Biography
Opeth is without
a doubt one of my favorite bands of the 90s, progressive
rock or otherwise. The group has its roots in Scandinavian
death/black metal, but manages to transcend any kind of
genre limitations, having produced five immense, foreboding
and beautifully expressive heavy metal masterworks this
decade. Make no mistake, Opeth does not play "prog-metal"
in the typical sense, in fact, the band is much more ambitious
and creative. They manage to combine the raw power
of death metal with throwback 70s prog influences, impeccable
songwriting and a killer sense of melody. Each album
is a morose, expansive work that only reveals its respective
beauty upon heavy listening.
For the most
part the band's sound in based in killer dual guitar riffing,
often recalling Iron Maiden-esque melodic heights, yet
being far more intricate and complex than even that band,
as well as utilizing progressive rock song-structures
and heavy doses of acoustic guitars. Opeth flies
into the heavier portions of songs with unbridled fury,
as the searing guitars play off each other beautifully, creating
a sense lofty melodic power with a dark and furious undercurrent.
The heavier sections are complemented by lengthy acoustic
sections, for which guitarist Mikael Akerfeldt is a sublime master of creating
artful and atmospheric textures. The vocals are
a mix of harsh "death" vocals, which could take some getting
used to for prog fans, as well as Akerfeldt's consistently
maturing "clean" tone. Overall they are relatively
sparse, as the emphasis is definitely on the instrumental
passages, especially on the early albums. Every
Opeth album requires serious attention, as every composition
is packed with precession, impeccable structure, flawless
musicianship, and not to mention the undeniable emotional
power.
When Orchid
was first unleashed upon the unsuspecting underground
metal community back in 1995, no one quite knew what to
make of them. The band had black metal elements,
certainly, yet they were incomprehensibly unique, with
fifteen minute songs, a superior sense of melody, not
to mention the command of subtle acoustic guitar elements.
When Morningrise came out in '96, it was clear
that the group was onto something special. This
one is arguably their best album, and it was at this point that
lead songwriter Mikael began to become supremely influenced
by 70s progressive music. It was around the release
of this album that I became interested in the group.
The songs were longer, more ambitious and further developed
the ideas on Orchid. Opeth were seen as artistic
renegades within underground metal, and were still stretching
definitions and puzzling listeners. No one knew
they were actually listening to a perfect fusion of prog-rock
and metal. Suffice it to say, 1998's My Arms, Your Hearse
was a hotly anticipated release, and did not disappoint.
Though I found it to be an ever-so-slight step down from
Morningrise, many saw it as their best
album yet, and it monopolized Album-Of-The-Year polls
in metal mags and websites around the world. It
was at this point that I was getting into progressive rock myself,
and I found myself especially drawn to Opeth. In interviews,
Akerfeldt made no secret of his love for progressive music,
dropping names like Museo Rosenbach, Morte Macabre and
Cressida. In fact, the album title of My Arms...
was a lyric taken from Comus' obscure
1971 classic, First Utterance. Akerfeldt's love
for this music was a major influence in my own jump into
the underground prog music scene.
By now it was
clear that Opeth was doing their own thing, and their
style had become somewhat clearly defined. To say that
1999's Still Life was hotly anticipated would be
a gross understatement, the band's rabid cult following
eagerly gobbled up what some felt to be their finest album yet. This
continued the band's winning streak. By this point,
Opeth had not only established themselves as the masters
of modern metal music, they had by now made some impact
outside the community, attracting the interest of many
adventurous progressive music fans worldwide. One
of these new fans was the leader of the modern British prog
group Porcupine Tree, Steve Wilson, who signed on to produce
Opeth's next opus. Legions of metal and progressive music
fans had been waiting with baited breath for the band's
newest effort, Blackwater Park, and like every
previous Opeth album, it is quite simply a masterpiece.
By now Opeth's
style is firmly crystallized, and their relative popularity
has met with something of a backlash in the metal community. Although
Blackwater Park features some significant
advances in sound, it is overall firmly entrenched in
the exquisite, dynamic and defining style that we have
come to expect from them. Overall, the band's discography
features albums that, while all excellent, are quite similar
to one another. They are all equally complex and
beautiful, but one should probably start with either Still
Life or Morningrise. If you like either of
those, you may as well get the whole catalogue, you'll end
up liking them all anyway. Each album absolutely
requires your undivided attention to fully appreciate,
otherwise you may as well not even bother. The only
sticking point I could foresee would be the harsh vocals,
but these must be taken as an atmospheric texture on the
foreboding and immense canvases of which they are a part.
Personally I love 'em. Opeth should appeal to adventurous progressive
rock fans interested in the darker and heavier side of
things, and looking for a completely unique listening
experience.
- Greg Northrup [February 2001]
Orchid (1995)
Orchid was a phenomenal debut from
this Scandinavian progressive dark metal band, showing
an unparalleled level of sophistication and maturity even at
this early stage. This first album is perhaps the most
heavily rooted in black metal, with influences like Bathory
and Venom creeping up along with Iron Maiden-esque sense
of melody typical of other Swedish bands like In Flames
or At the Gates. However, the distinguishing 'progressive'
characteristics of their songwriting are here in spades;
long epic songs, immense atmospheres and searing beauty.
I used
to regard this album as the least spectacular Opeth release,
and simply a presentation of a style they would later
come to perfect. How wrong I was. In listening
to this album in preparation for this review, I definitely
rediscovered its magic. Having focused most of my
attention on later releases like Morningrise and
My Arms, Your Hearse, I unfortunately subjected
Orchid to only cursory listens, which is totally the
wrong way to listen to an Opeth album. The opener
"In Mist She Was Standing" serves as a perfect example.
One of the opening riffs suddenly took on a new dimension
that I had never heard before. Where I once heard
a cool guitar riff propelled by double-bass drumming,
more listens revealed the independent nature of each guitar
part, one in the left ear and one in the right.
Listening to the way that they complemented each other,
and anticipating the chord changes, my brain locked into
the quite intricate melodic structure of each guitar part,
significantly increasing my overall enjoyment. Instances
such as these are aboud throughout this and every Opeth
album. The presence of classical piano is also quite
prominent, but Mikael's "clean" tone is sparsely utilized, opting
for the "harsh" vocals on the vast majority of it.
Overall a metallic masterpiece, certainly one of the finest
heavy metal recordings of the decade. - Greg Northrup
[February 2001]
Click Here for Tracklist and Lineup
Info
Morningrise (1996)
The legendary
second album from Opeth is probably my favorite of theirs.
Everything that was good about the debut, Orchid,
is taken to another level on this one. The songs
are longer and more engaging, the melodies are better,
the transitions from full-throttle molten metal to plaintive
acoustic passages are brilliantly executed. Everything
about Morningrise is absolutely epic, and each
song is a full and vibrant work of metal artistry, infected
with foreboding and morose emotional textures. The
dual guitars blaze through intertwined riffs while the
bass cuts through the mix and adds a significant melodic
dimension to everything. Akerfeldt's vocals go from primal
roaring to more prominent clean vocal passages. At the
time of its release, metal fans complained that the songs
were too long, but for us prog fans, song length is certainly
not a problem.
Every song
here is exceptional, I especially adore the opener "Advent",
probably because it's the Opeth song I've listened to
the most at this point, and I'm familiar with every in-and-out
on it. "To Bid You Farewell" is dominated by Akerfeldt's
clean vocals, and actually exposes one of the few weaknesses
of the group. His vocals are for the most part extremely
pleasing, but there are times where he actually sounds
out of tune. This is something that would be corrected
on subsequent albums as his voice matured. "Black
Rose Immortal" is the true centerpiece of the album and
is uniformly excellent.
This is without
a doubt one of my favorite heavy metal albums of all time.
For those with a disposition towards both heavy metal and dark
progressive music, yet a need for original and forward-thinking
songwriting, Opeth's Morningrise is just the ticket.
- Greg Northrup
[February 2001]
Click Here for Tracklist and Lineup Info
My Arms, Your Hearse (1998)
Though
My Arms, Your Hearse was the album that really
broke Opeth to wide critical acclaim in metaldom,
it's probably my least favorite of theirs, although
it's still excellent, and one of the best albums of
1998. The changes in Opeth style are noticeable
but ultimately superficial, and the underlying theme
of a progressive band playing metal music still dominates
the listener from the get-go. The most noticeable
change is present merely from looking at the sleeve.
Instead of four 15 minute-plus songs, there are nine shorter songs on the
album. However, it soon becomes clear that My
Arms, Your Hearse is actually a concept album
in the classic sense, and that the "tracks" merely
serve as indexes throughout the captivating atmospheres
of the record. The album is also noticeably heavier
and more oppressive than before. Akerfeldt takes on
a low guttural roar that stands in contrast to the
higher pitched rasping on the earlier albums, which
you prefer is simply a matter of preference.
The most disappointing thing about this album for
me was the departure (or ousting?) of their former
bassist, who played beautifully on Morningrise,
and whose melodic bass lines perfectly complemented the surging
guitar themes. Here the bass is more locked in with
the drums, as Akerfeldt himself laid down all the
lines, pretty much as an afterthought. They
play little more than a support role throughout.
Despite all this,
My Arms, Your Hearse continues Opeth's string of
phenomenal albums. Though the clean vocals are somewhat
cut-down, there are much more effective when they do appear.
The compositions are somewhat more daring and complex, not
melodically but rhythmically, and the churning guitar riffs
play with extreme syncopation and odd-times frequently.
The great elements of the previous two albums are still
here, the occasionally soaring melodies and the excellent
acoustic guitar textures. My Arms, Your Hearse
is indeed a great album, but probably not the best place
to start. - Greg Northrup [Feburary 2001]
Click Here for Tracklist and Lineup Info
