MY ARMS, YOUR HEARSE

My Arms, Your Hearse ? 1998 (3/5) 10 ? Best Song: Epilogue Opeth are, if you haven't guessed, a very 'rainy day' band. They don't play happy music, and they don't intend to get you dancing, although some of their more energetic metal pieces could get your feet moving. In general, they want to mildly depress you with minor chords and autumnal, bleak atmospheres that crush and cripple. It typically works, too. They're fairly competent. My Arms, Your Hearse, their third album, is the most notable artistic leap forward. It's where the death metal finally begins to depart from the painfully generic blunt bashing that was so prominent in Sweden at the time. 'April Ethereal' is a fine example. It's a little too long, but long songs and Opeth go hand in hand like peanut butter and man-jelly. That's a surprisingly common combination, if you haven't yet heard. They're still trying to bean you over the head with the roars and guitars, not wanting to let up for even half a minute at most. It makes the album fairly difficult to listen to in one single sitting. I like it about as much as either of the previous albums, just not as much as what would come right after. It's a great album for what it is, and 'Madrigal' is a cute little folk instrumental ditty acting as an album interlude, but it's not enough balance for some of the more discerning listeners?like myself. 'Credence' is the first instance of Mikael branching out and really putting effort into singing in a clean tone. It's very nice, but something nagging at the back of my head tells me this is still the band in their infancy. 'Epilogue' has a really engaging guitar melody, though. Some artists rip out of the gates ready to change the world on day one, others need an album or three to get their feet sunk in first.