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General => General Music Discussion => Topic started by: Scar on November 19, 2016, 03:16:36 PM

Title: The Opeth Discography Thread
Post by: Scar on November 19, 2016, 03:16:36 PM
Ok, here it is.....The Opeth Discography Thread!

(https://i1262.photobucket.com/albums/ii616/heeseungeun9841/opeth_zpsfxrgznqp.jpeg)

The History of Opeth

Opeth is a progressive death metal band from Stockholm, Sweden in 1989. Opeth has been through many line up changes. Opeth has consistently incorporated progressive, folk, blues, classical and jazz influences into its usually lengthy compositions, as well as strong influences from death metal, especially in their early works. Opeth has just recently released their 12th album Sorceress, an album devoid of any growls, as well as their previous two albums before Sorceress.

Opeth was formed as a death metal band in 1989 in Stockholm, Sweden by vocalist David Isberg. Isberg asked former Eruption band member Mikael Åkerfeldt  to join Opeth as a bassist. When Åkerfeldt showed up to practice the day after Isberg invited him, it became clear that Isberg had not told the band members, including the band's current bassist, that Åkerfeldt would be joining. An ensuing argument led to all members but Isberg and Åkerfeldt leaving to form a new project.

The Lineup of Opeth

Isberg and Åkerfeldt recruited drummer Anders Nordin, bassist Nick Döring, and guitarist Andreas Dimeo. Unsatisfied with Opeth's slow progress, Döring and Dimeo left the band after their first performance, and were replaced by guitarist Kim Pettersson and bassist Johan De Farfalla. After the next show, De Farfalla left Opeth to spend time with his girlfriend in Germany, and was initially replaced by Mattias Ander, before Åkerfeldt's friend Peter Lindgren took on the role of bassist. Rhythm guitarist Kim Pettersson left following the band's next performance, and Lindgren switched to guitar, with the role of bassist falling to Stefan Guteklint. The following year, David Isberg left the band citing "creative differences".

Following Isberg's departure, Åkerfeldt took over vocal duties and he, Lindgren, and Nordin spent the next year writing and rehearsing new material. The group began to rely less on the blast beats and aggression typical of death metal, and incorporated acoustic guitars and guitar harmonies into their music; developing the core sound of Opeth. Bassist Guteklint was dismissed by the band after they signed their first record deal with Candlelight Records in 1994. Opeth initially employed former member De Farfalla as a session bassist for their demo recordings, and he went on to join on a full-time basis following the release of Opeth's debut album, "Orchid", in 1995.

Orchid+Morningrise:
Mikael Åkerfeldt – lead vocals, guitar
Peter Lindgren – guitar
Anders Nordin – drums, percussion, piano(On Silhouette)
Johan De Farfalla – bass guitar

My Arms, Your Hearse:
Mikael Åkerfeldt – vocals, guitars, bass, grand piano
Peter Lindgren – guitars
Martin Lopez – drums, percussion

Still Life------>Damnation:
Mikael Åkerfeldt − vocals, guitar
Peter Lindgren − guitar
Martin Mendez − bass
Martin Lopez − drums
Steven Wilson − keyboards, piano, mellotron, backing vocals, mixing, mastering, production, engineering (From Blackwater Park to Damnation, and mixing, effects engineering, vocal engineering from Heritage to Pale Communion).

Ghost Reveries
Mikael Åkerfeldt – vocals, rhythm guitar, lead guitar, acoustic guitar, Mellotron
Peter Lindgren – lead guitar
Martín Méndez – bass
Per Wiberg – Hammond organ, Mellotron, grand piano, Moog
Martin Lopez – drums, percussion
Martin Axenrot − drums ("Soldier of Fortune")

Watershed and Heritage
Mikael Åkerfeldt – vocals, guitar
Fredrik Åkesson – guitar
Per Wiberg – keyboards, synthesizer
Martín Méndez – bass guitar
Martin Axenrot – drums

Pale Communion and Sorceress
Mikael Åkerfeldt – lead vocals, lead guitar; songwriting, art direction, engineering
Fredrik Åkesson – rhythm guitar, backing vocals
Martín Méndez – bass guitar
Joakim Svalberg – keyboard, backing vocals; piano
Martin Axenrot – drums, percussion

Opeth's Discography
1. Orchid - 1995
2. Morningrise - 1996
3. My Arms, Your Hearse - 1998
4. Still Life -  1999
5. Blackwater Park - 2001
6. Deliverance - 2002
7. Damnation - 2003
8. Ghost Reveries - 2005
9. Watershed - 2008
10. Heritage - 2011
11. Pale Communion - 2014
12. Sorceress - 2016

Opeth personally for me was a huge turning point for me in my life. All of Opeth's songs strike a chord with me and Opeth has been an outlet to get rid of all my pain and anger. I owe Opeth my life and would be dead if I hadn't heard of them.
Title: Re: The Opeth Discography Thread
Post by: twosuitsluke on November 19, 2016, 05:38:24 PM
Lets get those plug.dj sessions going  :metal
Title: Re: The Opeth Discography Thread
Post by: Scar on November 19, 2016, 06:07:08 PM


Orchid (1995)


(https://i1262.photobucket.com/albums/ii616/heeseungeun9841/orchid_zpsom6md0bp.jpeg)


Release date: May 1, 1995
Length: 65:31


Tracklist:
Bold denotes bonus track.

1. "In Mist She Was Standing"   
2. "Under the Weeping Moon"    
3. "Silhouette" (Instrumental)
4. "Forest of October"
5. "The Twilight Is My Robe"
6. "Requiem" (Instrumental)   
7. "The Apostle in Triumph"
8. "Into the Frost of Winter"

Personnel:

Mikael Åkerfeldt – lead vocals, guitar (except on "Silhouette")
Peter Lindgren – guitar (except on "Silhouette")
Anders Nordin – drums, percussion, piano on "Silhouette"
Johan De Farfalla – bass guitar (except on "Into the Frost of Winter" and "Silhouette"), backing vocals

Recorded: March–April 1994, Unisound
Genre: Progressive black metal, Progressive death metal
Label: Candlelight, Century Black
Producer: Opeth, Dan Swanö



History / Background

Orchid is the debut album by Swedish heavy metal band Opeth, released on May 1, 1995, in Europe by Candlelight Records, and on June 24, 1997, in the United States by Century Black. It was reissued in 2000 with one bonus track called "Into the Frost of Winter", an early unproduced rehearsal recording by the band. The recording sessions occurred at the old Unisound studio, in Finspång, between March and April 1994. Opeth produced alongside Dan Swanö. The band did not record a demo to get signed to a record label. Lee Barrett, the founder of Candlelight Records, enjoyed an Opeth rehearsal tape, and decided to sign the band. The album was well-received critically, even being called "unique".

Music
The music in Orchid combines elements influenced by progressive rock and acoustics pieces of folk music to the black metal scream and the death metal growl, as well having clean vocals. It also contains influences from jazz and melodic passages played by a piano and acoustic guitars. Critics described the sound of the album as it being "unique". Jim Raggi wrote "If you're wanting the more deathy and song oriented Opeth, skip down to My Arms, Your Hearse and go from there. If you're looking for a unique journey of music built alternately around dual guitar harmonies knocking into sequences when the two guitars and the bass are all playing different parts, stop-start transitions at times and smooth here-to-theres at others, here you go."

"Orchid" begins with "In Mist She Was Standing." The first thing you will notice about this song will be the riff that hits you in the face. Mikael's brutal growl immediately starts and apart for clean whispering vocals, there are no traces of clean vocal singing. The first acoustic passage features Johan, the bass player's bassline that stays prominent throughout the part. After, Mikael unleashes brutal shrieks and ends with a harsh whisper as a prominent riff plays throughout the ending. The climax and build up into the ending and the beautiful acoustic section in the end, makes this song a strong contender for this album.

"Under the Weeping Moon" is definitely an interesting song and was my favorite on this album for the longest time. The song begins with an acoustic passage, then Mikael's growls come in. What comes after, pleases me and I find to be the highlight of the song. Mikael's growl trails off and follows a mysteriously haunting acoustic passage. After repeated acoustic guitar work, a mysterious noise enters. It is like static and combined with Nordin's amazing drum work, you can feel the intense pressure. After, the entire band comes to life and Mikael comes with the arguably strongest growl in this album and then the instruments fade and Mikael's clean vocals enters. That, I would have to say is another highlight of this song.

A piano instrumental song enters. At first, I was shocked. Who could be playing the piano? I had thought it was Mikael Akerfeldt, but it was actually the drummer, Anders Nordin. This song is nothing extravagant and flashy, but for me is a nice break between two intense, intense songs.

The next song that enters is "Forest of October". For me, this song is the most easily forgettable song, but still a great song nonetheless. What starts the song is a melodious riffing that really draws you in. His clean vocals in the beginner of FoO really grabs me in. Around 6:32, another really catchy riff peeks its face out and amongst the silence of the other instruments, it really is a nice music to behold.

A dark, shattering riff pierces the night, and you know this song will be badass, but in the midst of that, there are incredible acoustic sections and clean vocals that make you just...sigh. Here it is, the magnum opus (to me) of this album, "The Twilight is My Robe." The bass work in this song is just incredible and the acoustic passage in here is arguably one of the best from this album. Mikael's clean vocals here is also my favorite as he really sets the mood in this song.

"Requiem" is a very short instrumental piece. Nothing too special about this baby, only that due to mixing errors, the ending of Requiem has been placed at the beginning of the next song, "The Apostle in Triumph", which is a shame because the piece is the definite highlight as you hear bass, guitars, and percussion, filling your ears.

Last but not least is "The Apostle in Triumph." It starts out with some of the coolest acoustic riffs I've ever heard. After a short break, it comes back with some laid back electric instruments. The song is made heavy soley by Mike's voice. But the music itself is relatively soft, and really nice sounding. I really love Mikael's guitar volume swells towards the middle of the song. I first mistakenly thought it was a violin, because to me it sure sounded like it, but ? told me that it was a guitar swell. Johan and Anders are really nice at supporting Mikael while he is doing the swells.

My Thoughts

The first two albums aren't well liked by most people, but I think they are absolutely stellar. Mikael Akerfeld utilizes more of a shriek, but starting from My Arms, his growls turn deeper and deeper. I think Orchid is a really stellar, debut album for Opeth and has been only one of the only debut album that I have loved. Most debut albums for me a real lacker.

Personally, my ranking for this album is:

1. The Twilight Is My Robe
2. Under the Weeping Moon
3. The Apostle in Triumph
4. In Mist She Was Standing
5. Forest of October
6. Silhouette
7. Requiem

Overall, this album is very decent for a starter album and has warmed my soul because this was the very first Opeth album I had listened to and loved.

PLUG DJ Listening Session

If people are interested, I know Luke is ;), then we can have the session tomorrow, Sunday, at 5:00 p.m PST which is 7 p.m EST, or 4 a.m GST.

If you guys want it today, I'm down at 7:00 p.m PST which is 10:00 pm EST or 7:00 am GST.

Site: https://plug.dj/-4768540118602180289
Title: Re: The Opeth Discography Thread
Post by: seasonsinthesky on November 19, 2016, 06:28:02 PM
"Forest of October". For me, this song is the most easily forgettable song

What?! That is insane! I've found it easily the most memorable song on the record from the first time I heard it. The riff progression would only be outdone on the next album. It has payoff after payoff without losing interest or dynamic contrast in between! The second intro/outro riff is probably my favourite in the whole catalog.

Otherwise, I find this album really spotty, in the sense that every song has handfuls of riffs I really like, but also a bunch of meh stuff I don't. I find the much celebrated UTWM boring until the cool ambient section, for instance. Mikey got much better at 'packing the riffs' on the next one.
Title: Re: The Opeth Discography Thread
Post by: The King in Crimson on November 19, 2016, 06:50:35 PM
I definitely agree with Orchid being "spotty." It has some cool moments, some nice atmosphere, and a couple of songs that are good all the way through, but the stop-start transitions and sameyness of many of the songs starts to get old about halfway through and I start to lose interest. It's a nice debut but definitely near the bottom of my ranking.
Title: Re: The Opeth Discography Thread
Post by: ChuckSteak on November 19, 2016, 09:00:01 PM
Good fucking old Opeth. Enough said. :)

My ranking:

1. The Apostle In Triumph
2. The Twilight Is My Robe
3. Forest Of October
4. In Mist She Was Standing
5. Under The Weeping Moon
6. Silhouette
7. Requiem
Title: Re: The Opeth Discography Thread
Post by: XB0BX on November 23, 2016, 05:38:12 PM
I love Orchid, so so so underrated.
Title: Re: The Opeth Discography Thread
Post by: LudwigVan on November 23, 2016, 10:10:38 PM
Orchid was my first Opeth album, so I have a soft spot for it.
Title: Re: The Opeth Discography Thread
Post by: ? on November 24, 2016, 03:56:54 AM
Orchid was my first Opeth album, so I have a soft spot for it.
Same here.
Title: Re: The Opeth Discography Thread
Post by: Scar on November 27, 2016, 04:26:09 PM


Morningrise (1996)

Release date: June 24, 1996
Length: 66:02


Tracklist:
Bold denotes bonus track.

1. "Advent"   
2. "The Night and the Silent Water"    
3. "Nectar"
4. "Black Rose Immortal"
5. "To Bid You Farewell"
6. "Eternal Soul Torture"

Personnel:

Mikael Åkerfeldt – lead vocals, guitar
Peter Lindgren – guitar
Anders Nordin – drums, percussion
Johan De Farfalla – bass guitar

Recorded: March–April 1996 (Unisound)
Genre: Progressive black metal, Progressive death metal
Label: Candlelight, Century Black
Producer: Opeth, Dan Swanö



History / Background

Morningrise is the second studio album by Swedish heavy metal band Opeth. It was released on June 24, 1996, in Europe by Candlelight Records and on June 24, 1997, in the United States by Century Black. The recording sessions took place at Unisound studio, in Örebro, between March and April 1996, and once more the band produced alongside Dan Swanö. Morningrise was the last Opeth album produced by Swanö. It was also the last Opeth release with drummer Anders Nordin and bassist Johan De Farfalla.

As the release of the first album was delayed, they had already written most of Morningrise when Orchid was released. Although some parts of the material recorded date back to 1991, Mikael Åkerfeldt said, "the material we had been writing felt really fresh and new."

According to Åkerfeldt, recording Morningrise was "quite boring" because of "the endless drum takes, click track and shit like that". The band spent most of the time in the studio smoking. Despite the downtime, Åkerfeldt and Lindgren wrote an instrumental piece that was meant to appear on the album, but they did not have enough time to finish it.

Morningrise includes Opeth's longest song ever recorded, "Black Rose Immortal", with a length of 20:15.

Music

Morningrise showcases Opeth's signature style, exploring the dynamics between the combination of black metal and death metal vocals, and guitar parts with lighter progressive and acoustic elements. The album was very well received by critics, with some calling it "epic" and "perfect".

"Morningrise" begins with the legendary "Advent." Honestly, this song has taken the very quickest to grow on me and has taken my number one spot from this album from the beginning. "Advent" begins with an acoustic guitar introduction and when you think it will be like that for a while, Opeth throws a huge riff on your face that has caught me off guard. With stellar acoustic passages and Mikael's clean singing, this song is in no hurry to blow your mind. The highlight of this song would be the middle acoustic section of the song which I find to be one of the most beautiful acoustic passages next to TNASW and TBYF. In the end though, the speed for this song picks up once more and there is an intense jam session where all the instruments are present. Once the final line of Mikael's clean vocal hits you, the song once more enters an acoustic stage and a haunting strum is played until the end, finishing this amazing song.

"The Night and the Silent Water" is the next song to peek out its face. This song honestly was the least interesting to at first. When I ran the Opeth survivor, I voted for this song after Nectar. Now, as I am listening to it more and more, this song is growing on me more and more. This song, like Advent, has a beautiful acoustic passage as well as Mikael's clean vocals. This song begins off with all the instruments and a riff. What follows is a mix of acoustic guitar and electric guitar that gives it an amazing feel to it. This song was dedicated to Mikael's grandfather who had died and this song is really haunting in many ways. Mikael's growl comes in as he talks about his grandfather leaving him and in towards the middle, an acoustic passage. This is one of my favorite's and is really haunting. Just when you think it can't get more haunting, Mikael's melancholy voice comes in and you can't help but wonder. Near the end, the song fades out to an acoustic strum which is replaced with an electric guitar and Mikael whispers: "You sleep in the light, yet the night and the silent water still so daaark!" This part sends me shivers as this isn't a growl, but you can still hear the pain coming from Mikael.

"Nectar" is the third song of this album and honestly, out of all five songs, the most easily forgettable for me.  “Nectar” really should have been shorter. As a heavy song, it lacks energy, and as a long song, it lacks variety. I really think the band should have developed this track a little more, because there are a couple of riffs on it that are pretty damn good. Although the bass in the song is amazing.  The bassline at the end of this song is one of the greatest things you'll ever hear. DeFarfalla rips the fretboard up. This song starts off with a grooving beat and has an "Advent" sounding riff, with some nice bass work. This is probably the high point of the album. This is probably the most intense song on here, as most of the material on this album is a bit less intense as most of the bands catalogue.

The longest song Opeth has ever dished out to date is the huge "Black Rose Immortal." This song is a test of your willpower...though since I've listened to longer songs, I eat this song for breakfast. Well, not really, but this song is still awesome. The highlight of this song is definitely the build up from a quite ambient section to one of Mikael's most epic....*ahem* excuse me....to Mikael's most monumental, awesome, awe-inspiring, brutal, stunning, and violent scream he has ever done. Definitely one of the best parts. The lyrics in this song also are beautifully written and the acoustic passages are full of emotion.

The last song in this album is "To Bid You Farewell." This song reminds me a lot of "A Fair Judgement," which we will get to in a while. This song is the first full song where Mikael sings to not have a single ounce of growls. This album is mostly acoustic, as there is a trace of electric guitars near the middle, which soon reverts back to its acoustic structure. The introduction strum is played as it follows the pattern until Mikael's voice comes in. There is a vocal effect on Mikael's voice that really for me, sets the tone for the song. The highlight of this song would be the transition from acoustic to electric, and electric back to acoustic. This song would be very awesome to listen to as rain is pouring down. Although there are no traces of growls, this song is still ultimately haunting and melancholic, as you would expect from Opeth.

My Thoughts

This album is amazing. Enough said. Although I can't decide which album I like more: Orchid vs Morningrise, I find them both to be amazing. One of the first albums I have listened to from Opeth, I was glad I had started off with this album and Orchid. If I had started off with their signature albums: Ghost Reveries, Blackwater Park, Still Life.....then it would have been much harder to get into Opeth's first two albums.

My ranking for this album is:

1. Advent
2. The Night and the Silent Water
3. To Bid You Farewell
4. Black Rose Immortal
5. Nectar
Title: Re: The Opeth Discography Thread
Post by: Ben_Jamin on November 27, 2016, 04:53:22 PM
Nectar isn't an instrumental.
Title: Re: The Opeth Discography Thread
Post by: seasonsinthesky on November 27, 2016, 06:30:01 PM
Scar, I'd suggest a quicker turnaround on these first few albums. I know you probably have a life, though, so it's all dependent on when you have time to write out the huge post per album. I just mean to say the topic dried up fast on Orchid, and I don't see it going too differently until we'll really pick up steam at Still Life.

I bloody love Morningrise. That last half hour is masterful. BRI used to put me off because it opens with the pirate riff, but I'm used to it now, and it's a bloody quick 5 minutes to get to that little break of water sounds that ushers in the first amazement moment of the song. It doesn't stop amazing after that.

My only gripe is that TNATSW and "Nectar" could have easily been pared down to make one really great song on the level of "Advent" and the last two. In fact, I did this myself, and it worked out super well (considering most of the songs sound piecemeal as is). It's a better record at 4 long songs than 5.
Title: Re: The Opeth Discography Thread
Post by: Scar on November 27, 2016, 07:25:59 PM
Seasons, I will do that. I can understand why the early discographies have a lot of crickets. Will update next on Tuesday or Wednesday.
Title: Re: The Opeth Discography Thread
Post by: Scar on November 29, 2016, 07:48:09 PM


My Arms Your Hearse (1998)

Release date: August 18, 1998
Length:53:13


Tracklist:
Bold denotes bonus track.

1. "Prologue" (Instrumental)      
2. "April Ethereal"    
3. "When"
4. "Madrigal" (Instrumental)   
5. "The Amen Corner"
6. "Demon of the Fall"
7. "Credence"
8. "Karma"
9. "Epilogue" (Instrumental)
10. "Circle of the Tyrants"
11. "Remember Tomorrow"


Personnel:

Mikael Åkerfeldt – lead vocals, guitar, bass, grand piano
Peter Lindgren – guitar
Martin Lopez – drums, percussion


Recorded: August–September 1997
Genre: Progressive death metal
Label: Candlelight, Century Black
Producer: Opeth,    Fredrik Nordström



History / Background

My Arms, Your Hearse was the first Opeth album with drummer Martin Lopez, who answered a newspaper ad that Opeth put up searching for this spot to be taken after Anders Nordin left. Shortly thereafter the band also brought in Martín Méndez, a friend and previous band-mate of Lopez. However, Mendez did not have enough time to learn the bass parts for the album, so frontman Mikael Åkerfeldt played bass for the entire recording session. All of the songs on My Arms, Your Hearse are shorter than ten minutes, whereas on Opeth's previous album, Morningrise, every song exceeds this length. The album is dedicated to Lee Barrett (of Candlelight Records). The title of the album is derived from the lyrics of the song "Drip, Drip" by the band Comus.

Music

Åkerfeldt wrote all the lyrics before the music was written, to create Opeths first concept album.

Opeth’s third album was different from Orchid and Morningrise in three obvious ways: 1) Songs were a bit shorter; Morningrise had extravagant songs like Black Rose Immortal, a whopping 20 minutes, while the longest song on MAYH is a little under 10 minutes. 2) This was their first concept album, and 3)this album is heavier and darker than anything they’ve done before, using Drop D on most songs and a heavier, thicker atmosphere on which the instruments and production both contributed.

That and much, much more is on MAYH, almost a completely different band it seems from Morningrise. The longest song on here is about 9 minutes long, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t any loss of Prog-Metal on this album, oh no! Acoustic passages are inspirational and original (When, April Ethereal), simply bliss. Riffs are varied, spanning from slow, creepy parts (The Amen Corner) to fast, furious riffs, like those found on Karma. Most are low riffs, down tuned, not as trebly as those on Morningrise, but still as amazing and catchy as they ever were. There’s also solos, which show two sides-shredwise (The Amen Corner) and a calmer, more subdued but perfectly done solos (Epilogue). Opeth will just keeping you coming back, back, and back again, all for those guitars!

Ahh, Mikaels vocals. How legendary they are, with such mellow, uplifting singing, along with such scary, crushing growls. His clean singing is a talent you’ll find nowhere else; it varies in style just as much as it does with volume, strength, and emotion. Now for those so called ‘Cookie Monster’ growls. I’ll be the first to say that Mikael is not as nearly as annoying as Cookie Monster, his vocals are a beast to be reckoned with. He pushes every line he spits out with confidence, for he knows what he can do, what his abilities are now, and with that comes control, and control is good. He mostly uses a low-profile tone, rarely does he ever shriek, which I think is a pro.

The drums are excellent. Varied use of rhythmic patterns, and from heavy to subdued in an instant is something that always gets me. Martin knows what he’s doing, and he’s in control for the beats. He can pound away at the double kick and yet be able to produce soft overtones in nearly every song. But…is that it? Of course not! Technicality is Martins game, he makes use of every piece on his drumset, and makes different and difficult patterns and fills with seemingly no effort. Martin is definitely talented; it shows on every record he’s ever done with Opeth.

My Thoughts

Many people would choose Still Life over My Arms, Your Hearse, and I agree with them. But, this album was also a major breakthrough for Opeth. Mikael's growls have deepened considerably well here as his vocals would for the next albums that would come.
Title: Re: The Opeth Discography Thread
Post by: Ben_Jamin on November 29, 2016, 08:09:06 PM
I enjoy listening to this album every now and then. It's a nice listen for me. My favorite being When, wish they'd do the intro live though.
Title: Re: The Opeth Discography Thread
Post by: Randaran on November 29, 2016, 08:33:00 PM
Opeth's first great album, and my favorite of theirs. MAYH is one of the few albums I can listen to multiple times in a single sitting and still enjoy it.
Title: Re: The Opeth Discography Thread
Post by: Mosh on November 29, 2016, 08:35:37 PM
April Ethereal, When, Demon Of the Fall, take or leave the rest. I do like that this album has a sound that is unlike anything they did before or anything they've done since. It has a cool vibe to it. It is also the birth of the more riff driven Opeth that we all know and love.
Title: Re: The Opeth Discography Thread
Post by: ? on November 30, 2016, 02:51:09 AM
MAYH is one of my top 3 Opeth albums; I just love how cohesive it is, and AE, When and DOTF are some of the best metal moments in their catalog.
Title: Re: The Opeth Discography Thread
Post by: ChuckSteak on November 30, 2016, 06:39:29 AM
This was Opeth finally finding their sound. They did better with the two following albums, but MAYH was the first step to get to their peak.
Title: Re: The Opeth Discography Thread
Post by: seasonsinthesky on November 30, 2016, 10:14:42 AM
Funny no one's mentioned Åkerfeldt had a cold when he recorded vocals for this! You can really hear it on all his cleans. It makes the growls even better, though.

Talk about a drastic change. Orchid & Morningrise sound like they were made by an entirely different band.

This album has some of my favourite Opeth songs of all time. The obvious example is "Demon of the Fall," but I love "The Amen Corner" and "Karma" equally as much. The other proper songs are second-tier to these but hardly lack brilliance.

The one thing that drags this album down, imo, is some of the terrible transitions. The way the intro of "When" fades in over the end fadeout of "April Ethereal" is complete ass – two different tempos, two different keys. Just a bad decision. And I am forever annoyed that the last resonance of "Demon" is immediately interrupted by the drums of "Credence" fading in! Hilariously, the heavy ending of "Amen" (before the quiet coda) would have transitioned perfectly into "Demon" (minus the backwards intro), yet that's the one transition they didn't do. Ultimately it may be for the better, though, since that backmasked intro is super cool.

I think this album could use a new Bogren mix or even just a hefty remaster. However, there seems to be something in the way of that, whether it be legal stuff with Candlelight or perhaps even missing tapes (as often happens with older recordings). Hopefully it's not a case of Åkerfeldt thinking people don't like MAYH enough to buy a new mix – that'd be folly, imo.
Title: Re: The Opeth Discography Thread
Post by: me7 on November 30, 2016, 03:41:48 PM
The way the intro of "When" fades in over the end fadeout of "April Ethereal" is complete ass – two different tempos, two different keys. Just a bad decision.

I love that transition.
Title: Re: The Opeth Discography Thread
Post by: Onno on November 30, 2016, 11:14:24 PM
I think I like this album more than Still Life. I definitely need to listen to both again, though.
Title: Re: The Opeth Discography Thread
Post by: Progmetty on December 01, 2016, 12:15:09 AM
Interesting read, Opeth is the only band that I tried and didn't like but occasionally keep trying again and again just cause so many people of similar tastes to me like it, I just can't get my ear on the "wow" factor of this band. I have Damnation, Ghost Reveries and Watershed, I've had these albums since maybe 2007 and at least once a year I'll give them a spin and it doesn't click, Damnation is the one that I kinda enjoy a little but it's only cause it sounds like Porcupine Tree to me.
Title: Re: The Opeth Discography Thread
Post by: Elite on December 01, 2016, 12:59:14 AM
My Arms, Your Hearse is easily my second or third favourite Opeth album. It's also the album of theirs I have known the longest, apart from Blackwater Park, which was my first. This album has some of Opeth's greatest moments, from the best growls Åkerfeldt has ever done on an Opeth record, to some of the downright very best songs they have ever written. I know that is a pretty bold claim, but look at the insane amount of quality on songs like April Ethereal, When, Demon of the Fall and Karma. To a lesser extent, The Amen Corner as well, which is the one track I could never really get into. That's basically every song on the record, except for Credence, which is a pretty good track that easily gets overshadowed by the hard-hitters here. The album's closing instrumental, Epilogue, is not only a fitting end to the album, but also a very nice piece of music on its own.

Regarding the transitions... they're the worst part of this album indeed. The small drumming click at the end of DotF is exceptionally annoying and April Ethereal into When is very sloppy, especially considering that the acoustic intro at the beginning of When doesn't really add that much to the track.

Anyway, I love this record.
Title: Re: The Opeth Discography Thread
Post by: Scar on December 03, 2016, 03:10:16 PM


Still Life (1999)


(https://i1262.photobucket.com/albums/ii616/heeseungeun9841/still%20life_zpsi1ll51zp.jpg)

Release date: 18 October, 1999
Length: 62:31


Tracklist:
Bold denotes bonus track.

1. "The Moor"
2. "Godhead's Lament"   
3. "Benighted"
4. "Moonlapse Vertigo"
5. "Face of Melinda"
6. "Serenity Painted Death"
7. "White Cluster"

Personnel:

Mikael Åkerfeldt − vocals, guitar
Peter Lindgren − guitar
Martin Mendez − bass
Martin Lopez − drums

Recorded: 15 April–29 May 1999
Genre: Progressive death metal, Progressive Rock
Label: Peaceville
Producer: Opeth, Mikael Åkerfeldt, Fredrik Nordström



History / Background

Like its predecessor, My Arms, Your Hearse, Still Life is a concept album. Frontman Mikael Åkerfeldt explains: "Still Life was not Satanic but an anti-Christian theme. It sounds pretty naive when I explain it like this. It kind of takes place a long time ago when Christianity had a bigger importance than it has today. The main character is kind of banished from his hometown because he hasn't got the same faith as the rest of the inhabitants there. The album pretty much starts off when he is returning after several years to hook up with his old 'babe'. Obviously a lot of bad things start happening with, as I call it on the album, 'the council.' The big bosses of the town know that he's back. A lot of bad things start happening. They see him as a hypocrite in a way. It's almost like a devil's advocate or whatever it's called."

Music

Ah Still Life. An Opeth album I used to not listen to as much as other albums, but now, since it is slowly rising up ranks, I have been giving it more time to listen to and analyze the songs.

"The Moor" is a fantastic opener for this album and my favorite song of this album. With tight crushing riffs, catchy melodies, and Mikael's vocals, the starter is one heck of a force, the longest song of the album, clocking at eleven minutes.  "The Moor" takes on a quite introduction approach, lasting for almost two minutes before the metal finally kicks in. Well, yeah. If you're here for just the metal, you might get impatient with this fade-in, slow opening. Personally I feel it is perfectly timed, just long enough to really build up to an early climax, so that once the main riff kicks in, accompanied by the bass and the drums, it becomes all the more delightful when you can finally start banging your head.

"Godhead's Lament" is the next song to appear and contains my favorite clean vocal moment: "What would they care if I did stay, no-one would know. What would they care if I did stay, no-one should know." A solo starts off this song and it builds up to the point of the clean vocals.

"Benighted" is the first song in this album that only has clean vocals. This whole song is very mellow with repeated choruses and fantastic acoustic work.

"Moonlapse Vertigo" for me is the only song on this album with growls and cleans to be the most easily forgettable out of the five.

"Face of Melinda" is the second song with only cleans, but unlike "Benighted," uses the electric guitar. This song is really haunting and details the encounter between our main character and Melinda.

"Serenity Painted Death" is my second favorite song of this album and rightfully so. This song has one of my most favorite Mikael growl moments in which the main character watches Melinda die and goes into this full out rage. Another favorite part of this song are the lyrics: : White face, haggard grin / This serenity painted death / With a halo of bitter disease / Black paragon in lingering breath. Also, loving that little tail-end growl to the end of the words.

"White Cluster" is an epic finisher for this song and talks about the main character's death is he is hung. Filled with clean/harsh moments as well as crushtastic riffage and beautiful acoustic work, once this song is finished, you feel like you went on a journey through the main character's eyes.

My Thoughts

"Still Life" is an amazing album, but was introduced to me at a later time. I used to avoid this album for my other favorites: "Blackwater Park," "Deliverance," and "Damnation," but this album has been making a strong comeback for my music player.

Personally, my ranking for this album is:

1. "The Moor"
2. "Serenity Painted Death"
3. "Godhead's Lament"
4. "Face of Melinda"
5. "White Cluster"
6. "Moonlapse Vertigo"
7. "Benighted"

Overall, this album is what any Opeth fans should definitely listen as there are less acoustic passages and Mikael's growls have again deepened considerably.
Title: Re: The Opeth Discography Thread
Post by: ChuckSteak on December 03, 2016, 03:20:23 PM
The first Opeth masterpiece.
Title: Re: The Opeth Discography Thread
Post by: Casino-95 on December 03, 2016, 04:51:24 PM
The first Opeth masterpiece.

Agreed.

"The Moor" and "Godhead's Lament" is perhaps my favorite one-two punch of any album by any band.

And "White Cluster" is so great that this forum has an emoticon for it.  :corn *

*I wondered if anyone else had made this joke before, so I googled it.  Somebody on an Ultimate Guitar forum made it in 2008.  I'm a little disappointed, but I still think it's a good joke.
Title: Re: The Opeth Discography Thread
Post by: seasonsinthesky on December 03, 2016, 06:20:32 PM
No wasted moments on this album. So jazzy, so reverby, so good!

I'd rank:
1. White Cluster
2. Moonlapse Vertigo (give it time!)
3. Godhead
4. Serenity
5. Benighted
6. The Moor
7. Face of Melinda

but those last ones are because I tired myself out on them. I get more out of the rest because of that.
Title: Re: The Opeth Discography Thread
Post by: LudwigVan on December 04, 2016, 12:48:46 AM
Posting late in response to Morningrise. As I mentioned before, I do have a soft spot for those first two albums. They're both flawed and certainly not as good as what was to come, but there's a certain charm to the meandering quality of the arrangements.  Some of those songs don't have much focus, but there's an experimental feel, just stringing together random bits and pieces. When I listen to these albums  I feel like I'm in the midst of some fantastic dream where I'm wandering aimlessly through a twilight forest and encountering scenes of deathly beauty. Very black metallish.
Title: Re: The Opeth Discography Thread
Post by: Polarbear on December 04, 2016, 12:59:45 AM
I really love the new direction Opeth is going with their latest albums, but Still Life is still easily my favorite Opeth album.
Title: Re: The Opeth Discography Thread
Post by: twosuitsluke on December 04, 2016, 02:25:14 AM
Still Life is probably the earliest album in Opeth's back catalogue that I love. I think it was the third album I heard (after GR and Watershed). I have vivid memories of cycling to work about 7 years ago with this album on repeat  :tup
Title: Re: The Opeth Discography Thread
Post by: ? on December 04, 2016, 11:14:16 AM
Still Life is a pretty good album, but on the whole it doesn't resonate with me the way my favorite Opeth albums do. I like most of the individual songs (The Moor and SPD are 2 of my all-time favorites), but a lot of the riffs are kind of samey, which makes the full listening experience a bit heavy. Moonlapse is also a pretty forgettable tune.
Title: Re: The Opeth Discography Thread
Post by: ChuckSteak on December 04, 2016, 11:30:52 AM
1. The Moor
2. Godhead's Lament
3. Serenity Painted Death
4. Moonlapse Vertigo
5. White Cluster
6. Face of Melinda
7. Benighted
Title: Re: The Opeth Discography Thread
Post by: The King in Crimson on December 04, 2016, 08:39:38 PM
This album is so fucking good. It's the album that finally got me into Opeth and the album that got me to appreciate growls/harsh vocals. I remember buying this as a last ditch effort after being unimpressed with Blackwater Park (sue me) and just being blown away from the first few seconds of "The Moor," which, to date, remains my favorite Opeth song. Even with the long songs and a few that I like much less than the rest, this album never overstays its welcome, unlike some other Opeth albums.

1. The Moor
2. Face of Melinda
3. Serenity Painted Death
4. Godhead's Lament
5. White Cluster
6. Moonlapse Vertigo
7. Benighted
Title: Re: The Opeth Discography Thread
Post by: Scar on December 05, 2016, 12:17:05 PM
Should I post BWP today or wait a bit more?
Title: Re: The Opeth Discography Thread
Post by: Casino-95 on December 06, 2016, 09:47:30 AM
Should I post BWP today or wait a bit more?

Composed entirely of lyrics from the album, here's a short poem chronicling the time from now until the BWP post is made:

"You wait by the window."
"So you wait and you savour the moment."
"Wilted scenes for us who couldn't wait."
"We know who must forever wait."
"Enough of this."
"Time is now."
"It was worth it for the wait alone."
Title: Re: The Opeth Discography Thread
Post by: Elite on December 06, 2016, 09:55:39 AM
YOUR BODY IS MINE TO AVAIL
Title: Re: The Opeth Discography Thread
Post by: Casino-95 on December 06, 2016, 09:57:45 AM
"I'm counting nocturnal hours."

I can't believe I forgot that line before.
Title: Re: The Opeth Discography Thread
Post by: twosuitsluke on December 06, 2016, 10:07:39 AM
Should I post BWP today or wait a bit more?

Composed entirely of lyrics from the album, here's a short poem chronicling the time from now until the BWP post is made:

"You wait by the window."
"So you wait and you savour the moment."
"Wilted scenes for us who couldn't wait."
"We know who must forever wait."
"Enough of this."
"Time is now."
"It was worth it for the wait alone."

10/10 best post I've read in a while  :rollin
Title: Re: The Opeth Discography Thread
Post by: Scar on December 06, 2016, 09:25:59 PM


Blackwater Park (2001)


(https://i1262.photobucket.com/albums/ii616/heeseungeun9841/Blackwaterpark_zpsm45bjuv1.jpg)


Release date: February 27, 2001
Length: 67:13


Tracklist:
Bold denotes bonus track.

1. "The Leper Affinity"   
2. "Bleak"    
3. "Harvest"
4. "The Drapery Falls"
5. "Dirge for November"
6. "The Funeral Portrait"   
7. "Patterns in the Ivy"
8. "Blackwater Park"
9. "Still Day Beneath the Sun"
10. "Patterns in the Ivy II"
11. "Harvest" (multimedia track)



Personnel:

Mikael Åkerfeldt – vocals, guitar, acoustic guitar
Peter Lindgren – guitar
Martín Méndez – bass
Martin Lopez – drums
Steven Wilson - clean and backing vocals on "Bleak", "Harvest", "The Funeral Portrait" and "The Drapery Falls", keyboards, mellotron, additional guitar, production, engineering, mixing

August–October 2000, Fredman Studio, Göteborg, Sweden
Genre: Progressive death metal
Label: Music for Nations/Koch
Producer: Opeth, Steven Wilson



History / Background

Following a few live dates in Europe, Opeth's guitarist and vocalist Mikael Åkerfeldt went to an old friend's house in Stockholm, Sweden, to record some demos and develop ideas for the new album. The album is named after the German progressive rock band of the same name and was the first album for which the group had a title before they started recording. A few months later when Åkerfeldt was having dinner with Porcupine Tree frontman Steven Wilson, Åkerfeldt discussed the idea of Wilson producing the next Opeth album. After Åkerfeldt sent Wilson the demos he had recorded, Wilson agreed to produce the album.

Opeth entered Studio Fredman to begin work on Blackwater Park on August 10, 2000. The band had no previous lyrics written and had only rehearsed three times before entering the studio. The band's engineer Fredrik Nordström had arranged for the group to stay in a small room in the studio that had four beds. Opeth stayed there for around two weeks and then later rented out Dark Tranquillity member Mikael Stanne's flat. After recording the basic drums, rhythms, bass and acoustic guitars, Wilson arrived to produce the clean vocals and add some guitar leads. Åkerfeldt wrote that Wilson had an "immense impact on the recording" and after working with him the group entered "a new phase".

Åkerfeldt described the recording of the album as "rather smooth". Soilwork was recording in the studio at the same time as Opeth. Åkerfeldt wrote that Opeth felt like "a bunch of amateurs in comparison. They were working all the time. When they came into the kitchen for a break, we're still there, on the same break we took 3 hours ago. We don't want this to become a 'job', or something you do because you have to. We wanna have a good time, and thus we only work when it feels right."

Music

Following the piano chord that occupies the very first seconds of Opeth's 2000 release, Blackwater Park, a crashing riff comes in, that promises that the album to come will take the listeners on a roller coaster ride through heavy peaks and soft, soothing moments. Opeth's Blackwater Park is a clear example of how both beauty and absolute brutal mayhem can be combined into one near perfect package. This album is one of the progressive death metal bands most popular releases.

Album opener The Leper Affinity is the perfect song to showcase both the bands talent and the bands signature sound. For a while, this song is absolutely bone crushing, with some very heavy riffing, great growled vocals from Mikael Akerfeldt, and then, all of a sudden, the song changes. The way this song flows from the heavy to the soft is simply breath taking, and this song is the perfect introduction to Mikael's vocals. He can do very low growls, which neither lack emotion nor energy, and then he can also do some gorgeous clean vocals, that soothe the ears. I can honestly not think of many better vocalists out there then Opeth's Mikael Akerfeldt.

If the opener wasn't enough of a ride, then track 2 certainly will be. Bleak has always been my favorite song Opeth ever put out. This song is fantastically composed, beginning with an extremely heavy and yet atmospheric section, before going into a blues section in the middle, and then building back up to a thrilling finale. The growls on this song are some of the best on the album, and the clean vocals do not slack off either. The guitar work for this song is utterly amazing, with some powerhouse riffs in there, and the gorgeous instrumentals in the middle section. This song is one of the most perfect songs ever released.

"Harvest" and "The Drapery Falls" are two much more atmospheric songs, that drag on for a while and showcase some more great clean singing from Mikael. "Harvest" is one of the bands most popular songs, and the reason is immediately clear, with the fantastic use of various dynamics to create one of the most perfect atmospheres found in music. This song was an indication of what later albums would bring, as it had no metal found in it whatsoever. "The Drapery Fall"s contains some growls, and great lyrics to accompany them, but is more focused on building a mood and a real feeling of desperation unmatched by any other song. Also, the ending of "The Drapery Falls" is so damn catchy and good.

"Dirge For November", "The Funeral Portrait" and "Patterns In The Ivy" are all brilliant in their own right, with the former being a song that contains 2 minutes of acoustic work, before the real heavy side of the band kicks in and it is, as usual, perfectly put together. "Patterns In The Ivy" is a pure instrumental acoustic song that merely leads as a warm up to the absolute brutality that is the title track. This song contains some utterly crushing riffs, quite possibly the heaviest on the album, and the song is just made even better by the 2 minute softer part in the middle. The lyrics to this song are extremely well written, depicting an evil environment that does not bare thinking about. This is Opeth at their absolute peak of brutality.

My Thoughts

The instrumental work on this album is fairly technical, and fantastically written, with some real talent behind it. Each song conveys the emotions and mood that the lyrics would suggest brilliantly, creating a sense of dread that is missing from so many albums. This is a text book album on how to create a dense atmosphere without ever once compromising the musical integrity of the album. The growls and clean vocals are nearly perfect on here, proving Mikael time and time again to be one of the fore runners in the metal vocals scene. This album is a flat out classic that may take a few listens to get into, but once it has you hooked it will never let you go. Utterly incredible

Personally, my ranking for this album is:

1. Bleak
2. Harvest
3. The Drapery Falls
4. Dirge for November
5. Leper Affinity
6. The Funeral Portrait
7. Blackwater Park
8. Patterns in the Ivy
Title: Re: The Opeth Discography Thread
Post by: Onno on December 07, 2016, 07:53:53 AM
Probably my favourite Opeth album, and for good reason. It was also the first Opeth album that clicked for me. I think The Funeral Portrait is the weakest song here for me, but it's still really really good.
Title: Re: The Opeth Discography Thread
Post by: ChuckSteak on December 07, 2016, 08:06:10 AM
Probably also my favorite Opeth album.

1. Blackwater Park
2. The Funeral Portrait
3. The Drapery Falls
4. The Leper Affinity
5. Bleak
6. Dirge For November
7. Harvest
8. Patterns In the Ivy
Title: Re: The Opeth Discography Thread
Post by: Elite on December 07, 2016, 08:08:15 AM
Probably my favourite Opeth album, and for good reason.

Yeah. And a top 10 album overall. Absolutely phenomenal.
Title: Re: The Opeth Discography Thread
Post by: Casino-95 on December 07, 2016, 08:15:38 AM
This was the first Opeth album I bought; I think it was in 2006.  To this day, BWP is one of my favorites along with Still Life.

1. Bleak
2. Blackwater Park
3. The Drapery Falls
4. Harvest
5. The Leper Affinity
6. The Funeral Portrait
7. Dirge for November
8. Patterns in the Ivy

I don't think it has any weak songs.

I almost ranked the bonus tracks, but I think they're too different from the rest of the album.  I highly recommend them to anyone who hasn't heard them.
Title: Re: The Opeth Discography Thread
Post by: seasonsinthesky on December 07, 2016, 01:03:07 PM
BWP is perfect, as far as I'm concerned. Super well-paced tracklist, no excess of fadeouts because Mike couldn't figure out a better ending (a problem suffered very badly on some other Opeth albums), the best mix I've heard in metal, and great artwork.

The 'legacy edition' really fucked this album up. The new cover art is shite, the live bonus track is worse shite, and the 5.1 mix fundamentally alters the music by changing the drum samples (for the worse) and removing a lot of reverb that was in no way a problem on the original (in opposition, perhaps, to Still Life, though I love that mix anyway). It was done by Jens Bogren, who usually does a great job, but was asked to fuck up BWP for no reason.

I wish they'd reissue the vinyl with the original art and no bonus track.

1. Leper
2. Funeral Portrait
3. BWP
4. Dirge
5. Bleak
6. Harvest
7. PITI
8. Drapery

(So ranked because I wore out Bleak, Harvest & TPF.)
Title: Re: The Opeth Discography Thread
Post by: ? on December 07, 2016, 01:52:29 PM
My 2nd least favorite album behind Deliverance. The first half includes some of the best Opeth songs ever, but the quality drops dramatically with Dirge. The title-track has grown on me, but I still find it a little overlong and overrated.
Title: Re: The Opeth Discography Thread
Post by: ChuckSteak on December 07, 2016, 03:36:35 PM
^

That sure is a controversial opinion. :)
Title: Re: The Opeth Discography Thread
Post by: The King in Crimson on December 07, 2016, 10:38:02 PM
This is a good album. After initially dismissing it, I've slowly come around over the years though my assessment of it is nowhere near as positive as the rest of Opeth's fanbase is. It's not in my top three it probably sits somewhere firmly in the middle of the pack. I think my biggest issue is how bland and samey I find some of the album aside from a couple of tracks that stand head and shoulders above the others, the rest just kind of flow one into the other without distinguishing themselves much. I always find myself just half paying attention to most of the album, very little catches me and grabs hold. I can see and admit that it is a good album, a lot of it just does nothing for me.
Title: Re: The Opeth Discography Thread
Post by: Casino-95 on December 08, 2016, 02:19:50 PM
Quote
Fever mirrored ghosts
Night time consolation, cross the line
Draw murder into art
Sleep inside through days

In the wake of this relief
Shivering, longing for more
Insanity at its peak
Love me to my death

I completely forgot about this until today.  Not long after I got this album, I had to write a paper about Hamlet for my high school AP English class.  In it, I quoted the above lyrics from "The Leper Affinity."

If I remember correctly, I compared them to Shakespeare's play and how the themes are still relevant today.  This was in the paper's intro, and I then transitioned to the main topic, which I believe was about Hamlet's fake madness.

I did ultimately get an A on that paper.  :metal
Title: Re: The Opeth Discography Thread
Post by: KevShmev on December 08, 2016, 06:02:45 PM
I just realized I had not posted in this thread yet.

Still Life remains, to be, the best and most consistent Opeth album to date.  All seven songs are tremendous; no weak link in there at all.

Blackwater Park is nearly as good, but while I can listen to every song from Still Life without any hesitation, I find that I rarely listen to half of the songs from BWP.  Bleak, Harvest, The Drapery Falls and Patterns in the Ivy are all among my most-listened-to Opeth tunes, but I don't reach for the other four that often (even though I like them all).
Title: Re: The Opeth Discography Thread
Post by: Serah Farron on December 08, 2016, 07:15:59 PM
I just realized I had not posted in this thread yet.

Still Life remains, to be, the best and most consistent Opeth album to date.  All seven songs are tremendous; no weak link in there at all.

Blackwater Park is nearly as good, but while I can listen to every song from Still Life without any hesitation, I find that I rarely listen to half of the songs from BWP.  Bleak, Harvest, The Drapery Falls and Patterns in the Ivy are all among my most-listened-to Opeth tunes, but I don't reach for the other four that often (even though I like them all).

Really? What is your opinion on Deliverance and Damnation? I thought they were pretty consistent too. Although I agree that Still Life is amazing (though I haven't fully immersed myself to listen to it.)
Title: Re: The Opeth Discography Thread
Post by: KevShmev on December 08, 2016, 08:42:47 PM
I'll go into more details when those albums are featured, but for now I will just say that Deliverance is some great and some forgettable, while Damnation is as consistent as Still Life, but its highs aren't quite as high.
Title: Re: The Opeth Discography Thread
Post by: Serah Farron on December 08, 2016, 08:50:32 PM
Interesting! Can't wait! Thanks!
Title: Re: The Opeth Discography Thread
Post by: Elite on December 09, 2016, 02:16:32 AM
I'll blast this album later today.
Title: Re: The Opeth Discography Thread
Post by: seasonsinthesky on December 09, 2016, 05:17:23 AM
I'll blast this album later today.

Exactly what I did yesterday to 'break in' my new monitors. To say it sounded sexual is, err, an understatement (or something).

Still my favourite mix on any metal album. The mastering is a bit too loud, of course, but it thankfully didn't blow out the mix. Everything sits just perfectly, nothing is out of proportion, it has just the right amount of reverb in just the right places, and the quad (I think) tracking of the guitars make those Laney amps sound like gargantuan walls of silk. (Coincidentally something it has in common with the album I played afterward, Panopticon by Isis.)
Title: Re: The Opeth Discography Thread
Post by: Elite on December 09, 2016, 05:24:20 AM
Really though, quad-tracking is the way to go.
Title: Re: The Opeth Discography Thread
Post by: Zydar on December 09, 2016, 06:14:00 AM
This album was my introduction to Opeth, with 'Harvest' being the first song of theirs I ever heard. I'd rank the album #2 after Ghost Reveries.
Title: Re: The Opeth Discography Thread
Post by: Scar on December 10, 2016, 06:39:29 PM


Deliverance (2002)


(https://i1262.photobucket.com/albums/ii616/heeseungeun9841/Opeth_-_Deliverance_zpsmlrwfcso.jpg)


Release date: 12 November 2002
Length: 61:50


Tracklist:
Bold denotes bonus track.

1. "Wreath"   
2. "Deliverance"    
3. "A Fair Judgement"
4. "For Absent Friends" (Instrumental)
5. "Master's Apprentices"
6. "By the Pain I See in Others"   

Personnel:

Mikael Åkerfeldt – vocals, guitar, acoustic guitar
Peter Lindgren – guitar
Martín Méndez – bass
Martin Lopez – drums
Steven Wilson - backing vocals, additional guitars, Mellotron, piano, keyboards, production, engineering

22 July 2002 – 4 September 2002 at Maestro Musik and Studio Fredman
Genre: Progressive death metal
Label: Music for Nations/Koch
Producer: Mikael Akerfeldt, Steven Wilson



History / Background

The band originally intended for Deliverance and Damnation to be released as a double album, but the record company eventually decided against this and released them separately, approximately five months apart from one another in order to promote them properly.

The recording sessions also became a writing session of two albums worth of material, causing the recordings to be long as there were no songs written prior to that point. Åkerfeldt wrote the songs in the night and recorded them with the band during the days.

The track "Master's Apprentices" was named after the Australian hard/progressive rock group The Masters Apprentices. The track "For Absent Friends" was named after a song of the same name, originally appearing on the album Nursery Cryme by progressive rock group Genesis.

At the end of "By the Pain I See in Others", the final note fades slowly and ends at 10:40. Silence follows until 12:00, followed by two backmasked verses from "Master's Apprentices" at 12:20 and 13:15. This two backmasking verses are a ghost track.

Music

Deliverance for me is an amazing album and easily my most favorite album. Deliverance is packed with almost everything: beautiful cleans, amazing growls, heavy riffing, instrumental sections....everything! The most immediately impressive aspect of Deliverance is the drumming of Martin Lopez. Despite Opeth scaling back the diversity and ambition of past releases, Lopez manages to go all out in speed and ferocity while avoiding dominating the spotlight.

A tumbling drum roll kicks off album opener “Wreath” into a bewilderingly fast metal number containing furious metal riffing over pounding drums and dissonant interludes. Gone are the doomy soundscapes and jazzy influences of previous releases. Deliverance is all about the speed and the metal, but it wouldn’t be Opeth without the lighter sections. “Master’s Apprentices” contains a beautifully pensive middle section with melodic guitar taking the spotlight alongside Åkerfeldt’s melodic singing. The middle section of “Deliverance” is similar, making use of drummer Lopez’s loose drumming style and off kilter beats before exploding into a shredding guitar solo section similar to “Wreath.” Among the most profound and emotive moments of Deliverance is the unsettling quiet section right before the crushingly heavy outro. Twin acoustic guitars strum riffs and chords, playing off of each other over more of Lopez’s fill-heavy drumming. Åkerfeldt gives one of his most menacingly subtle vocal performances, softly delivering the lines “Deliverance, thrown back at me. Deliverance, laughing at me.” It’s a perfect display of Opeth once again conveying emotion and grabbing the listener’s attention by taking a sharp departure from what was expected.

Lyrical themes largely revolve around loss, regret, and death. Epic ballad “A Fair Judgement” includes dissonant guitar chords and leads with heartbreaking prose and imagery, “Losing sleep, in too deep. Fading sun, what have I done? Came so close, to what I need most, nothing's left here. Cut the ties, uncover disguise… Soul sacrifice, forgot the advice. Lost track of time, in a flurry of smoke. Waiting anxiety, for a fair judgement deserved.” After a quiet vocal and piano duet with Åkerfeldt heartbreakingly crooning of redemption and regret, Opeth once again pull the rug from under the listener with one of the heaviest and most dissonant outros of the album. A beautiful interplay of acoustic and electric guitar follows in the form of “For Absent Friends.” The short but sweet ballad serves as a much needed reprieve from the more intense, discordant moments of before.

What ultimately makes Deliverance such a success is the interplay of different musical stylings and dynamics in a more concise fashion. Never before have Opeth’s flirtations with light and dark played off each so successfully and consistently. The light section of “Masters Apprentices” becomes an album highlight when sandwiched between the death metal intro and crushingly heavy finale. The diversity and relentless tonal shifts of past releases are refined into a calculated and straightforward dichotomy of beautiful melodies interplaying with brutal heaviness. As a result, the songwriting is more digestible and gripping overall. The title track and “Masters Apprentices” contain enough twists and turns to keep the listener interested, while straightforward metal numbers like “Wreath” and “By The Pain I See In Others” exhaust every trick Åkerfeldt and co. have up their sleeves to keep the 10+ minute epics interesting. Not a single moment is wasted in the whole hour, and by the time the final piano note of “By The Pain…” fades into silence, you will be floored by the truly exhausting listen, containing elements of light, dark, and everything in between.

My Thoughts

This is an amazing album, my favorite, as I've stated. It has really melodious songs, as well has brutal songs. "By the Pain" also took hell of a while to get to me, but this song is truly a gem.

No album has ever affected me like this, this album is truly a masterpiece to behold.

Personally, my ranking for this album is:

1. "By the Pain I See in Others"
2. "Deliverance"
3. "Master's Apprentices"
4. "Wreath"
5. "A Fair Judgement"
6. "For Absent Friends"
Title: Re: The Opeth Discography Thread
Post by: Serah Farron on December 10, 2016, 06:52:38 PM
Bloody solid album.

"A Fair Judgement" is my favorite song off of this album. It is soo haunting and that guitar solo in the end into that fantastic outro. Bloody amazing.
Title: Re: The Opeth Discography Thread
Post by: ChuckSteak on December 10, 2016, 07:56:25 PM
This is a very love/hate album, but personally I find it fantastic. I am not a big fan of the production and I think the older albums sound better. Deliverance, Master's Apprentices, Wreath and A Fair Judgement are amazing songs and some of Opeth's best.

The ending of Deliverance (song) could have been shorter though. I think it drags unnecessarily a bit.

My ranking:

1. Master's Apprentices
2. Wreath
3. Deliverance
4. A Fair Judgement
5. By The Pain I See In Others
6. For Absent Friends
Title: Re: The Opeth Discography Thread
Post by: ? on December 11, 2016, 05:03:16 AM
To quote my earlier post from the official Opeth thread:
Deliverance is easily my least favorite Opeth album, though the title-track and Master's Apprentices are two of their best songs ever. Wreath and AFJ are alright but overstay their welcome, and BTPISIO is a bit of a mess with some good parts and some bad stuff. It feels like Mikael tried to write a heavy album, but he didn't have enough quality metal riffs so he ended up repeating the ones that he had ad nauseam. Damnation sounds so much more genuine and natural to my ears.
But speaking of the title-track, here's a creepy koala for ya :metal
(https://www.metalsucks.net/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/motivator86983b174f7cd2c037cdf4533a877ae21d5e3655.jpg)
Title: Re: The Opeth Discography Thread
Post by: seasonsinthesky on December 11, 2016, 12:02:43 PM
Can we talk about the mess that is Bruce Soord's new mix of this album? It's got more low end, but that's about all it has going for it. The massive, but tasteful reverb on the drums is completely gone, the guitars sound even more hollow – I dunno why they were okay with the 'SM57 direct on the cone' sound when their Laneys were so sexy on BWP – and he made a few weird mix choices that don't add anything to the dynamics. With the vocals too loud and the guitars pushed back too far, I think it's a great case for why you don't ask a guy who's never made metal in his life to mix a profoundly metal album.

The original is solid, if boring sometimes, but at least the original mix is totally listenable and huge.
Title: Re: The Opeth Discography Thread
Post by: ChuckSteak on December 11, 2016, 12:12:50 PM
The mix is horrible. Some solos literally disappeared.
Title: Re: The Opeth Discography Thread
Post by: Casino-95 on December 12, 2016, 08:21:34 AM
I just relistened to Deliverance and Damnation, and neither one really did anything for me.  I need to take a break from them before I try again.
Title: Re: The Opeth Discography Thread
Post by: KevShmev on December 12, 2016, 08:52:02 PM
The title track and A Fair Judgement are both killer; two of their best.

Master's Apprentice is good, but is one of those good songs I never listen to.

I have no use for the other three songs.
Title: Re: The Opeth Discography Thread
Post by: Elite on December 13, 2016, 04:23:37 AM
From this album, the only song I listen to regularly is the title-track. Master's Apprentices is probably the first Opeth track I ever heard, so that one has a special place with me as well. The other four tracks are good (Wreath gets way too much slack here), but I only listen to them when I listen to the album in full. A Fair Judgement is always a nice surprising listen on this record. Despite likely being their heaviest, I feel like this record is pretty dynamic as well. Good stuff, and far better than its counterpart, Damnation.
Title: Re: The Opeth Discography Thread
Post by: Zantera on December 15, 2016, 08:05:17 AM
Deliverance might be their best album, definitely up there.
Title: Re: The Opeth Discography Thread
Post by: Scar on December 15, 2016, 09:51:24 AM
Will post Damnation tonight...

Nice responses.  :tup :tup
Title: Re: The Opeth Discography Thread
Post by: Ben_Jamin on December 15, 2016, 10:10:17 AM
The only Deliverance songs I've heard are the ones played on Lamentations, and I loved them. My favorite being A Fair Judgement. Starting the set with Masters Apprentice was just awesome.

I'm amazed at myself because I haven't bought this album.
Title: Re: The Opeth Discography Thread
Post by: Scar on December 16, 2016, 02:49:12 PM


Damnation (2003)


(https://i1262.photobucket.com/albums/ii616/heeseungeun9841/Damnation_cover_zps3jk6hqev.jpg)


Release date: 22 April 2003
Length: 43:20


Tracklist:

1. "Windowpane"   
2. "In My Time of Need"    
3. "Death Whispered a Lullaby"
4. "Closure"
5. "Hope Leaves"
6. "To Rid the Disease"   
7. "Ending Credits"
8. "Weakness"

Personnel:

Mikael Åkerfeldt – vocals, guitar, acoustic guitar
Peter Lindgren – guitar
Martín Méndez – bass
Martin Lopez – drums
Steven Wilson - backing vocals, additional guitars, Mellotron, piano, keyboards, production, engineering

Recorded: 22 July – 4 September 2002
Maestro Musik, Studio Fredman

Genre: Progressive rock
Label: Koch
Producer: Opeth, Steven Wilson



History / Background

Damnation is the seventh full-length studio album by heavy metal band Opeth. It was released on 22 April 2003, five months after Deliverance, which was recorded at the same time. Damnation was produced by Steven Wilson. Mikael Åkerfeldt dedicated both albums to his grandmother, who died in a car accident during the time the albums were being recorded.

The album was a radical departure from Opeth's typical death metal sound, and the first Opeth album to use all clean vocals, clean guitars, and prominent mellotron, as well as being inspired by 1970s progressive rock, which typically features no heavy riffs or extended fast tempos. Despite the change in style from Opeth's previous albums, Damnation was critically acclaimed and boosted their popularity, leading to the release of Lamentations on DVD in late 2003.

Music

This album is the first album without any traces of death metal vocals. This is all Mikael's clean vocals as well as being acoustic for most of the album. This album is a real depressing album and mostly talk about regret, sadness, and being alone.

The first song "Windowpane", is a wonder to behold. The longest song in this album, clocking at 7 minutes, this song starts off with an acoustic intro. There are some really cool Lindgren/Akerfeldt guitar duets in this piece as well as Wilson's really haunting mellotron. I really love the outro when Mikael fades off at: "Given dreams all ridden with pain. And projected unto the last." The song ends with the mellotron and acoustic guitar.

The next song "In My Time of Need" was first disliked by me, but over time, I began to really love and appreciate this song. One reason why this song is a real hit for me is because of Wilson's mellotron and his vocal contributions. He has a distinct high pitched voice and man, I love Wilson so much. This song begins with an acoustic introduction, as does most of the songs (so I won't be writing this every time), and has a vocal phrasing that turns people off. He sings one word at a time, putting a pause between each word. Anyways, the outro of this song brings me to literal tears every single time. :)

The third song, "Death Whispered a Lullaby" was written by Steven Wilson and he contributes vocally here also. This song's chorus is sung by death itself........I mean, Mikael sings it, but as the lyrics say, it is death speaking to its victim. This is such a sweet song and the outro man....the guitar work and how it all goes from crazy to silently fading.

"Hope Leaves", "Closure", and "To Rid the Disease" follow a similar pattern to the song. Those three songs are amazing, as they have fantastic chorus', Mikael sings them fantastically, really haunting instrumental works, and these songs really set the mood.

"Ending Credits" is not the last song of the album, though judging from the title, it should be, but this song is filled with haunting guitar melodies, fantastic mellotron work, and the impeccable Martin Lopez and Mendez. Guitar harmonies will knock you off your feet as you wake up from an adventure you just had from listening to really depressing stuff. :( :(

"Weakness" is a really interesting song. There are no traces of drums or bass, only mellotron and the guitar. Devil cracked the earthly shell. Foretold she was the one. Blew hope into the room and said: "You have to live before you die young".. Anyways, this song is dedicated to Mikael's grandmother who tragically died in a car crash. The ending of the song is Mikael only as the song fades out. I once had Ghost Reveries after this song and after Damnation finished and the soft introduction from Ghost Reveries came in, I thought the album was still Damnation so I had my eyes closed, guard down. Then Mikael's brutal vocals from "Ghost of Perdition "comes in and I'm scared shiteless.

My reaction? Doesn't Damnation have no harsh vocals??? WTF.

My Thoughts

To put it bluntly, I love everything about this album. I wouldn't say that this album is "metal," but that doesn't really matter in the grand scheme of things. No other album I've ever listened to has connected with me in the same way. It is a truly sad and melancholy bunch of songs, and it is a great soundtrack to depression. I've recently gone through the worst depression of my life, as my relationship with the first woman I've ever truly loved came crashing down. When I listen to this music, I feel like Mikael and the rest of the band understand exactly what I'm feeling, and Akerfeldt's lyrics put into words the emotions I just can't fully express. Sure, the music is slow and has no elements of aggression whatsoever, but that is a good thing. This album wouldn't be as profound if it were heavy.

The vocals on this album are absolutely top notch. Mikael Akerfeldt truly shines here. As much as I adore his style of growled vocals, his clean singing is beautiful. The vocal melodies and harmonies are haunting, and I guarantee that after a few listens these songs will be stuck in your head. The lyrics are amazing as well, most dealing with loss and sorrow. My favorite lyrics on the album have to be "Hope Leaves." Although the song is about the bitter sorrow felt because of the death of a loved one, I can completely relate to the feeling of hopelessness after having the love of my life walk out on me.

The guitar work on this album is phenomenal. Lindgren and Akerfeldt are a perfect duo, complimenting each other all the time. There is no distortion on the guitars, which is another good thing. Because of the clean tones, the guitar feels fluid and natural. The chord choices and progressions are great, and the leads are tasteful and full of emotion.

Martin Mendez does a great job of holding down the low end on this album. His bass tone is warm, and his bass lines are tasteful and appropriate. He only adds to the music, and doesn't try to show off or take the spotlight (even though he is certainly skilled enough to.)

Martin Lopez is a great drummer and this album truly showcases his full abilities. There is no double bass here and the drums aren't as technical as a normal Opeth release. That's totally fine though, because his drumming is varied and impressive. He can do it all as he plays jazz-like parts or Latin styles with ease. The production of the drums is excellent as well, and Lopez is a great match for bass player Mendez.

One final note, the keyboards on this album are great. Handled by famed producer and musician Steven Wilson, the keys bring so much richness and atmosphere to the songs. The music greatly benefits from the use of keyboards and organ and wouldn't be the same without. I would love to give highlights, but I can't pick out any truly favorite parts. This whole thing is perfect from start to finish.

Personally, my ranking for this album is:

1. "Windowpane"
2. "To Rid the Disease"
3. "In My Time of Need"
4. "Closure"
5. "Death Whispered a Lullaby"
6. "Ending Credits"
7. "Hope Leaves"
8. "Weakness"
Title: Re: The Opeth Discography Thread
Post by: Serah Farron on December 16, 2016, 05:15:24 PM
It's freaking Damnation. Enough said. Excellent album and always chilling to listen too.
Title: Re: The Opeth Discography Thread
Post by: Big Hath on December 17, 2016, 12:58:15 AM
this was my first Opeth album.  The mood and atmosphere drew me in immediately.  Great album.
Title: Re: The Opeth Discography Thread
Post by: ? on December 17, 2016, 01:05:34 AM
Damnation :heart

You can tell this was the album Mikael had always wanted to make. The atmosphere is incredible, Windowpane and TRTD are among my favorites from Opeth, and the album itself is in my top 3.
Title: Re: The Opeth Discography Thread
Post by: Polarbear on December 17, 2016, 01:24:21 AM
I'm not 100% on this, but i think Windowpane might be my favorite Opeth song!
Title: Re: The Opeth Discography Thread
Post by: ? on December 17, 2016, 01:27:57 AM
I'm not 100% on this, but i think Windowpane might be my favorite Opeth song!
It might be mine too, or at least in top 5.
Title: Re: The Opeth Discography Thread
Post by: ChuckSteak on December 17, 2016, 02:58:49 AM
Even though I enjoy all the songs on Damnation, I think it is Opeth's weakest album and I rarely listen to it.
Title: Re: The Opeth Discography Thread
Post by: KevShmev on December 17, 2016, 08:36:33 AM
Love this record.  Probably my 4th favorite of theirs, right after Still Life, Ghost Reveries and Blackwater Park. 

No weak spots, just one great song after another.   :tup :tup
Title: Re: The Opeth Discography Thread
Post by: Dave_Manchester on December 17, 2016, 04:48:58 PM
Interesting thread, I've only now noticed it so I've missed all the discussion of the albums up to Damnation. A few thoughts...

My Opeth love-affair begins at Still Life. The 3 albums before that are interesting and have some highlights but don't do much for me, whereas Still Life is such an amazing record. Every song is a gem and taken together it adds up to one of my favourite concept albums.

I'm not the fan of Blackwater Park that many Opeth fans are. I love the title track, and parts of the rest (Bleak is very good but how many times do I need to hear that damn riff, first Tool, then Dream Theater, then Opeth...), but on the whole I've never quite 'got' this album's hallowed reputation. I think Opeth did far better (Ghost Reveries for example is, in my opinion, what Blackwater Park set out to do, but did it infinitely better. I'll expand on that when it's that album's turn for discussion).

Deliverance is a top 3 album to me. Wreath is perhaps my favourite Opeth song (at least tied with The Baying of the Hounds). Quite a unique album, this one, at least in my collection (I'm not much of a metal fan).

Damnation is a very nice listen, but nothing great. Too many of the elements which make Opeth such an incredible band are not on that album. That said, a few of those elements are brought to the fore and, for what it is, it's a superb example of that side of Opeth.

Looking forward to the Ghost Reveries discussion. That, to me, is the band's zenith.
Title: Re: The Opeth Discography Thread
Post by: Casino-95 on December 18, 2016, 08:38:15 AM
I've listened to Damnation three times in the past few days, and it didn't do as much for me as it used to.  I found the second half particularly weak.

I'm taking a break from this album before I try again.
Title: Re: The Opeth Discography Thread
Post by: Scar on December 19, 2016, 08:15:30 PM
Ok, Ghost will be up shortly.
Title: Re: The Opeth Discography Thread
Post by: Scar on December 20, 2016, 04:37:26 PM


Ghost Reveries (2005)


(https://i1262.photobucket.com/albums/ii616/heeseungeun9841/Ghost_Reveries_Opeth_album_cover_zpsxknmkxoc.jpg)


Release date: August 29, 2005
Length: 66:46


Tracklist:

1. "Ghost of Perdition"   
2. "Baying of the Hounds"    
3. "Beneath the Mire"
4. "Atonement"
5. "Harlequin Forest"
6. "Hours of Wealth"   
7. "The Grand Conjuration"
8. "Isolation Years"

Personnel:

Mikael Åkerfeldt – vocals, rhythm guitar, lead guitar, acoustic guitar, Mellotron
Peter Lindgren – lead guitar
Martín Méndez – bass
Per Wiberg – Hammond organ, Mellotron, grand piano, Moog
Martin Lopez – drums, percussion
Martin Axenrot − drums ("Soldier of Fortune")

Recorded March 15–June 1, 2005
[/size]
Genre: Progressive metal, Death metal[/size]
Label: Roadrunner[/size]
Producer: Jens Bogren, Opeth[/size]



History / Background

For the first time since Still Life, the songs for Ghost Reveries were written for the album before going into the studio. This gave Opeth three weeks to rehearse and perfect the recording in the studio. The band had to decide whether to record the album at Fascination Street Studios in Örebro, Sweden, or at Sonic Ranch. They eventually chose Fascination Street Studios, as it was closer to their homes.

Ghost Reveries was initially intended to be a concept album, with numerous tracks linking together a story of a man's turmoil after committing an unconscionable act, symbolised by killing his own mother. However, Mikael Åkerfeldt commented:

"I had intended to do a occult concept piece lyrically and got off to a great start with some downright evil lyrics like "The Baying of the Hounds" and "Ghost of Perdition", then I did "Isolation Years" which had nothing to do with the intended concept but I liked it so much I decided to ease up on the concept idea in favour of this one lyric. Why I decided on a occult theme? Well, I've always been intrigued by it, especially Satanism and stuff like that. I studied some books that oddly enough my wife had in her collection like "Servants of Satan" as well as "Witchcraft and Sorcery" + some more. I figured it'd be interesting to see what a mature 31 year old mind would make of this subject as opposed to the 16 year old kid who used to pose in front of his Bathory poster. I'm quite happy with them to be honest, and they're ... evil!"

The album only partly portrays a concept, not fully arranged in the poetic manner as previous releases such as Still Life and My Arms, Your Hearse.

"The Baying of the Hounds" is partially inspired by lyrics from the song "Diana" from Comus's album First Utterance.

Music

“Ghost of Perdition” makes use of some excellent grooving riff work in conjunction with strong vocal melodies and ample dynamic exploration throughout, coming up with something along the lines of what I’d imagine “Godhead’s Lament” would have sounded like had it attempted some versatility in its arrangement. “Beneath the Mire” even goes as far as to incorporate some slightly funk-inspired riffing in the beginning, and a couple of menacing stop-start, staccato sections towards the end that provide a very unique rhythmic emphasis unlike anything else the band has done. Softer material has a quite sizable representation across three separate tracks, though in opposition to the typical acoustic ballads as displayed on Damnation or elsewhere, these exercises tend to operate on a more experimental, somewhat trance-like basis. “Atonement” and “Isolation Years” are the two more memorable instances, the former for its abundance of tribal influence and subdued, meditative atmosphere, and the latter for the sheer emotional quality of its chorus.

The three shorter songs, called Atonement, Hours of Wealth and Isolation Years, are particularly dominated by the use of keyboards. Atonement has a slightly jazzy feeling to it, but it's the vocals that shine the most – it's one of the most emotional moments of the entire album, with a beautiful, slightly processed voice that really remains in your mind... Hours of Wealth may be the weakest track of Ghost Reveries, but it still works as a very good acoustic interlude. However, the closing track – Isolation Years – is a different thing entirely. The most melancholic and the shortest track on the album, but full of emotion and feeling, it's extremely memorable since the first listen, and the perfect ending of the album, it's also probably the most impressive clean vocal performance of Mikael Akerfeldt on Ghost Reveries. The most impressive growling performance, on the other hand, would be the first half of The Baying of The Hounds. Actually I'll go as far as saying this is one of the best growling performances I've ever heard, with a really deep, dark, powerful voice, that really will make you feel the lyrics (and we're talking about lyrics such as “the cities lay dead and beyond despair”). The truth is that vocals on the whole album are absolutely top notch, emotional, powerful and simply excellent in every way, and these examples are just the ones that stand out the most, but there are many, many more (such as the beautiful “Drown in the deep mire...” part – The Baying of The Hounds, again). I admit I had considered Mikael Akerfeldt a good, but not great vocalist – I was proved entirely wrong by this album, which is vocal-wise one of the best things I've ever heard. The metal side of the album is nearly perfect as well, and the aforementioned The Baying of the Hounds is one of the heaviest tracks, dominated by excellent death metal riffs, with a particularly great, heavy, chugging one around the 7th minute. Another one is the opener, Ghost of Perdition (which seems to have gained a nearly untouchable spot in the band's live setlist), also alternating a bit between heavier and softer moments, both being equally brilliant. Beneath The Mire is the most unusual and probably also the most prog-metal oriented track on the album, with a slightly more technical approach and some unconventional experiments (such as the opening riff), and also an amazing outro. And then, there's the song which has really possessed me. But hell, I'm happy with that.

It's called The Grand Conjuration, and it's hands down the heaviest and darkest piece on Ghost Reveries. It's the most focused on the theme of occultism and ritual, which is rather obvious, looking at the title, and the atmosphere is so dark and dense that it's capable of giving chills during most of its duration. On one hand, there's the particularly grim growling style, sounding like you really don't want to mess with him, and on the other – there are the quiet moments, with a repeating low guitar sound, and a clean, silent, nearly whispered vocal style... but the way it sounds is so incredibly discomforting (especially with the “ritual” whispers in the background here and there) that it manages to sound even darker than the heavy parts, which, by the way, are just filled with amazing riffs, from start to finish. And the outro... I've mentioned it when talking about keyboards, I'm mentioning it again, and it's still not enough. I'm listening to this song for around the twentieth time and it feels just as incredible, monumental and powerful as for the first time. I'm not the “if it's the heaviest, it's my favorite” type, especially on albums like this, but this is an exception... One more thing that shines on the album, in fact on The Grand Conjuration the most, is the drumming. This is the last Opeth album with Martin Lopez, and his performance here is excellent, with lots of finesse and feeling, but also a lot of punch in the heavier parts.

My Thoughts

Ghost Reveries, whoo, it's amazing and it holds up as a unique experience and a masterpiece of progressive metal. An expansion upon the trademark sound presented in Blackwater Park, Opeth bring in new influences, hire a keyboardist, and step up their songwriting game. The result is a rather eclectic, atmospherically dark, and intense album – intense in composition without sounding cluttered, in technicality, in experimentation, in energy, and above all, it is ambitious.

Initially intended to be another concept album, Ghost Reveries has something to do with a man who kills his mother, and Satan is involved because gotta love those metal stereotypes. The idea wasn’t fully carried through with, resulting in the “concept” being no more than the repetition of a few words and phrases scattered throughout the songs (e.g. “the hounds” and “the mire” are repeated often during GR). Either way, the common words and lyrical themes create a unifying effect, helping to hold together an album that is already quite cohesive.

More importantly, the instrumentation is fantastic, Akerfeldt’s vocals a classic mix between clean singing and growls; neither of them have downhill after fifteen years. Martin Lopez’s versatile drumming never ceases to amaze as he works in excellent fills, rapid double bass, and engaging, original beats. The inclusion of ethnic drums in the album’s middle songs signifies just another influence in this incredibly diverse album. Ghost Reveries is teeming with great riffs, from the slow, soothing bass groove of Atonement, to the vicious, heavy assaults found during brief straight-up death metal portions of the longer songs, and The Grand Conjuration’s plain evil main riff. The keyboards add a new dimension to Opeth’s sound and provide more options for the band, notably that weird but catchy, enjoyable riff at the beginning of Beneath the Mire. The guitar solos are well-performed, technical, and impressive, though they tend to slide under the radar, not being the focal points of the songs.

The main appeal of Ghost Reveries is of course the songwriting. The five long/heavy songs rely not only the previously established interplay between death metal and acoustic passages, but span the gap between the two, while including other influences as well. The soft parts don’t always revert to acoustic guitars as done on previous albums; often they simply drop to quieter volumes, with some even containing hints of jazz. Songs such as the first two tracks are wildly unpredictable as Opeth fit more changes and variety into songs of ten minutes, already a standard length for them. Baying of the Hounds starts heavy, goes down, comes back up, enters an acoustic break, and then ends heavy, and I won’t even try to describe the structure of Ghost of Perdition. The transitions are seamless and come so often that the songs never get boring. Though a few of these songs seem anticlimactic (specifically Beneath the Mire and Harlequin Forest), it truly is in the journey, not the destination, and the dramatic, heavy Grand Conjuration provides enough of a peak to close the album (with Isolation Years akin to a short coda).

The soft songs on this album may not be as well-loved as others the band has written, though they fit on the album better. Atonement is a good track, providing a much-needed break for calmness following the heavy first three songs. The haunting chorus riff and beautiful piano solo simply make the song. Isolation Years is a mournful, ballad, and even the album’s weakest offering, Hours of Wealth, has a gorgeous beginning and is very much emotionally charged.

Opeth’s songwriting and instrumentation peaked here. Ghost Reveries is flawless.

Personally, my ranking for this album is:

1. "Ghost of Perdition"
2. "Isolation Years"
3. "Atonement"
4. "Beneath the Mire"
5. "The Baying of the Hounds"
6. "Harlequin Forest"
7. "The Grand Conjuration"
8. "Hours of Wealth"
Title: Re: The Opeth Discography Thread
Post by: twosuitsluke on December 20, 2016, 05:07:19 PM
This is where my journey started with Opeth. I heard Ghost of Perdition on a Metal Hammer CD (and I loved it). The album was getting great reviews and it was voted album of the year in Metal Hammer magazine that year, which was no mean feat considering the amount of incredible music released in '05. To be honest, 2005 is probably the greatest year in music since I started really listening to music!

Anyway, I picked up the album and never looked back. It will always be my #1 I think, it introduced me to this great band and transformed the way I look at metal. I think they did a great job following this with Watershed, which is my #2 album, and I can see myself listening to this for the rest of my life, easily.
Title: Re: The Opeth Discography Thread
Post by: ? on December 21, 2016, 12:38:28 AM
Opeth’s songwriting and instrumentation peaked here. Ghost Reveries is flawless.
:iagree:

Still my favorite Opeth album, and I'm happy I got to see them play it in full last year on the anniversary tour. In the Book of Opeth Mikael said he had a writer's block at the time, and it wasn't until he started messing around with an open D-based tuning on his guitar that ideas started to flow. I think that tuning and the use of keyboards (which are obviously way more dominant than on the previous albums) are two of the things that make GR so unique in the Opeth catalog.
Title: Re: The Opeth Discography Thread
Post by: ChuckSteak on December 21, 2016, 09:19:49 AM
Ghost Reveries was the last really amazing album that Opeth put out, IMO. Same level of Blackwater Park and Still Life. After that..... well.....  ::)
Title: Re: The Opeth Discography Thread
Post by: twosuitsluke on December 21, 2016, 09:59:08 AM
Ghost Reveries was the last really amazing album that Opeth put out, IMO. Same level of Blackwater Park and Still Life. After that..... well.....  ::)

Well I'd disagree because I love Watershed. I don't get it, it seems common that Opeth fans don't rate Watershed that highly. As I said, it's my #2 Opeth album, it's so damn good!!
Title: Re: The Opeth Discography Thread
Post by: XB0BX on December 22, 2016, 07:47:11 PM
This is where Opeth sort of falls off for me. I love every album so far but this one doesn't click with me. None of the melodies just seem very interesting.
Title: Re: The Opeth Discography Thread
Post by: Scar on January 01, 2017, 11:16:30 PM
Hoo, totally forgot about this lawl.



Watershed (2008)


(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Watershed_(Opeth_album)#/media/File:Opeth_-_Watershed.jpg)


Release date: May 30, 2008
Length: 54:48


Tracklist:

1. "Coil"   
2. "Heir Apparent"    
3. "The Lotus Eater"
4. "Burden"
5. "Porcelain Heart"
6. "Hessian Peel"   
7. "Hex Omega"


Personnel:

Mikael Åkerfeldt – vocals, guitar
Fredrik Åkesson – guitar
Per Wiberg – keyboards, synthesizer
Martín Méndez – bass guitar
Martin Axenrot – drums

Recorded February 2007 – January 10, 2008 at Fascination Street Studios in Örebro, Sweden
[/size]
Genre: Progressive death metal progressive rock[/size]
Label: Roadrunner[/size]
Producer: Mikael Åkerfeldt and Jens Bogren[/size]



History / Background

On opening track "Coil", Mikael Åkerfeldt duets with Nathalie Lorichs, who was dating drummer Martin Axenrot at the time. The band has revealed that they were initially going to start the album with what eventually became the second track, "Heir Apparent"; however, they preferred "Coil" as an introductory track for its contrast to "Heir Apparent".

Music

Were it not for the astounding beauty of "Coil", where the vocal interplay between Akerfeldt and the angelic Nathalie Lorichs is sublime, it probably wouldn't work but Opeth pull it off with aplomb, resulting in arguably their finest 'soft' song ahead of even my previous personal fave "Credence" ("My Arms, Your Hearse"). However when the Metal arrives in follower "Heir Apparent" I am left feeling a litle cold and unmoved by the manner in which soft and heavy is combined. In what turns out to be my biggest negative against "Watershed", much of the bridging between neighbouring sections in "Heir Apparent" and "The Lotus Eater" comes across rather disjointed and forced, a similar problem to the one that ever prevented me from really getting into "Ghost Reveries". The doomy heavy sections are up there with being as heavy as the band have been but these two songs appear to lack the spinkling of magic found on what is to come.

Thankfully my feelings change from the moment "Burden" kicks in, and every moment after is a joy. The dark atmosphere that has permeated all Opeth of old is in full flow resulting in times of epic serene tranquillity. On top of the expected prog masterclass the listener is also treated to moments of blues inspiration - just listen to the opening of "Hessian Peel" and not think of Stevie Ray Vaughan. The four closing songs beginning with "Burden" are largely of a soft nature, giving "Watershed" a stronger connection to the aforementioned "Damnation" than any other, and making this writer yearn for another all-acoustic album. I can only hope. "Hessian Peel' gracefully flows through numerous stages, resplendent with atmospheric keyboards provided by Per Wilberg and some lovely touches by drummer Martin Axenrot, giving a real lesson in song-writing to anyone who cares. Closer "Hex Omega' seems to last a lot longer than its 7 mintes given the magnitude of its contents, including haunting lead riffs and more gorgeous moments of contemplative relaxation from Akerfeldt & co. By the time I've reached the end of the album I really have forgotten about my disappointments of earlier moments in the album.

My Thoughts

Watershed plays a vitally important if underappreciated role in Opeth’s history. Coming straight from the masterpiece Ghost Reveries, it revealed itself to be a drastically different beast altogether. A plethora of sonic landscapes and musical styles are explored here, but accomplished in a very different way than usual. Genre-bending was always their go-to shtick for a sharp right turn in songwriting, but never before have they gone all out quite like they do on Watershed. For the first time, more meditative progressive rock songs exist in the album than metal epics. Most tracks contain extended, bizarre outros of down-tuning guitar playing or ghostly whispers. Watershed is possibly the group’s most haunting and schizophrenic release yet. Despite these dramatic flourishes, the imagery and lyrics of Watershed are among their most cryptic, thoughtful, and mature.

The first catalyst for what Watershed would become was the absence of long time members guitarist Peter Lindgren and drummer Martin Lopez. Both departed the group shortly after the release of Ghost Reveries. With half of the band gone, Mikael Åkerfeldt felt more pressure than ever to impress his new band mates and anxious fans alike. The arrival of his second daughter would further serve to inspire the lyrics and meaning of Watershed. With these life changing events, especially with his family, Åkerfeldt became disillusioned with the state of the world. They also made him reconsider his former girlfriend, who tragically ended her own life while the band was in the studio. Surging emotions and life-altering events and realizations are the centerpieces of Watershed, propelling Opeth to a newfound maturity and evolution rarely seen amid their naturalistic, gothic themes of the occult and medieval.

The “Heir Apparent” on the album’s cover remains the most significant mystery behind Watershed. While the lyrics cover a far-reaching spectrum of personal emotions and experiences, the solemn figure at his desk bathed in a haunting fluorescent green glow largely remains a mystery. While Åkerfeldt denied Watershed being a concept album, he admitted that it is about a character; specifically, a manifestation of himself after his epiphanies that came with fatherhood and seeing the world through a new vision. The lyrics mainly detail a tyrannical figure presiding over some kind of society, possibly our world. “… His touch soiling what used to be clean, his gaze burning on the edge of our dreams. Cold days, and again he rides… It's September and he covets the gullible, skeletal wish, hunter… Hear him spewing forth a meaning to miserable lies, see the twisted hand of doubt seal the affair… Pearls before swine, they are nothing but blind.” Åkerfeldt stated that these new personal evolutions have left him feeling anxious and paranoid about the state of the world around him, as the “Heir Apparent” is a representation of his fears encapsulated in a tyrannical figure ruling over our blinded society.

The tranquil “Coil” precedes the crushingly brutal “Heir Apparent” featuring Åkerfeldt and drummer Axenrot’s girlfriend Nathalie Lorichs hauntingly crooning of loss and regret. “When I get out of here, when I leave you behind, I'll find that the years passed us by. And I can see you, running through the fields of sorrow." These lamentations refer to the sorrow he feels regarding his former girlfriend and her child, further exhibited in “Hessian Peel” and “Hex Omega.” “Will their children cry, when their mother dies?… The light comes on, the signal for us to end our lives… I left you alone, we all left you alone… Lock the children away from harm, they'll lock all your reason why, seeking tenderness with a dagger, skin is blocked by the years of trial. You felt abandoned in the fog of flesh sitting in place from the dead, awaiting the face of the moon to ascend. You follow the siren in your head.” “… Held him in your arms, your fever subside. Always safe from harm, kept demons inside. Still you always start runnin.' Touch the light from the moon, some way mother cried, left us space here.” Åkerfeldt’s former girlfriend left behind a son, the same age as his oldest daughter. Heartbreaking prose and clever wordplay weave together themes of loss, regret, and death while staying true to Opeth’s gothic tone and imagery. “Hessian Peel” and “Hex Omega” ultimately come across as among the most heartfelt and tragic of their lyrics, ending Watershed, and the essential component of their legacy, on a truly solemn note.

Watershed is a major transition of Opeth, and a long expected farewell to progressive death metal and gothic atmospheres for Akerfeldt’s musical vision. The finalities uncovered in its layered textures are numerous and significant to the true understanding of what it represents in the identity and legacy of Opeth. While it is a “watershed” in their history, it certainly does not deserve the reputation it has unfairly acquired: that it stands with the more death metal influenced Deliverance as their least accomplished releases. Watershed remains a unique testament to their style and represents a beginning of new ideas for Opeth that would be further explored in the vastly differing Heritage and Pale Communion. The musical influences are more far reaching than ever before, with some of the most brutal death metal in tracks like “Heir Apparent,” to bouncy folk sections in “Hessian Peal” and “The Lotus Eater.”

Watershed ultimately closes an era for Opeth, an era of what some would say is their signature style. However, this album proves that the band is best at daring experimentation and jarring shifts in structure and songwriting. Watershed is ultimately a message from Opeth to the longtime fans: to trust them, that they know what you want, and dissonant, layered guitar riffs and guttural vocals aren’t always needed to make a fantastic Opeth record. Watershed exhibits this transition seamlessly. It is an album of finality for the group and a fond farewell to their assumed musical identity, their image, certain people in their lives, and a closed book for their unrivaled legacy.

Personally, my ranking for this album is:

1. "Hessian Peel"
2. "Burden"
3. "Heir Apparent"
4. "Porcelain Heart"
5. "The Lotus Eater"
6. "Coil"
7. "Hex Omega"
Title: Re: The Opeth Discography Thread
Post by: Train of Naught on January 02, 2017, 02:31:54 AM
lol you just copy-pasted a review from metal archives for the 'My Thoughts' section, kind of ironic heh.
Title: Re: The Opeth Discography Thread
Post by: ? on January 03, 2017, 08:09:42 AM
lol you just copy-pasted a review from metal archives for the 'My Thoughts' section, kind of ironic heh.
Well if he agrees with it 100%, aren't they his thoughts too? :neverusethis:

Watershed is another of my top 4 Opeth albums. I find it a transitional release in the sense that it doesn't sound like classic Opeth (probs due to the lack of Peter and Lopez), but it's not part of the new era of vintage production and zero growls either. I guess it indeed is a watershed! :lol But that uniquity is one of the reasons I like it so much - you can tell Mikael's writing was already drifting away from the metal mindset, and the songs are all pretty different from each other like on the newer releases. There also aren't as many individual standouts as on some other albums, but the whole record is pretty consistent. Hessian Peel is one of my all-time favorites though, and I really love Burden too.
Title: Re: The Opeth Discography Thread
Post by: Ben_Jamin on January 03, 2017, 10:42:17 AM
Ahh....it seems a lot of what happened to him personally during this album has really affected his songwriting and his own thought process.

Which is why many artists decide to make certain albums the way they are.
Title: Re: The Opeth Discography Thread
Post by: Tyrias on January 03, 2017, 05:11:13 PM
Honestly, I think Watershed is my favourite Opeth album. It doesn't feel as sad and depressive as the albums before it, a process that started with Ghost Reveries. Less raw anger and open wounds in favor of more experimentation, beauty and melancholy. Not there was none of this before, but here they got just the right amount that really appeals to my tastes. I also think they perfected the amount of growls on Watershed. I've never been a pure Death Metal fan, and thus the growls where one of the most off-putting things when I started listening to Opeth. On Watershed they are used much less frequently, and thus have more of an impact when they do appear.
Also, the whole atmosphere is just amazing.
Title: Re: The Opeth Discography Thread
Post by: twosuitsluke on January 03, 2017, 05:52:15 PM
It's probably my #2 Opeth album. I just love everything about it, it feels like a real continuation of the Ghost Reveries vibe, at least to me. It holds a special place for me and I just think it is superior to everything other than GR.
Title: Re: The Opeth Discography Thread
Post by: mike099 on January 05, 2017, 12:04:04 PM
I had always hesitated listening to Opeth based on members mentioning the growls in the vocals.  I incorrectly assumed that all of the vocals were growls.  Anyhow, based on the this thread, I decided to listen to Opeth.  I started with Blackwater Park and was blown away.  The growls are there, but the music is awesome. BTW Steven Wilson is such a great addition to this record.  One more observation -  Bleak  :omg: :hefdaddy 

I plan to start from the first album and listen and decide to buy.  I have 75.00 of iTunes cards waiting to be spent.

Thanks for threads like this one to introduce folks to different types of music.
Title: Re: The Opeth Discography Thread
Post by: Big Hath on January 05, 2017, 08:36:40 PM
One more observation -  Bleak  :omg: :hefdaddy 

 :metal
Title: Re: The Opeth Discography Thread
Post by: ? on January 06, 2017, 01:00:31 AM
I had always hesitated listening to Opeth based on members mentioning the growls in the vocals.  I incorrectly assumed that all of the vocals were growls.  Anyhow, based on the this thread, I decided to listen to Opeth.  I started with Blackwater Park and was blown away.  The growls are there, but the music is awesome. BTW Steven Wilson is such a great addition to this record.  One more observation -  Bleak  :omg: :hefdaddy 

I plan to start from the first album and listen and decide to buy.  I have 75.00 of iTunes cards waiting to be spent.

Thanks for threads like this one to introduce folks to different types of music.
:metal
Title: Re: The Opeth Discography Thread
Post by: Elite on January 06, 2017, 01:58:33 AM
lol you just copy-pasted a review from metal archives for the 'My Thoughts' section, kind of ironic heh.

Turns out he did this for almost every album. Such dedication!
Title: Re: The Opeth Discography Thread
Post by: RodrigoAltaf on April 09, 2017, 08:47:09 PM
Is this the only Opeth thread here? I couldn't find another one...I just got back from seeing them live in São Paulo, and my face is still paralyzed!!!!! They were amazing!!!
Title: Re: The Opeth Discography Thread
Post by: mike099 on April 10, 2017, 11:59:10 AM
Is this the only Opeth thread here? I couldn't find another one...I just got back from seeing them live in São Paulo, and my face is still paralyzed!!!!! They were amazing!!!

I believe there is a generic opeth thread somewhere.  You can search for it and see.  Great to hear of your concert experience.  I am going to see them on May 5th here in Nashville, Tennessee.  They will be coming off a 3 week break and this will be the first concert after the break.  I would love to hear The Moor, Serenity Painted Death or White Cluster instead of Face of Melinda, but I am sure the concert will be great.
Title: Re: The Opeth Discography Thread
Post by: RodrigoAltaf on April 10, 2017, 01:12:58 PM
They were ON FIRE!!! the crowd kept asking for Master´s apprenice and Michael said "you know...we weren´t planning to play this one tonight, but here´s a short sample..." - and they played a few bars from it. He has such a cool stage presence!!! I hope you enjoy it as much as I did!