JYcbtFw

I love his honesty and shamelessness. Such a soft-spoken dork, he seems like he's the best.

Blackwater Park remains tough to find at a good price.

20th anniversary this year, perhaps a reissue is imminent.

It really went out of print?!

Nah, it seems like it is still in print; Music For Nations is under Sony/BMG now.

but I can't help listening to this stuff and sometimes really wishing they'd throw in a really awesome techno breakdown

The other day I went out to rake the leaves, and I felt like listening to Opeth, but not their early growly stuff or their more recent stuff, something in the mid-catalog Steven Wilson sweet spot. My instincts told me "Damnation," but for the life of me I couldn't remember where it fell on the Opeth spectrum (getting old). So I took a gamble, and yep, jazz/folk/prog/Radiohead Opeth hit the spot.