Opeth?
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Topic: Opeth?
Posted By: P.H.P.
Subject: Opeth?
Date Posted: September 19 2007 at 01:03
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Ok, from the first time I heard Opeth, I knew they were not the typical metal band, they were very very far from the common metal band... I'm not a metal fan really, I tend to be very selective with metal music, but I'm surprised some people say "No! Opeth is pure death metal", and I don't really found their music to be real death metal, it's with no doubt heavy music, but arguably not death metal, from what I see they only have the typical death metal vocals, and I don't think that's enough to call one band death metal, I think that's being too lazy and doing a very big injustice with the music of Opeth, which is truly Progressive Metal in the original meaning of "Prog", and no, they're not a technical band, they are really bringing back the Prog Rock feeling to Metal, so forget about complex made-up terms like "Progressive Death Metal", or "Technical/Melodic Death Metal" and anything like that, because honestly they don't fit any of those, Opeth's music to me is very rich, one of the best bands of the last time in matters of Progressive Metal, IMO what do you think? ...comment.  |
Replies:
Posted By: MikeEnRegalia
Date Posted: September 19 2007 at 03:01
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I agree ... even on their early records they weren't much related to Death Metal except for the vocal style.
------------- https://awesomeprog.com/users/Mike" rel="nofollow">Recently listened to: 
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Posted By: Nightfly
Date Posted: September 19 2007 at 08:35
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I can understand them getting lumped in with the Death Metal bands on the early albums although far superior to what usually goes as Death Metal.
I think quite a bit of their stuff is more technical than you give them credit for though, especially on Ghost Reveries.
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Posted By: MikeEnRegalia
Date Posted: September 19 2007 at 09:24
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^ it's surely technical - again it depends on how you define the word. Usually applying a tag like "technical" to a piece of music implies that the technicality is one of the most important aspect of it ... and I don't think that's the case with Opeth. Their music is very cleverly constructed - but the technically is more like a background aspect. ------------- https://awesomeprog.com/users/Mike" rel="nofollow">Recently listened to:
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Posted By: JayDee
Date Posted: September 19 2007 at 09:48
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Inevitably, when metal is combined with prog you get musical technicalities. Proof is the majority of prog metal bands listed here in PA are technical, one way or another. We can never deny the technical proficiency ( which I consider a side dish/apetizer rather than the main course) of Opeth but I definitely won't I recommend them to anyone who seeks technical music. ------------- 
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Posted By: FranMuzak
Date Posted: September 19 2007 at 12:05
| Yeah, i think Opeth is one of the best Prog Metal bands today. Technical or not, they accomplish to create original Prog,which other bands don't. The combination of mellow/powerful music and soft/growling vocals is just amaizing. |
Posted By: Darklord55
Date Posted: September 19 2007 at 12:34
Opeth IMHO is a band beyond description. As I said in an earlier post, their music is truly a sonic adventure to the ears. At least to my ears. Because of Opeth, I have also discovered similar bands, Dimmu Borgir, Novembers Doom, In Flames, Immortal and a few others. None of which imho top Opeth, but I still enjoy just the same. I believe a new Opeth DVD is due out soon also. I have read that GoP is on it. 
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Posted By: Bj-1
Date Posted: September 19 2007 at 13:16
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Not my favorite prog-metal band, but they're still an excellent band and I really dig Blackwater Park, Deliverance and Morningrise. Ghost Reveries is very good as well. ------------- RIO/AVANT/ZEUHL - The best thing you can get with yer pants on! |
Posted By: ProgBagel
Date Posted: September 19 2007 at 13:44
| Opeth is more about melody then anything else. |
Posted By: P.H.P.
Date Posted: September 19 2007 at 14:03
Similar?  ...I don't find any of those bands similar to Opeth in any sense, those are just black metal, doom, death metal, not Prog like Opeth. |
Darklord55 wrote:Posted By: P.H.P.
Date Posted: September 19 2007 at 14:08
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In fact, it's wrong to call "Progressive Death Metal" as a genre or style, I think it doesn't exists since there aren't bands that do that, every band that has done more than common death metal bands are just technical or complex like Cynic or Atheist, not really Prog. |
Posted By: Melomaniac
Date Posted: September 19 2007 at 14:21
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They only get labelled death metal, like you say, because of the vocals, AND the double bass drum beats. But I agree with you, it does injustice to this amazing band, among the best to appear on this music scene in a long, long while, along side bands like Porcupine Tree, The Mars Volta, Tool, etc...
Who knows, maybe one day Mikael will not be able to growl anymore and they'll release albums without the growls, then they will not be labelled death metal.
------------- "One likes to believe in the freedom of Music" - Neil Peart, The Spirit of Radio |
Posted By: Melomaniac
Date Posted: September 19 2007 at 14:23
Concerning Cynic, they were more of a metal jazz fusion unit than the average technical metal. Too bad they only released one album ! ------------- "One likes to believe in the freedom of Music" - Neil Peart, The Spirit of Radio |
Posted By: Darklord55
Date Posted: September 19 2007 at 14:29
 I didn't say any of those bands were PROG! Labels, labels, labels. What did I do with those  labels. |
Posted By: P.H.P.
Date Posted: September 19 2007 at 14:31
Exactly my thoughts.  |
Posted By: P.H.P.
Date Posted: September 19 2007 at 14:36
yeah, what I only say is they're not similar to Opeth in any sense, think about it well, and you'll end up finding they're they don't have anything in common with Opeth, totally opposite musical direction and everything, opposite. |
Posted By: P.H.P.
Date Posted: September 19 2007 at 14:49
Like you said they are one of the top technical death metal bands, and yes, they explorate sonic landscapes that most of death metal bands never achieved, but I think more than to calling it Jazz Fusion Metal or whatever, because they can't really mix it really well, they only go alternating section by section, there's no single spot in their music that is the perfect mix of totally opposite genres as Metal, Jazz, and Fusion, which I think is almost inconceivable, and never happened in music. What I find is this: "is it one or the other, but never both"...sometimes I got kind of Fusion oriented sections and then straight metal sections, then back again, and finally metal section again, and that's it, and I don't find that to be really Prog. |
Posted By: activetopics
Date Posted: September 19 2007 at 16:57
| for all of you idiots, the correct word is "technicality" lol |
Posted By: Melomaniac
Date Posted: September 19 2007 at 17:00
Bear with us and keep in mind english is not everyone's first language.  ------------- "One likes to believe in the freedom of Music" - Neil Peart, The Spirit of Radio |
Posted By: Darklord55
Date Posted: September 19 2007 at 18:51
Ok. Maybe I should have said distantly similar. Or maybe nothing at all. But, then again I am over 50 and probably don't know what the
I am talking about. I do know I happen to like those other bands even though everything is entirely opposite of Opeth.  |
Posted By: el böthy
Date Posted: September 19 2007 at 19:04
I think complex is more like it, technical doesn´t sound like it has anything to do with Opeth. Complex fits them better. ------------- "You want me to play what, Robert?" 
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Posted By: stonebeard
Date Posted: September 19 2007 at 19:13
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In a spectrum of death metal, I hear Opeth are definitely on the more complex end. But just because they don't necessarily fit the sterotype of their genre does not mean they're beyond categorization. I'll admit I'm no expert on death metal, and I basically only listen to Opeth from all possible death metal bands, but they seem to be basically not-too-complexx prog metal with death vocals and some acoustic guitar songs, basically. That sums them up pretty well, don't you think? ------------- http://soundcloud.com/drewagler" rel="nofollow - My soundcloud. Please give feedback if you want! |
Posted By: micky
Date Posted: September 19 2007 at 19:22
 exactly..damn..have another clappie .. maybe that is why I have enjoyed what I have heard from Opeth, diving into their discography as I did this summer.. as opposed to....other.. more technical groups. ------------- The Pedro and Micky Experience - When one no longer requires psychotropics to trip |
Posted By: P.H.P.
Date Posted: September 19 2007 at 23:40
I think Prog is the right word.  |
Posted By: blaerg
Date Posted: September 20 2007 at 00:44
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Opeth is a great band, i've been into them many years altho now their sound is kind of 'safe' for them and i've lost interest in following their new work (i still like my arms thru blackwater records). as for the genre tagging discussion its pretty much a moot point but i'd say they definitely tread on death metal/black metal/prog/folk/psych soils. |
Posted By: angelmk
Date Posted: September 20 2007 at 10:02
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i love them. music is original, stunning, captivating, perfect. technical, melodic , akerfeldt is geneous , mastermind writes a mind blowing lyrics that touch your soul deeply. orchid is my favorite album.
------------- www.last.fm/user/angelmk 
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Posted By: rushfan4
Date Posted: September 20 2007 at 10:23
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Opeth is a band that I tried and have moved on. The music was really good, but the cookie monster/death growls are just plain unlistenable for me. Damnation is an excellent album because the vocals are clean, everything else is basically ruined because of the vocals. At least to me, the death growls are completely out of place and don't fit in with the music. ------------- 
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Posted By: MikeEnRegalia
Date Posted: September 20 2007 at 10:28
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^ IMO Opeth are one of very few bands who have growling vocals which actually fit the music. I'd recommend you give them a chance again after some time ... you may come to like them in the end. Like black coffee, dry wine or extremely dark chocolate it's something that takes some time to get used to.
------------- https://awesomeprog.com/users/Mike" rel="nofollow">Recently listened to:
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Posted By: Juliovp
Date Posted: September 20 2007 at 11:38
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Opeth is an amazing band. They can go acoustic (Damnation) and heavy as Still Life, i think they fit in a lot of genres and also their song structures are complex with a lot of changes.
the best thing of hearing Opeth is that you can be surprised a lot of times in a song, can't predict what's coming |
Posted By: P.H.P.
Date Posted: September 20 2007 at 13:41
Yeah, Opeth's music is an acquired taste, as Prog is. |
Posted By: P.H.P.
Date Posted: September 20 2007 at 13:46
Opeth could be a very good Progressive Metal band, but let's not forget they're a metal band, so if you don't tolerate "cookie monster" growls, just don't pay too much attention to that, but you'll end up finding that Opeth wouldn't be Opeth without the growls, and in the end you'll also see that growls fits their music very well.  |
Posted By: rushfan4
Date Posted: September 20 2007 at 14:02
I don't drink coffee nor wine (although sometimes I do whine, but that is another story), but I do like dark chocolate, just not extremely dark chocolate. I don't really think that Opeth will ever grow on me because of the cookie monster growls. That is the one are of heavy metal that I have never been able to get in to.
Growing up I used to watch Headbanger's Ball on MTV. This would have been in the days when it was dominated by Ozzy, Ratt and Motley Crue. Metallica and Megadeth were two of the "heavier" bands that I liked. I was able to get in to some Exodus and some Overkill and I seem to remember there was even a Slayer album that a friend of mine had that was pretty good, although I never really got in to them at all. At any rate, to get to the point of my posting, when I recently upgraded to Hi-Definition cable it came with MTV2 or MTV3 or something and they were showing Headbanger's Ball. For old-times sake I thought I would give it a listen. It was a horrible experience for me. Every band seemed to be either Black Metal or Death Metal. I continued to watch (probably like a car crash) to see if it would get any better; but it didn't. I just can't stomach those type of vocals. To me that is a shame since I did like Opeth's music, but the vocals just make me grimace.
I should also mention that Ayreon's The Human Equation is one of my favorite prog albums. I cringe when Mikael Akerfeldt and Devin Townsend are grunting but because they represent Fear and Rage the grunting does seem to be appropriate in expressing these emotions. -------------
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Posted By: Visitor13
Date Posted: September 20 2007 at 14:16
Quite the opposite - most of Opeth's instrumental sections couldn't work with non-growling vocals. Those that go with clean vocals are usually very different from those with growls. Just like growls would sound awkward with an acoustic background, clean vocals would really be out of place with most of the harder stuff. And to ProgBagel - Opeth are indeed first and foremost about melody.
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Posted By: rushfan4
Date Posted: September 20 2007 at 14:18
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^ What is melodic about growling vocals? -------------
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Posted By: Visitor13
Date Posted: September 20 2007 at 14:20
| Actually Akerfeldt's growls are quite melodic - something rare... but I'm talking about the instrumental sections mainly. |
Posted By: rushfan4
Date Posted: September 20 2007 at 14:30
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I have mentioned my feelings in other Opeth related threads. If Opeth's albums were sung with clean vocals they might very well be my favorite modern band, but since they growl instead I just can't get in to them and truly have a hard time understanding how anybody else can. I agree that instrumentally they are very melodic and that is why the death growls seem so out of place to me. I have half-joked that I would like to see their albums re-releases with clean vocals just to see how they would sound (and I know that this would be sacrilege to those of you who think that the death growls have their place in prog music). This would be the equivalent of bands that sing in their native tongue re-releasing their material in English so that it can be more universally enjoyed. (And yes, I know that these translations don't necessarily work all that well, especially for those from the native country that understand the original language). -------------
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Posted By: Visitor13
Date Posted: September 20 2007 at 14:36
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Well, like I said, the clean vocals wouldn't work most of the time, you'd have to keep a lot of the music purely instrumental.
BTW, translations are a necessary evil, with the emphasis on 'evil' (I'm a translator, I know what kind of crap goes on in this line of work), so I'd much rather listen to stuff in the musician's native language. Not to mention that the singer's pronunciation and accent in English can be dreadful, hurting a song much more than if it was sung in an little-spoken language. |
Posted By: rushfan4
Date Posted: September 20 2007 at 14:42
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I would settle for the instrumental, but I think that I would prefer clean vocals, or at least Rob Halford-type screams versus the death growls.
And again, it might just be me, but I don't think that the death growls fit the music or the lyrics. I don't listen to death metal or black metal so I really don't know what these bands are even singing about, but I am of the opinion that the only time that death growls would work is if the lyrics are depicting anger or rage, or if you are trying to quote a hypothetical satan or devil. To me, Opeth's lyrics don't depict that. -------------
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Posted By: Visitor13
Date Posted: September 20 2007 at 14:48
| I don't think growling works with any kind of lyrics, to be honest, but it's the only kind of vocals that works with some types of music, sticking to their timbre and rhythm (for want of better words). |
Posted By: Csejthe
Date Posted: September 20 2007 at 15:55
You think Cannibal Corpse or Devourment lyrics could be sung? Perhaps Opeth could go purely instrumental or sing all of their lyrics. But, in my opinion, Prog is not about what a band should be, but what a band can be--exploring the possibilities of music. And they do that very well, I think. ------------- http://www.last.fm/user/VomitalxX"> 
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Posted By: Visitor13
Date Posted: September 20 2007 at 16:05
Cannibal Corpse or Devourment lyrics are meant to be silly, so maybe growling works for them. Truly disturbing lyrics can most likely be sung... can't think of an example, though, Diamanda Galas, maybe? Though I'm not really familiar with her music. |
Posted By: Csejthe
Date Posted: September 20 2007 at 16:38
Silly or not, growling is really the only way I can imagine those lyrics being performed. Other than something like that, no, nothing really necessitates growling. But it's just as valid a choice as singing in any other style when it comes to lyrics like Opeth's. ------------- http://www.last.fm/user/VomitalxX">
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Posted By: sean
Date Posted: September 20 2007 at 19:03
| i'm not sure about genres for opeth, but i don't really care about the label, i just know that i highly enjoy their music, and they have opened me up to a lot more than i had listened to before. |
Posted By: micky
Date Posted: September 20 2007 at 19:15
bingo.... that kind of vocal style is not is not what I normally listen to but that growling really does fit the music well... and I found is a really nice contrast to Akerfeldt's 'normal' singing voice which I happened to like as well.. ------------- The Pedro and Micky Experience - When one no longer requires psychotropics to trip |
Posted By: ProgBagel
Date Posted: September 20 2007 at 19:31
| They contain too much melody for a death metal band also. |
Posted By: angelmk
Date Posted: September 21 2007 at 12:08
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i see that many are complaining about growls ,but what is opeth without growling, it points out agression, it filts with blast beats , it gives new dimension ,accents on dark side, otherwise it will be just another prog metal band.along with clean vokals, acustic guitars, it is a perfect blend
------------- www.last.fm/user/angelmk
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Posted By: Melomaniac
Date Posted: September 21 2007 at 12:18
That is one of the many aspects that make me love Opeth so much : the contrasts.
Beauty - vs - brutality intricately and wonderfully mixed. ------------- "One likes to believe in the freedom of Music" - Neil Peart, The Spirit of Radio |
Posted By: JJLehto
Date Posted: September 21 2007 at 20:18
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May be a little simple...but I love Opeth.
It has enough death metal for me, as well as prog
 And honestly...when I lay down and listen to them, I find their music calming.
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Posted By: Dim
Date Posted: September 21 2007 at 20:46
Totally agree, all my friends who know anything about Opeth al agree that besides the vocal style, Opeth is no way death metal. I've even been made fun of before because I called them death metal! ------------- 
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Posted By: oddentity
Date Posted: September 22 2007 at 02:12
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I personally find Akerdfelt's growls velvety and luxurious. Like a fatherly lion's roar. It's often said that growling expresses anger and rage, but it can also express extreme joy and happiness. That is what I get from Opeth. The extreme nature of the vocals gives their music an edge towards the joyous. |
Posted By: ProgolHarum
Date Posted: September 22 2007 at 05:48
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Opeth is to me the greatest prog-metal band ever. Their stylish changes from brutal dashing to calm, gentle acoustic parts are music. Also, the recent is very hardly unfolding album, most difficult Opeth ever, 'cause all their other albums are to me very easy, don't know why. The rhythmic experiments are important part in their last record. Åkerfeldt is of course extremely talented composer, creative soloist, but he is also very good lyricist, his conceptual affairs are something much more bigger and more beautiful than King Diamond's corn horror stories with dull speaking parts. Oh, and he is hell of a great singer. Especially in Ghost Reveries his growls and his clean vocals are close to perfection. Great band. |
Posted By: MikeEnRegalia
Date Posted: September 22 2007 at 06:02
Opeth's music *is* closely related to Death Metal ... consider what he says in this http://www.resurrection.at/archivneu/inties/opeth_intie.htm - interview : - Mikael's first band ("Eruption") in the 80s was Old-School Death Metal - His project "Bloodbath" (2000s) is Death Metal - When asked what he thinks about people calling Opeth the "Death Metal version of Dream Theater" he says that he feels honoured and that he's a big fan of Dream Theater although he lost interest a bit in their more recent albums (the interview is from around 2002/2003, which would make the most recent albums Six Degrees of Inner Turbulance and Scenes from a Memory). So: Death Metal and Opeth have a lot in common. You cannot call Opeth's music Death Metal because the songwriting is much different, and of course the acoustic parts have no place in Death Metal (unless they're played as intros, which isn't the case with Opeth). But the growling, drumming and pace of the music justifies to include "Death" in their genre label. How about "Symphonic Progressive Death Metal"? At least for albums like Orchid, Morningrise, My Arms Your Hearse and Still Life this makes sense to me. ------------- https://awesomeprog.com/users/Mike" rel="nofollow">Recently listened to:
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Posted By: micky
Date Posted: September 22 2007 at 13:45
thinking I'll try my hand at my first Opeth review tonight...
thinking of a special someone ...and the Tacos of the Earth  ------------- The Pedro and Micky Experience - When one no longer requires psychotropics to trip |
Posted By: MikeEnRegalia
Date Posted: September 22 2007 at 13:56
^ make no prisoners!
------------- https://awesomeprog.com/users/Mike" rel="nofollow">Recently listened to:
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Posted By: micky
Date Posted: September 22 2007 at 13:58
I never have ------------- The Pedro and Micky Experience - When one no longer requires psychotropics to trip |
Posted By: Forgotten Son
Date Posted: September 22 2007 at 14:39
Melodic Death Metal bands might take issue with that. |
Posted By: Dim
Date Posted: September 22 2007 at 15:06
Well, that would explain why your user name is what it is -------------
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Posted By: P.H.P.
Date Posted: September 22 2007 at 15:16
I don't think Opeth could have much musical things in common with death metal, Opeth's music is certainly more related to Prog in any musical sense like you said, and death metal in Opeth's is just a consideration to justify the death metal growls, their factual music just doesn't sound death metal at all to me. and with "Symphonic Progressive Death Metal" I think it's close when it comes to describe Opeth's sound with words, but there's one very important thing bad with that term, note it well, when you say "Progressive Death Metal" you're implying that the band is mostly death metal and then "Progressive" just as an adjetive of "something more" or "another complexity level" "IN" death metal, which I finally think doesn't reflect the sound of Opeth accurately, and of course it contradicts everything you agreed in first place:
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Posted By: MikeEnRegalia
Date Posted: September 22 2007 at 18:03
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^ I'm aware of the contradiction ... you cannot call their music Death Metal, but listening to it you recognise certain patterns that originate from Death Metal. Of course Opeth are much different from a band like Death, which more appropriately deserves to be called "Progressive Death Metal" (at least their last albums). I guess these two bands differ in how they changed their style ... Death made their music more complex and technically demanding, while Opeth changed their songwriting while keeping most of the Death Metal trademarks in instrumentation and vocal style. In a way they could be called "Post Death Metal".
------------- https://awesomeprog.com/users/Mike" rel="nofollow">Recently listened to:
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Posted By: Tony R
Date Posted: September 22 2007 at 18:23
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Opeth are a Prog band with cookie monster vocals. Not a death metal band with with prog tendencies. Musically they are far more intricate and progressive than the majority of bands on PA. Personally I cant get past the Cookie Monster vocals, but that's my loss!! |
Posted By: P.H.P.
Date Posted: September 22 2007 at 18:30
Exactly, Opeth are very very much different from bands like Death, and I would just call Death a "technical death metal" band, they were one of the first (if not the first) death metal that explored compositional passages and demanding stuff like you said, never seen before in that kind of music, but there's no way I could relate Death with Prog music, and there's no need to use the "Prog" word with them, and because if Death wouldn''t be "technical death metal", which bands are then? remember that this term is old in the metal scene, in the other hand with Opeth we're kind of forced to use the word "Prog" if we want to be accurate, I would just call Opeth Progressive Metal with death metal growls, just that... and by "Post Death Metal" you're talking about Death Metal that doesn't sound very much death metal? well, that's the meaning of the term "post" for me, something that could be, but in the end it's not, so I think the "post" word could be used in a way, a very far way to make clear that Opeth's music contains some Death Metal elements such as the vocals, the term "post" is useful only if the perspective is a metal one (i.e. a metal website) and if you don't know about Prog music, but we're in a prog site, don't forget that. So, Progressive Metal for me. |
Posted By: WaywardSon
Date Posted: September 22 2007 at 18:42
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Last night I listened to "Still life" three times on headphones and found I just can´t get into this band
It´s not just the vocals, it´s the whole doom and gloom mentality, right down to the lyrics and album cover art.
If I want doom and gloom, I listen to ´70´s Sabbath.
They are good musicians though.
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Posted By: P.H.P.
Date Posted: September 22 2007 at 18:55
Well, that's called passion, Opeth has it. And perhaps are you expecting the typical DT clone band? let me tell you Opeth aren't "your typical" Progressive Metal band, they're unique and an acquired taste, so as Tony R said, it is "your loss". So keep checking them out!  |
Posted By: WaywardSon
Date Posted: September 22 2007 at 19:19
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OK, PHP, I will give them another try, maybe something will click and I could land up loving them
It´s happened with some bands in the past.
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Posted By: Dim
Date Posted: September 22 2007 at 22:22
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I'm listening to the moor right now, absolutely awesome! -------------
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Posted By: ShipOfFools
Date Posted: September 23 2007 at 01:36
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I agree, I've never felt that Opeth were strictly a death metal band. Even in their early records, they had a certain style that screamed prog rock.
I would categorize them as an experimental prog metal band, more than anything. ------------- 
"Better than a thousand hollow words is one word that brings peace" - Buddha |
Posted By: rushfan4
Date Posted: September 23 2007 at 10:01
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Time to re-enter the discussion and say that I am glad to know that I am not the only one who can't get past the cookie monster vocals. Being on a prog rock archives site it is hard to understand how I can have so much musical taste in common with many of you and yet just can't get in to this band that is so well liked on this website. So far I have only had this experience twice: with Opeth and with VDGG. Both musically sound bands with strange vocals which are "an acquired taste". -------------
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Posted By: Shakespeare
Date Posted: September 23 2007 at 10:08
| Still hate the vocals, and death metal, but I'm able to look passed it. |
Posted By: MikeEnRegalia
Date Posted: September 23 2007 at 11:40
This was actually the first Opeth song I ever heard ... I downloaded it (illegally) from audiogalaxy.com in 2002 or so. ------------- https://awesomeprog.com/users/Mike" rel="nofollow">Recently listened to:
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Posted By: Nightfly
Date Posted: September 23 2007 at 14:43
I think Still Life is probably the least representative album of what Opeth actually are about with the exception of Damnation which was deliberately a much mellower affair without any Death Metal vocals.
Having said that Opeth are such a diverse band and have many facets. The Baying of the Hounds even sounds like Uriah Heep to me! At least to start with.
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Posted By: oddentity
Date Posted: September 23 2007 at 21:57
But you know what I'm getting at, don't you? I'm turned off by most death metal growlers because their growls are almost entirely composed of pain and hysteria. They sound like demons screaming in total desperation from the sufferings from hell. Horrible stuff. Akerfeldt, in contrast, sounds like he comes from heaven. His growling is controlled, disciplined and majestic. You can hear the lyrcis carefully enunciated, whereas you can't really make out what other growlers are saying because it is drowned out by all the hysteria. To me, Akerfeldt is an artist who uses music and lyrics to describe tragic situations in the same way that Shakespeare did with his plays. He can summon up the rage inside him as an artistic device and paint pictures with it, but it is clear that he stands apart from it. But with most other death metal bands, they all sound as though they are locked within the tragedy themselves. There is no real artistry there. Only a crude reaction to their own pain. It's a big difference, I think. |
Posted By: oddentity
Date Posted: September 23 2007 at 22:21
In my humble opinion, the doom and gloom scenarios painted by Opeth are far richer than what Black Sabbath ever did. Akerfeldt's lyrics are works of art in themselves. His command of the English language is astonishing, especially given that it is not his native tongue. He is able to recreate the atmosphere of the Middle Ages and Dark Ages with great skill, using poetic metaphors and rich, ambiguous, old-style language, and the stories he tells are complex, Shakespearian tragedies. The way he brings it all together is almost flawless, in my opinion. Also, the album covers are very tasteful and dignified, as befits the music. Unlike most rock covers, there is nothing remotely tacky or garish about them. They all exude class. It seems to me that Akerfeldt has a strong, old-fashioned sense of things, which shines though in all aspects of his output. It's like he is from another era. |
Posted By: Dim
Date Posted: September 23 2007 at 22:32
I know what your getting at, and I'm all for it. I guess I've never thought as his growls being of rejoice, maybe happy vengance, but i guess I should attack such dark vocals a bit less... dark.
Wayward son, Still life is generally hard to get into in the first place, I started out with ghost reveries, which is a bit more accesible, try that one if you feel there may still be hope for Opeth. -------------
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Posted By: Yontar
Date Posted: September 24 2007 at 23:29
well, they are a unique musical entity. They write riffs that are very death metal oriented , prog riffs, and acoustic interludes. I dont know if I would call them prog. death metal. I would say that they are more a kind of progressive gothenburg metal with an appreciation for classic rock/prog as well. For anyone who doesnt know what gothenburg is it is a form of heavy metal hailing from gothenburg, sweden that emphasizes strong guitar melodies over heavy rhythms and most gothenburg bands have a tendency to utilize folk instruments and acoustics. ------------- basically in a few words, prog metal owns! 
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Posted By: Firefly
Date Posted: September 25 2007 at 07:07
| Gothenburg bands do melodies with death metal is a different way, or at least, the mood and vibe are completely different. There's no Gothenburg in Opeth. |
Posted By: Zitro
Date Posted: September 25 2007 at 11:27
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Opeth? Took me a while to get into, but it probably is among my 5 most listened bands for a whole year and despite their death metal elements, some of the best melodies I can think of are from them. Still Life is one of the most perfect albums I own and is an obvious 5-star rating. All of the longer songs in this album are incredibly consistent and coherent. Rarely have I heard such brilliant songwriting in a metal band. |
Posted By: P.H.P.
Date Posted: September 25 2007 at 13:24
Exactly, Gothenburg sound is totally different to Opeth's music. |
Posted By: StarBreaker
Date Posted: September 26 2007 at 07:38
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I was a big Opeth fan, a year ago. I'm not a big Opeth fan anymore. |
Posted By: MikeEnRegalia
Date Posted: September 26 2007 at 07:45
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^ they didn't release anything during the last year ... so what made you change your mind?
------------- https://awesomeprog.com/users/Mike" rel="nofollow">Recently listened to:
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Posted By: StarBreaker
Date Posted: September 26 2007 at 11:46
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I got tired of them, basically. I found most of their music to be too repetitive and consequently too boring. MAYH, Still Life and BWP don't suffer too much from these symptoms - they're all quite good albums actually. It's the later albums I don't like at all. |
Posted By: MikeEnRegalia
Date Posted: September 26 2007 at 13:15
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^ Especially Ghost Reveries is quite diverse ... I don't follow at all. Of course Deliverance and Damnation are a bit more monotonous if you will - simply because they separated the acoustic parts from the heavy parts.
------------- https://awesomeprog.com/users/Mike" rel="nofollow">Recently listened to:
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Posted By: P.H.P.
Date Posted: September 26 2007 at 13:32
I just don't quite agree with that, they've been making only good albums, through years; and well if somebody doesn't like Opeth, it's "your own loss" like it's been said, so just relax and enjoy the music. |
Posted By: MikeEnRegalia
Date Posted: September 26 2007 at 14:01
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^ I said "if you will" ... I don't of course.
------------- https://awesomeprog.com/users/Mike" rel="nofollow">Recently listened to:
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Posted By: Yontar
Date Posted: September 26 2007 at 20:31
um ever heard morning rise or orchid ??? There is plenty . I own three albums by dark tranquility and two early in flames i think i know what im talking about. ------------- basically in a few words, prog metal owns!
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Posted By: Yontar
Date Posted: September 26 2007 at 20:35
Oh and btw how so are the melodies different because i see several similarities with opeth and dark tranquilities early works (one of the most well known gothenburg bands). And on top of all of that if you have ever heard the album the jester race by in flames although it is slightly lighter than opeth, sonically there are a lot of comparisons i could make. ------------- basically in a few words, prog metal owns!
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Posted By: Yontar
Date Posted: September 26 2007 at 20:37
i think by post he means that it bears similiarities to the founders and leaders of the genre but it is more experimental and couldn't really be lumped into the same category as the band's predecessors. He is basically saying opeth could not be put into the same musical realm as suffocation, nile, death, cannibal corpse, nocturnus, and cryptoposy for example. ------------- basically in a few words, prog metal owns!
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Posted By: P.H.P.
Date Posted: September 26 2007 at 21:34
Firefly probably has listened more Opeth albums that you could think...see... One thing is that Opeth has lots of melody, and other totally different thing is the Gothenburg sound, that sound is very melodic but in a complete differention approach and feeling, it's faster and thrashy like all real death metal bands, Opeth's music isn't fast, neither thrashy, nor death metal. In the other hand in order to be really accurate and objecitve with Opeth's music you must have a complete understanding of the Prog genre first, and your view must be angled towards Prog music, because if you don't you could be thinking they only play death metal and mellow parts, but in fact Opeth's music is way beyond that, they do Prog music, I hope that's clear now. |
Posted By: P.H.P.
Date Posted: September 26 2007 at 21:43
If you really understand the idea behind Opeth you'll inmediately notice that they just don't play death metal, also you'll understand that they're not just another band, and the melodies and sophistication of Opeth are Prog rock inspired, certainly closer to rock than to metal, and I can really tell you In Flames or Dark Tranquility are not Prog rock inspired at all, those are just metal bands, death metal bands. |
Posted By: rushfan4
Date Posted: October 02 2007 at 00:33
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Let me ask this question. As I did previously state, I really like Opeth's music but I just can't stomach the death vocals. Any thoughts on bands that have a similar sound without those vocals?
I have rather recently discovered Wolverine. The albums that I have heard toss in a death growl here and there but for the most part the vocals are clean. But I guess that I wouldn't say that their music is all that comparable to Opeth.
Thanks in advance for any assistance. -------------
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Posted By: Lanor
Date Posted: October 02 2007 at 00:56
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I've really been there and done that. Absolutely loved them. Still Life is among my favourites of all times, and I'm assuming that's because of my attachment to it as the first I got into. I found it fairly difficult to get into them initially, most likely because of the death vocals, which are actually unlike any other in that they're not delivered in monotone. I'd often listen to a full song and wait for the softer sections because I loved them, and having to put up with the rest of it I ended up loving every part of Opeth equally. Their structures at first are a novelty. "oo wow, heavyyy....woow...soffttt.. that was a biggg surprise there...this is so unpredictable" Then I realised an overall view reveals that's what the main gist of it is and the novelty wears thin. |
Posted By: angelmk
Date Posted: October 02 2007 at 07:03
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i don't agree with some of the members here with the claim that opeth music is similar or resemble like the work of gothenburg bands, they play melodic death metal, it is death metal still, not prog, there is trashy feeling in their stuf , not to complex melodies to be listed as prog. ------------- www.last.fm/user/angelmk
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Posted By: MikeEnRegalia
Date Posted: October 02 2007 at 10:44
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^ "Gothenburg" means melodic death metal ... and please it's "thrashy" not "trashy" (if you deliberately wrote "trashy" then nevermind).
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Posted By: Melisma
Date Posted: October 03 2007 at 22:34
And what a growl Mikael has. One of the best and easiest for the ear since it's so low in tone. If you haven't seen Opeth Live... It's a must! Too bad Martin Lopez & Peter Lindgren have left. I'm not too sure where this will bring the band. Let's hope Mikael has something up his sleeves! ------------- Melisma Life is a trip! Death is an odyssey... |
Posted By: FruMp
Date Posted: October 04 2007 at 05:46
I completely agree, I'm very into extreme metal and Opeth aren't death metal to me, not heavy enough, the vocals are fairly weak for death metal vocals too, metal archives doesn't even list them as death metal. ------------- 
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Posted By: MikeEnRegalia
Date Posted: October 04 2007 at 07:34
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Mikael's growls are very good IMO ... in fact I cannot think of any better vocals in that style. The former Nile vocalist comes close though - must be the lowest register growls EVER.
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Posted By: Floydian42
Date Posted: October 04 2007 at 08:44
| Only having Damnation and Ghost Reveries, I'd have to agree that they get boring. Granted, the two albums are very different but within themselves they are very repetitive and dull. |
Posted By: chamberry
Date Posted: October 04 2007 at 08:54
I'll have to listen to that. There are some Doom Metal growlers that scare the hell out of me. One of them that comes to mind is the singer from Buried At Sea. ------------- 
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Posted By: MikeEnRegalia
Date Posted: October 04 2007 at 09:32
Starbreaker said that especially the latest Opeth albums are too boring and repetetive - I simply said that Ghost Reveries may well be the most diverse and eclectic Opeth album to date. It doesn't have anything to do with whether I (or he) likes the album or not. ------------- https://awesomeprog.com/users/Mike" rel="nofollow">Recently listened to:
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Posted By: ProgBagel
Date Posted: October 04 2007 at 12:39
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Theres plently of 'death metal' bands that don't have lyrics about death, mutilation etc... I believe they just refer to the vocal style as death metal. There's genres called Christian Death Metal...
Opeth is an excellent band...like you said I too get the same feeling, classic progressive rock except in metal. By no means is Opeth's music not techinical though, they have some fancy acoustic work but its not terribly complex. |
Posted By: ProgBagel
Date Posted: October 04 2007 at 12:39
| They can hold their own with instruments is what I'm trying to say. |