opeth C or D

I think "Lotus Eater" is a brilliant assemblage of different segments, one of their best songs.

yeah Watershed's a good record. I quite like Opeth!

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.

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.

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.

"April Ethereal" is one of my fav songs by them as well

she faced me in AWWWWEEEE

When could be my favourite Opeth song. the second half of that song is incredible.

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.

people who were disappointed by the last one might be more into this new one

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.

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.

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.

It's fun to imagine Iron Mike saying it:

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10153966086531299&set=p.10153966086531299&type=3&theater

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.