The official Opeth thread v. In Cauda Venenum

[rumborak]

To a good degree it's also about scratching each other's backs. Put somebody high in a poll, they'll remember, and more likely do an interview with your magazine in the future.

[emtee]

1) Ghost Reveries
2) Damnation
3) Still Life

[?]

I don't like Axe as much as Harrison or Peart, but good for him. There's some great drumming on the latest two albums

[rumborak]

Opeth, tonight! Looking forward to it.

[Randaran]

Opeth, tonight! Looking forward to it.

Saw them Wednesday. Opeth alone was worth the ticket price and the ten hours worth of driving. In Flames was just a bonus.

[rumborak]

Ugh, just got back. I saw exactly 4 Opeth songs, and then had to drive (really, race) back because I couldn't extend the rental car any further. Doors opened at 6:30, but Opeth didn't get on until 9:45 because In Flames just kept on playing. Given how I really don't care for In Flames, it kinda pissed me off.

[PolarizeMe]

I saw them on Thursday. I was there for Opeth mostly but I thought Red Fang was pretty awesome. In Flames I thought were pretty good considering how worse I thought they would've been. They were like a bonus for me really. IF invited a fan on stage during one song to take a video of the audience from stage view which made that fan's night I bet (I actually talked with him during the show, he was there for Opeth but just got into IF). Sucks that Opeth played only 7 songs, but they were all 7+ minute songs and with the exception of the final song, all songs I've never heard love so it's all good.

[rumborak]

Wait, they only play 7 songs? That makes me feel better, since that means I saw more than half of their concert.

[PolarizeMe]

Yep. Only 7 songs for a total set length of 75 minutes. In Flames' set was also 75 minutes long.

[fadetoblackdude7]

Chicago got 8 songs, the only date so far to do so 

[mikemangioy]

Well, folks, it's december 21st today.

This means that

WE ENTERED WINTER ONCE AGAAAAAAAAIN

[Mladen]

I might as well spin that album today. 

[Big Hath]

I am really, really liking Pale Communion.

[TioJorge]

Dirge For November....god damn you. This, to me, is the epitome of Opeth, and the only song of theirs that can make me truly miss their old sound. Granted, I think that with this and others, they reached their peak of 'that sound', and continuing would've made it bland eventually, but it still makes me miss it. I love their new sound a lot, but Dirge is just perfection incarnate. It's that beautiful malaise, that brooding silence, and then the cascading, soothing notes that dance with the gurgling, bubbling acidic growl of vehemence and the bating tones of the guitars, then right back to that hypnotic, dream-like caress of the softer notes. FFFFFF-

I'm just glad I got to see this live. I'm pretty sure I was hard the entire time. Much love for what I think is the greatest Opeth song evaaaar. Great for the weather where I am. Then again Pale Communion also fits just as well. It's just that I love a good violent beauty from time to time.

[BRGM]

Never been a fan of Opeth at all tbh, but pale communion is really great! Moon Above, Sun Below and Faith In others are both stellar songs. I'm trying to get into their earlier stuff but the growls are really off-putting for me.

[Zydar]

Turkish fans will be getting a visit from Opeth in March.

https://www.biletix.com/etkinlik-grup/96678253/TURKIYE/en

[Outcrier]

Never been a fan of Opeth at all tbh, but pale communion is really great! Moon Above, Sun Below and Faith In others are both stellar songs. I'm trying to get into their earlier stuff but the growls are really off-putting for me.

Try Ghost Reveries.

[XB0BX]

Beginning my quest to get into Opeth. Listened to Orchid on my morning commute. VERY impressed and VERY glad I started this mission.

I've always thought death metal wasn't the genre for me since I typically don't enjoy death growls (although they don't hurt my enjoyment), I dislike downtuned guitars and generally amelodic music, and I DESPISE blast beats. I have yet to get into a band that regularly used blast beats. Unfortunately for me, Death, Atheist, Cynic and a few other DM bands were some of my favorite musical acts, and I've spent years looking for other good DM bands that fit my weird tastes. I'm hoping Opeth may be one of these bands. So far I'm liking everything about this album. Heavy, melodic, progressive, and no blast beats! Orchid, where have you been, my whole life! Now, if only the later Opeth can stay as enjoyable as these first 2 "heavy" albums.... I'm sure it is. I see the public opinion on the first couple albums is pretty low, so I'm optimistic.

I think Forest of October is my favorite from the album, although based on pretty limited listenings.

Only complaint is that the vocals get pretty screachy and black metally at times. I would like a more typical Death Metal style, which I think he does get into later.

I like how audible the bass is. Surprised by how progressive the songs are. Can I mention again how happy I am that the album doesn't have blast beats?

Also, I get the impression that Opeth isn't tremendously respected by metal purists as much as they maybe should...? I don't know why this is. I feel it's weird that I've always asked around the internal for progressive death metal and no one would ever suggest Opeth. But yet this type of music is what more or less exactly what I was looking for.

[Scorpion]

While you shouldn't listen to these filthy plebs - Orchid and Morningrise are very much awesome - it is indeed true that they peaked around their 4th/5th album, as most would say.

Also, I think there is one Opeth song with blast beats, so you should be ok.

[Zantera]

People tend to differ on Orchid/Morningrise. Personally I really like them both, but a lot of fans think they are a bit unpolished or "raw", but IMO there are some true gems on them. I would say that from My Arms Your Hearse and forward, it's basically smooth sailing.

[?]

The Lotus Eater and the live version of Wreath are the only Opeth songs to include blast beats, and even in the former they're heard during a clean vocal section. Mikael started to use deeper growls predominantly after the first 2-3 albums and the little shades of black metal in their music disappeared around the same time.

Opeth is very different compared to other extreme metal bands even in their heaviest moments, due to the aforementioned lack of blast beats and the fact that almost all their songs are in standard tuning.

[XB0BX]

Another day of listening to Orchid, so very impressed. Really enjoying it. Not sure why it gets a bad rap here. Every song has quite a few catchy melodies. I'm not even that against the production, it doesn't grate on my ears.

The only real "flaw" of the album is that the song writing is definitely all over the place. Transitions out of nowhere, songs come to fitting conclusions and then restart with a totally different riff because they have a pen and paper and what the ****. Luckily for me the total lack of fitting transitions doesn't hurt my enjoyment of the music one bit. It never gets repetitive. Just great melodies all over the place.

And no blast beats! Anyone know any other bands that sound like this Orchid album?

[senecadawg2]

I haven't listened to Orchid in a long while, but I was never blown away by it when I first got into Opeth. Morningrise, on the other hand, made a very strong impression early on and would probably rank in my top 3 Opeth albums, along with Still Life and Ghost Reveries. Hope you enjoy it!

[Outcrier]

Another day of listening to Orchid, so very impressed. Really enjoying it. Not sure why it gets a bad rap here. Every song has quite a few catchy melodies. I'm not even that against the production, it doesn't grate on my ears.

No bad rap, it's just weaker compared to what Opeth put out after.

[Big Hath]

The only real "flaw" of the album is that the song writing is definitely all over the place. Transitions out of nowhere, songs come to fitting conclusions and then restart with a totally different riff because they have a pen and paper and what the ****.

this is the only reason I rate this album and to some extent the second album a bit lower than most of those that came after.  They perfected those transitions to great effect.

[XB0BX]

What was Mikael Akerfeldt influenced by? I saw an interview with Steven Wilson where says Mikael didn't grow up with prog and has just been discovering it over the past 10 years or so. All of Opeth's music is really proggy, though.

[Zantera]

I know he was very influenced by some heavier bands like Morbid Angel and Celtic Frost, but most of his love is for 70's music. He has a column here in the biggest music magazine in Sweden, and every month he recommends an album, usually from the 70's or 80's. I know he is a huge Judas Priest fan, but he often recommends really odd 70's albums. I know Comus is a common favorite he shares with Steven Wilson, but also bands like Camel and Carmen he speaks quite fondly of.

[XB0BX]

I'm more wondering what he listened to growing up since even their debut is extremely proggy and he apparently wasn't hugely into prog until recently.

[Mosh]

You know, the only things really progressive about Orchid are the song structures/lengths. Nobody was doing that sort of thing in their format so it's entirely possible that they came up with that style without any prog influence. The calm acoustic parts seem more inspired by folk music to me and the metal parts scream Iron Maiden or early Swedish Death Metal. Some Black Metal in there too. I don't hear any Yes or Genesis or that sort of thing in the old stuff.

[?]

What was Mikael Akerfeldt influenced by? I saw an interview with Steven Wilson where says Mikael didn't grow up with prog and has just been discovering it over the past 10 years or so. All of Opeth's music is really proggy, though.

He has been a prog fan way longer than that - even the title of the third album (My Arms, Your Hearse) was nicked from a Comus song. In one interview Mikael said he started collecting LPs in the early 90s when CDs became the norm and people started selling their old vinyls in second-hand stores to get rid of them. He stopped following the death metal scene in the mid-90s, and since then he has mostly listened to 70s prog, psychedelia, singer-songwriter stuff and classic hard rock/metal.

[PROGdrummer]

Akerfeldt has always liked proggy stuff and got involved in the progressive metal scene when Dream Theater got big in the early 90s. He liked the way they were able to take prog rock sounds and musicianship and make it really heavy.

I read that in an interview somewhere. Cant google it right now to find the article

[Randaran]

I have to say, Damnation is REALLY good. It may even be tied with Ghost Reveries as my second favorite Opeth album (with MAYH in first). No other album of theirs has clicked to such an extent on the very first listen.

[Crow]

several months after getting it and I still can't get into Pale Communion. not that the songs are bad but there's just not a lot to return to. it's proggy, yeah, but more prog for the sake of being prog, there's not much emotion in any of the songs and no hooks or interesting riffs or much of anything that makes me want to return to the album, it's just so dry. eugh. I felt the same about Heritage so if the next Opeth album is another 70's prog rock-styled album I'm probably not going to end up getting it unfortunately.

[ishak540m]

I'm not sure why but I love Pale Communication.  It's complex but simple and organic.  It's emotional and dynamic with perfect highs and lows.  It's heavy but mature. The drumming is insane.  Just a perfect balance for me.  It kind of reminded me of John Mclaughlin's album "Extrapolation."

[XB0BX]

Morningrise is a phenomenal album, I think I like it even more than Orchid. The songwriting has definitely improved over the debut. A lot less random mood changes. The songs just fit together well. Orchid honestly felt like a collection of (very good) riffs thrown together in a randomizer and whatever order the riffs came out was how the album sounded. As such it was hard for me to connect the album together as individual and unique songs, but Morningrise doesn't have that problem, every song is unique and more easily identifiable. Love how the album is still somewhat black/death metaly with no blast beats. Awesome album. Kind of a bummer that I love the first 2 albums so much, knowing that their style would change and the 2 first albums are almost aberrations.

Also the bass is very audible and very enjoyable on this album. Suprised to hear that Mikael canned the guy after this album. Am I right in saying that Opeth is realistically a solo project?

Advent is my favorite song on the album, although all 5 songs are amazing.