The official Opeth thread v. Bring on the new album!

[Zydar]

Ghost Reveries is my favourite Opeth album.

The Grand Conjuration is great, at least the first half. It's the second half that keeps it from being in my Top 3 on that album.

[DebraKadabra]

1. First two tracks feel kinda samey. I think it had something to do with the fact that they're played in D and that was a rarity before GR (Demon of the Fall and BWP are the only two I can immediately think of) so it subconsciously feels like I'm listening to a different band or something weird like that.

Already know how you feel about GR and why, but I wanted to zero in on your first point (about Ghost of Perdition and The Baying of the Hounds).  I don't know if anyone else sees it this way, but I think that the two sound the same because the songs are connected.  Not exactly in two halves of a whole way, but pretty damn close.  You could almost say that Harlequin Forest also relates to this, more to Baying than to Ghost ("Baying behind me/I hear the hounds"), and Baying relates to Beneath The Mire in a small way thanks to the AWESOME middle section ( ).  There's a lot of interrelation on this album.  Not so much that it's a true concept album, but enough to make me think that a lot of it was intertwined for a reason.  Now, what that reason is?  No clue.

I know that this probably won't convince you of anything, I just wanted to share some of my thoughts on why it's in my Top 3.

[Onno]

I don't like Beneath the Mire. The intro sucks.

[Jirpo]

Beneath the Mire is one of the best Opeth songs!

[glaurung]

I don't like Beneath the Mire. The intro sucks.

The intro is the best part.

[pogoowner]

I don't like Beneath the Mire. The intro sucks.

The intro is the best part.

Yeah, I like the intro.

[?]

I don't like Beneath the Mire. The intro sucks.

The intro is the best part.

Yeah, I like the intro.

The intro is ok, but the song doesn't reach awesomeness until the section with the clean vocal part and the solo.

[jimbosile]

I've come to the conclusion there is no better riff than 6:40 - 7:20 of Bleak. Really sensational stuff.

[DebraKadabra]

Agreed, but the build up to it starting at 6:21 is pretty outstanding too.

[seasonsinthesky]

There's a lot of interrelation on [Ghost Reveries].  Not so much that it's a true concept album, but enough to make me think that a lot of it was intertwined for a reason.  Now, what that reason is?  No clue.

well, the only thing stopping GR from being a concept album is "Isolation Years," so i'd say any similarities are intended. the first time i heard it, i thought the first two tracks were meant to be together too — the sudden end of "Ghost of Perdition" has just the right spacing to making the beginning of "The Baying of the Hounds" to sound like its ending.

I don't like Beneath the Mire. The intro sucks.

i also dislike the introduction. it's too bad, as the rest of the song has some of the best moments on GR.

[?]

well, the only things stopping GR from being a concept album are "Isolation Years" and the fact that TGC isn't the opener.

Fixed.

[Zantera]

I'm really excited about the Unplugged-show in a month. I'm curious to what kind of setlist they will play. It's probably now or never we'll see/hear Isolation Years, so I really hope they bring it out.

[black_biff_stadler]

It'd be a fantastic troll effort if it was just Orchid in its entirety.

[Big Hath]

It'd be a fantastic troll effort if it was just Orchid in its entirety.

HA!

[DebraKadabra]

the first time i heard it, i thought the first two tracks were meant to be together too — the sudden end of "Ghost of Perdition" has just the right spacing to making the beginning of "The Baying of the Hounds" to sound like its ending.

So, may ask what your opinion of the interconnection of these two songs is now?

[seasonsinthesky]

the first time i heard it, i thought the first two tracks were meant to be together too — the sudden end of "Ghost of Perdition" has just the right spacing to making the beginning of "The Baying of the Hounds" to sound like its ending.

So, may ask what your opinion of the interconnection of these two songs is now?

(wow, i really fucked up the grammar of that sentence — think i was in zombie mode...)

i think they changed the spacing from the advance release, as the final version has too long between the songs to make them feel continuous. it's a bit of a dumb move they made in the mastering process there. any lyrical connections and storylines are fairly alien to me, as i generally don't give a shit what Åkerfeldt is growling and singing about, so...

[Big Hath]

Stats and Observations on the Watershed rankings:

Song                       Avg Rank
The Lotus Eater            2.62
Hessian Peel               2.85
Heir Apparent              3.38
Burden                     3.92
Porcelain Heart            4.77
Coil                       5.23
Hex Omega                  5.23




- Four songs received multiple first place votes, and the same number of soungs received multiple last place votes.
- The Lotus Eater had the most 1st place votes with 5.  It also had 1 last place vote.
- Hessian Peel had 3 first place votes and had at least 1 vote in each position except last.
- Coil and Hex Omega each received five 6th place votes and three last place votes.  Hex also had two votes for first place, making it the only song to have multiple first and last place votes on this album.

[DebraKadabra]

I know the votes didn't support the opinion I'm about to post, but fuck it - Porcelain Heart is just WAY TOO LOW.

[Big Hath]

it had a vote in each slot except first.  Unfortunately it had 3 last place votes along with Coil and Hex.

[DebraKadabra]

Had a feeling you'd say that, which was why I prefaced my post like I did.

[?]

I know the votes didn't support the opinion I'm about to post, but fuck it - Porcelain Heart is just WAY TOO LOW.

Yeah, Porcelain Heart > Heir Apparent, easily.

I'm really excited about the Unplugged-show in a month. I'm curious to what kind of setlist they will play. It's probably now or never we'll see/hear Isolation Years, so I really hope they bring it out.

I'm curious about the setlist as well - someone on the Opeth forum said they read an interview with Mikael where he said they're working on an acoustic version of Demon of the Fall! It'll be interesting to see how that one will turn out if/when they play it and they also have lots of great mellow songs that have rarely, if ever, been played live so this would be the perfect occasion to perform them. Hoping for a DVD release of the London concert...

[DebraKadabra]

I know the votes didn't support the opinion I'm about to post, but fuck it - Porcelain Heart is just WAY TOO LOW.

Yeah, Porcelain Heart > Heir Apparent, easily.

Definitely.

[Mladen]

Nice to see that Hessian peel is pretty much just as beloved as The Lotus eater. 

[Zantera]

The biggest bummer is Hex Omega not being nr1.

[Xanthul]

The biggest bummer is Hex Omega not being nr1.

[Big Hath]

yeah Hex really got some low marks.

Although Coil is lengthy compared to most prelude/intro tracks from Opeth, I still view it as such and usually those are easily at the bottom of the rankings.  I guess many people really don't like Hex.

[Zantera]

I'd say The Lotus Eater is one of the more overrated songs on the album. It's not bad, but I can't help but feel that it's so high up because it's the most progressive/weird song on the album.

[DebraKadabra]

Well, I can only say that personally The Lotus Eater is my favorite song on Watershed.  Not because it's "weird".  It's because I think it's a damn good song.

Hex Omega is good, don't get me wrong... but, IMO, the best part of Hex is the bass line - it just works its way into your very soul.

[black_biff_stadler]

I'd say The Lotus Eater is one of the more overrated songs on the album. It's not bad, but I can't help but feel that it's so high up because it's the most progressive/weird song on the album.

^Classic "I'm not fond of this song so others must have shitty reasons for liking it" post.


It hooked me instantly. The back-and-forth between singing and roaring during the verses was something that had never been done in any of their previous songs and, combined with the thrilling energy of the drums, it's my favorite part of the entire album. Beyond that, we have the Mariocore section. It's kooky in a good way and very unique compared to anything else in their entire discography. It seems contradictory for anyone to slag on a part of a song because they feel it got undeserved praise for being "weird" since there was a tremendous amount of support for Heritage around here because of it being unconventional and marking a "creative growth" for Opeth.

[DebraKadabra]

[KevShmev]

I'd say The Lotus Eater is one of the more overrated songs on the album. It's not bad, but I can't help but feel that it's so high up because it's the most progressive/weird song on the album.

^Classic "I'm not fond of this song so others must have shitty reasons for liking it" post.

Haha, pretty much.

The Lotus Eater is great.

[black_biff_stadler]

Also Zantera, after seeing the first line of my last post quoted, I realized it may sound kinda smug. I hope it didn't come across rudely.

[Zantera]

I actually have no problem with the song at all, I think it's a good song. My thought behind the post was not to make it sound like "this is the only reason people rank it high", but I think the song has a certain progressiveness to it (the way the verses are built up, and the goofy keyboard-solo which is quite cool) and I think these are two attributes that would appeal to someone who already has an interest in progressive music.

If that makes sense.

[skydivingninja]

Hessian Peel is amazing and way better than the Lotus Eater.  That is all.

[Zantera]

Hessian Peel is amazing and way better than the Lotus Eater.  That is all.

I agree 100%.