STILL LIFE

So I am a big fat "0" on this one. I've heard nothing from it. Just hoping that the vocals don't go into "growl" territory too often. I know Opeth CAN go there, but also know that they are pretty diverse. Mikael Åkerfeldt is a very talented guy. Let's give it a listen.

Track 1 - The Moor

We start with a slow, mellow, intro that fades in for about the first 2 minutes of the song, before going to a different mellow acoustic guitar driven section. The heavy guitar and the rest of the band kicks in at around 2:30. A nice heavy riff repeats for a while. And yep, here's the "Growl?" I love the music and hate the vocal tone. Why?!!!??? Nice harmony vocals begin around the 5-minute mark, so far, the quality of the music has made the growling vocals tolerable, as they have returned after the guitar solo. Opeth's music has SO much going for it, and I know a lot of people like the growling vocal tone, but they would appeal to so many more if they didn't have this aspect. The previous Opeth album that we listened to (Damnation) does not go there and I quite enjoyed it. There is a beautiful mellow section starting sometime around 9 minutes in. But the growl returns yet again at around 10:30.

Track 2 - Godhead's Lament

We begin with a fast-tempo 6-8 riff?. And more growling. Again, music fantastic?Vocals horrid. I love the harmonized guitar leads at around 3:00. Then nice singing begins around 3:30. There is a beautiful instrumental section following that, with acoustic guitar in the mix, then the good singing returns. We get heavier again at around 6:00. Then the growling resumes around 7:00. A really cool odd-metered section starts around 7:30, only to be ruined by the demonic voice. Good singing at 9:00, then the growl returns for the ending.

Track 3 - Benighted

This one starts with a nice acoustic part. At 5:00 it is the shortest track on the album. Wonderful singing joins the acoustic at around 1:30. The rhythm section joins around 3:15?. This is a nice respite from the growling.

Track 4 - Moonlapse Vertigo

A nice heavy riff kicks off the festivities with sustained lead guitar over top. Excellent 6-8 feel. At around 2:00, the electric guitars drop out and are replaced with acoustic guitars and good vocals. But the growl returns at about 2:40?.Thankfully, the real singing returns not long after. The riffs are SOOO good, I'd love to hear just the instrumental tracks without the growling that keeps returning. There is even a clean "funky" guitar fill at around 5:00. Nice guitar solo at around 5:30. Then it returns?. sigh. Excellent harmony vocals around 7:15?. I would have LOVED that track if it weren't for the growling parts.

Track 5 - Face of Melinda

A laid-back groove starts us off here with a mix of clean acoustic & electric guitars and the rhythm section. Mellow vocals join in. The music is somewhat haunting. Things stay mellow until around 4:25 when power chords kick in... WHAM! The vocals remain clean though, thankfully. We go mellow again around 6:40, temporarily, as awesome harmonized guitar parts join in soon after for the fade out. Probably my favorite track from the album, so far.

Track 6 - Serenity Painted Death

A short drum fill leads the band into a power metal type of groove. But then the growling returns. Again, the music is good, the vocals are horrid. The groove changes to an almost Van Halen style riff with the grow vocals over top. The groove turns to an odd meter section/guitar solo. Alice In Chains harmony style vocals enter at around 3:40. An acoustic driven section begins at around 4:25 with changing meters. One of the guitar parts has a cool phasing thing happening. But then it's disrupted by the demon-singing at around 5:45. Clean vocals return at around 7:00. He has a great singing voice when he uses it. But then he switches back at around 7:45. Then we drop down to clean electric & acoustic guitars for the closing section.

Track 7 - White Cluster

Big distorted open chords and double bass-drums start us off and of course the growling comes back. The guitar riffs are awesome. There are some Kings-X style chords around 1:45 then things calm down and clean vocals return with a softer, rhythmic acoustic riff under the singing. An excellent vocal harmony part follows. The music is great as the intensity builds back up around 3:45. Things drop WAY down at around 5:00 then a big riff comes in around 5:30, but of course, we get a Scream/Growl over that. A cool guitar-solo and riff follows that. Clean vocals return in a more subdued section at around 7:00. Mikael Åkerfeldt is a great guitarist and wonderful singer; I wish he didn't feel the need to growl so often. There is a false ending shortly after 9:00, followed by a brief mellow guitar part.

OVERALL IMPRESSION:

If you've gotten this far, I'm sure you can guess. I would have absolutely loved this album if it wasn't for the demon- growl vocals (BTW I have no religious connotations here, it's just the best description I can give.) Instrumentally, it is fantastic. When he sings in a clean tone, it's great. But 5 of the 7 tracks are disrupted by that awful sound. Call me a boomer (which I'm not?Gen X) if you like. Maybe my tastes aren't up to date enough, but that sound is a major flaw in an otherwise great album. Fortunately, they are not all of the time, and the music is strong enough that I am able to tolerate it when it happens. This might have been 4 out of 5 stars. But because of the growl, I can't go above 3 out of 5.

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