OPETH DISCOGRAPHY RANKING GAME - Still Life wins!

[Mosh]

1:
2:
3: Ghost Reveries
4: Damnation
5: Deliverance
6: Watershed
7: Morningrise (tie)
7: Pale Communion (tie)
8: My Arms Your Hearse
9: In Cauda Venenum
10: Orchid
11: Sorceress
12: Heritage

Total score - 92

Highest score - 13 (@Mosh @JudasMyGuide)
Lowest score - 7 (@KiDDo @KidInTheDark666)

Kicking off the top three is Opeth's prog metal masterpiece, Ghost Reveries. It wasn't particularly close to knocking out Blackwater Park or Still Life, but it was a decisive favorite for the #3 spot, which I think makes sense. This is the first album where the prog starts to overshadow the metal a bit, where Still Life/Blackwater Park have more of a balance. I think some of the more experimental moments on this album such as Atonement or Baying of the Hounds keeps this from being competitive for the the #1 spot. With that being said, Opeth becoming such a gargantuan presence in the prog metal world around this time probably makes this a favorite for newer fans of the band. It's no Heritage or even Watershed, but I wouldn't be surprised if this is where it all begins for those who lean more toward the prog end of Opeth.

I ranked this album #1 for two reasons. One is that I think it is the most fully realized concept the band has had for an album, at least until Last Will and Testament. I love the thematic links between the songs and the entire album has a flow to it that, again to compare it more to the prog world, feels closer to the experience you get from a Dream Theater or even Pink Floyd album. It's kinda like Seventh Son in the way that you would struggle to draw a cohesive narrative, but I actually like that about it. The concept isn't there, but it doesn't dominate the album. The other reason I ranked Ghost Reveries #1 is that I think this is where Mikael's songwriting really comes into focus. Damnation showed him improving his chops as a songwriter in a lower key/acoustic setting, but it feels like he is applying these ideas to the winding riff driven format of the classic Opeth tunes here. The riffs are all there, the great dynamic changes, but there are also some really memorable vocal hooks and even the growled moments feel catchier. On the whole, it's the perfect blend between the old school pure Metal sound of Blackwater Park and the prog worship that appeals to people like me.

No surprises here probably, I think the top three is pretty much set in stone and will never change. What lands at #1 can go either way though...

 

[MrKnickerbocker]

This makes sense, but I still think it's at least as good (or better) than Blackwater Park.

It's kinda like Seventh Son in the way that you would struggle to draw a cohesive narrative, but I actually like that about it. The concept isn't there, but it doesn't dominate the album.

I'll repost my comment from the Opeth thread about 4 years ago in which I attempt to string together a plot by rearranging the track list (and cutting Isolation Years).

two aspects are unparalleled in their discography: the tracklist and flow of the music and the ability to interpret the theme/concept of the lyrics in whatever way you choose.

It is a pretty well documented fact that Mikael intended to write a "dark" concept album about "Satan", but then upon writing Isolation Years decided to abandon this theme. It has never been explicitly stated, but most people (myself included) tend to assume that the rest of the album makes up the majority of a concept regarding Satan, murder, and being forsaken by your own actions. Here is my new track order based on what I think pieces the lyrical story together in a very dark, psychological and scary manner.

1. Hours of Wealth

It may seem like an interlude, a reprieve, but I think it's even darker as an opener (and fits the general Opeth concept of placing a light interlude as the first track).

Story: We come to the story in the middle, the turning point for our protagonist. He has been haunted for years by something and has finally found a way to get rid of his pain. He lives in isolation, away from his home and those who know him. This can be seen as a conceit of loneliness and despair or a justification for doing what he's about to do. He's embracing "darkness". He's "biding his time" until he is given his "task".

2. Beneath the Mire

The instrumental literally sounds like someone tripping, slipping away, and finally sinking.

Story: A voice calls out to our protagonist, the "way" he had previously found begins to corrupt his mind, his heart, body and soul. Beneath his pain lies emptiness, but he is not scared away, he is "willingly guided". He begins listening to the voices in his head (or the voice of Satan, however you want to look at it). We begin to hear about the figure that has "haunted" him as he is shown his true pain, the reason for his pain. He seems to find sick joy in pointing out the "failure" of this person, the "pleasant hope" they hold, the "transparent skin" (we will later come to learn this is the protagonist's mother, who has ruined him as a person and upon whom he will have his revenge). Here he submits to faith in the darkness, the devil, he abandons the old and finds a new "master." And yet, he knows this is wrong, a "delusion", but he cannot help but sink deeper down.

3. The Grand Conjuration

Story: Our protagonist fully embraces evil and his dark fate. He summons the devil (or he gives in to his darkest, most sadistic desires if you want to stay metaphorical). He regains a sense of power by accepting Satan into himself, by becoming a servant and a vessel.

4. The Baying of the Hounds

The instrumental is immediately full of movement, panic, it sounds like running. The bridge also has a nice callback vibe to Beneath the Mire, which makes sense with this tracklisting.

Story: Realizing his mistake, our protagonist flees. He has a single moment of realization of what he has done and wants no part in it, he is overcome with pure terror. He hears "the hounds" in the distance calling him to become one of them, a murderous dog in league with Satan. His true nature battles with his dark side and he tries to escape what is already inevitable. He will succumb. He will become one of the hounds, a weapon, no longer in possession of his own consciousness. He drowns in his own decisions and his past hatred. He is "too weak to resist". He is awaiting a "reverie", one last hope that this is all a dream. But alas, he is now one of the hounds, barely human. He is called back to the place of his fateful actions: his childhood home.

5. Ghost of Perdition

This is both the most directly obvious lyric on the whole album and also the most impossible to decipher. There's a lot packed in here.

Story: The protagonist returns home and murders his mother. We learn that the devil was the one who told our protagonist "she was the one." Only this horrific action would set the "faithful servant free". We go even deeper into the family history, debating whether there ever was a true reason for the son's actions or if he is maybe just evil or insane. It seems that the mother potentially tried to kill herself while pregnant, "cutting the source at the flow" and thus maybe is responsible for her own fate by causing brain damage or simply instilling a hate in her son that would never fade.

6. Atonement (and Reverie)

This whole song feels like a dream. The vocals are underwater (or "beneath the mire") and the eastern-tinged melodies clearly are meant to create a sonic dreamscape.

Story: The haze is lifted seconds after committing such a terrible action. The protagonist is free from his pain, from the "fog" that "blurred his sights". He no longer feels the "ache" to "honor" his master. It seems his connection with Satan has been severed, that he was merely an agent used for a necessary task. Of course, as night falls this seems too good to be true. He becomes riddled with doubt, he cannot "justify what he has become." A heavy peacefulness settles over our protagonist, but something is not right...the "reverie" is passing, this hopeful daydream is a mirage, one final trick of the devil.

7. Harlequin Forest

Once again, an instrumental that literally never stops moving. It feels like someone fleeing. All of the themes come together here.

Story: Awakened in fear, realizing the scope of what he has done, our protagonist flees the scene of the crime. He runs "further away from his home" and the hounds (re: his murderous intent, the grasp of Satan, or literal fucking hell hounds cause Opeth) are hot on his trail. He is now haunted by the murder he has committed. He runs forever, but he arrives nowhere. His last final hope, he believes, is to pray and repent for his sins. But there is no hope. He is no longer in control because he is dead. His last action in life was to "drop" the blade on to himself, regretting everything as he does it, forgetting immediately as he dies and enters "the forest". The forest is hell. Here he is, haunted by himself and his actions, forever. For so long that he joins the other lost souls, the "trees" that make up the forest, full of "rotten pulp" and with roots sucking from the youngest souls to enter, to regain any remembrance of life. The woods burn, the blackened remains of the trees, the victims suckered in by Satan, an eternal funeral pyre for the wicked.

*Obviously this is only one of many hundreds of interpretations, but it makes for an absolutely brutal listen and fits in nicely as the swan song of "evil Opeth"*

 

[Diesel 11]

Was always interested in hearing the Deliverance/Damnation dichotomy and I think had a lot of misconceptions about them going in.

Based on what I'd read I was really expecting Deliverance to be heavy fucking Opeth. Instead it kinda just feels like a normal Opeth album. There are still clean vocals, acoustic passages, etc. I may need to come back to this one with that mindset again. I wasn't wowed by this album, I enjoyed the title track, I thought "By the Pain..." was really good musically. The rest of the songs were solid enough. I was expecting some real death metal on this one and I didn't really get that, but that kind of has me once again wondering if Opeth were ever 'really' death metal? The majority of their heavy stuff feels like prog metal with folk and death metal influence. But maybe that's just me speaking from my own bias and I'd love to hear what other people think on this. Going with a B/B+ with this one.

Damnation was really good. Enjoyed so much from this album. What made it work so much better than a lot of the Nupeth stuff is that it's still rainy day music. Nupeth is more autumnal harvesting prog. Damnation is rainy day folk with a lot of prog elements that works really well. It isn't perfect but it's definitely one of the strongest records we've had up to this point, which makes sense this far into the list. Going with an A-/A.

I have Ghost Reveries on CD and I'd heard the album once before. Did not remember it being as good as it was. One of the big things is probably added context, when I heard it the first time I was used to Still Life and Blackwater Park and thus was blindsided by all the '70s prog influences going on in this album. This is a straight-up prog metal album masquerading with the facade of a Satanic death metal record. They really threw in a lot of the prog metal stereotypes into the mix, you can clearly hear Tool and Dream Theater influence throughout the tracks and they're better for it. Not to mention '70s keyboards that seem kinda random at first but actually really work. Some Eastern melodies as well.

The biggest thing about this album, as Mosh already said, is how masterfully Mikael et al pull off the songwriting. The songs feel well-rounded, have the closest thing to hooks I've heard from Opeth, and all the clean vocal passages are actually really good and that's something I'm usually critical of this outfit. I liked every song, or at least part of every song - the second half of "Hours of Wealth" is fine but the first half is amazing. Would've liked to hear "Isolation Years" expanded upon as well. But then those four big billowing monsters are incredible. Absolutely will be coming back to this one, might even end up my #1 - we'll see. But it's an easy A+.

Looking forward to seeing which album wins in the end as I'm pretty familiar with both SL and BWP!

 

[Detective Beauregard]

Ghost Reveries is beloved by almost all Opeth fans, and it's not difficult to understand why. The album is chock full of meaty riffs, slithering progressive sections, sinister growls, and heartfelt clean pieces. It has two of Opeth's best tracks and a bunch of other really good stuff.

8. Atonement. I like the groove here, but this track doesn't really go anywhere. Perhaps it's supposed to feel like an interlude, I don't know.
7. Isolation Years. Fine song by itself, but it doesn't fit the rest of the album. Good chorus. Maybe this should've closed out Damnation instead.
6. Beneath the Mire. Solid track, but weaker than the four juggernauts on the record. A lot of it is Opeth paint-by-numbers, although the second section of the intro is incredibly catchy (with that little hook at the end of each repeat that I still can't figure out if it's played by bass or guitar).
5. Hours of Wealth. This little gem has a lot of feeling packed into it. As @Diesel 11 said, the second bluesy half is fine, but the first half steals the show. The serene section beginning at 1:02 is one of my favorite moments of the album, probably because it sounds straight from Damnation.
4. The Grand Conjuration. I used to like this song more than I do now, but it's a bit repetitive for such a long piece. Still, the track is pure evil, from the almost whispered verses with what sounds like ethnic percussion to the brutal chorus to the pummeling interludes, it's a fitting album closer (or at least it should've been). I love what Mendez is doing under one of the final repetitions of the main theme near the end!
3. The Baying of the Hounds. This song took decades to grow on me, and while it's not perfect, the intro section/verses and that spooky middle interlude elevate it quite high. I love that little soothing break near the end before they surprise us again with the hounds! I'm ranking it higher than The Grand Conjuration because it's not as repetitive. Fresh made tacos of the earth!
2. Ghost of Perdition. I mean, this song has it all. It may not be my personal number one on this album, but it's very close; I think it's objectively the best-written song here, and possibly in the band's entire discography. The crushing intro, the brief Tool interlude, more intro, that beautiful clean "ah ah ah" part, several super catchy verses, GHOST OF PERDITIONAAAYHHHH!!!, cool solo, magnificent penultimate section with emotive growls, and Opeth actually bringing an earlier part of the song back for the ending! This track is a highlight of the band's career.
1. Reverie/Harlequin Forest. As good as my number two is, this is my personal favorite. The atmosphere in this track is top-notch, as I actually feel like I'm in an autumnal forest with trees watching me. Once the acoustics begin at 3:28, the transformation is complete. Breathtaking. The section with harmonics that follows is so delicate and delightful, and at 5:06 Mikael croons about trees in a way only he can do. Who knew that a section with the lyric "rotten pulp inside" could be so magnificent? The keys add so much here, and in the emotive harmony-laden section that follows. The twisty, labyrinthine riff before the ending is gorgeous, and the outro itself is the chef's kiss. I love these types of synchronized bits, and here it actually sounds like the beautiful forest I just walked through is burning to the ground. Simply splendid!

I was expecting some real death metal on this one and I didn't really get that, but that kind of has me once again wondering if Opeth were ever 'really' death metal? The majority of their heavy stuff feels like prog metal with folk and death metal influence.

I've never heard growled vocals outside of death metal, but Opeth is all over the place. Their first two albums almost have a black metal influence, then we have MAYH (which might be the closest thing to death metal that the band has), and after that it's almost all what I would consider strictly progressive metal with a side of death metal (outside of Damnation and the Nupeth stuff until The Last Will and Testament, obviously). But Opeth has always been progressive, too; Orchid and Morningrise have 10+ minute songs where almost nothing repeats. Then there's, as you stated, their undeniable folk influence. I'd say at the end of the day they best fit under the label of "progressive death metal."

 

[Mosh]

I pretty much agree with all of that regarding Opeth’s genre. I always think of them as a progressive rock band with a coat of Metal paint, kinda like how Star Wars movies are often lumped in with science fiction even though they really have more in common with the fantasy genre. The problem with Opeth’s metal element is it goes all over the place, lots of black metal and folk metal on the earlier albums, some melodeath elements, and then post-BWP it becomes even more undefinable. But the prog rock side threads it all together and I think aesthetically Opeth has a lot more in common with Goblin or Popol Vuh than Entombed or Darkthrone.

As far as Deliverance goes, it’s true that it has a lot of mellower moments. It’s funny to think of it as the band’s heavier side when it contains a 10 minute ballad, but it has some noteworthy moments of intensity. Generally I find the heavier moments to be much more abrasive and relentless than the ones on BWP.

 

[Mosh]

1: Still Life
2: Blackwater Park
3: Ghost Reveries
4: Damnation
5: Deliverance
6: Watershed
7: Morningrise (tie)
7: Pale Communion (tie)
8: My Arms Your Hearse
9: In Cauda Venenum
10: Orchid
11: Sorceress
12: Heritage

Still Life score - 107
Highest score - 13 (@KiDDo @KidInTheDark666 @MrKnickerbocker @Night Prowler)
Lowest score - 10 (@Mosh @JudasMyGuide)

Blackwater Park score - 106
Highest score - 13 (@Shmoolikipod)
Lowest score - 11 (@The Dissident @JudasMyGuide @MrKnickerbocker)

And we have a bit of a shocker result, Still Life wins by one point! Functionally it's a tie between the two albums, but I was still a bit surprised that Still Life took it in the end. As you can see by the results breakdown, it mostly came down to Still Life having stronger support for the #1 slot. Only one member put BWP at #1 while we had four #1 placements for Still Life. Neither albums had a lower placement than #4.

In some ways I wonder if it's a Number of the Beast effect. BWP is the most critically acclaimed and probably commercially successful Opeth album, so a lot of hardcore fans may gravitate to other "less exposed" albums. It's something that you kinda see in these countdown games almost every time. Very rarely does the most well known album actually win. While I didn't vote for BWP for #1, Opeth may be one of the few bands where their most well known album is arguably still their best. I have a slight preference for Ghost Reveries, but man Blackwater Park is such a clean album. The riffs, the performances, the production, it's so perfectly and meticulously crafted. You don't often hear Metal albums like this, where every element feels carefully constructed and every second of music feels so intentional. It reminds me more of classic pop albums such as the legendary Quincy Jones productions like Thriller than it does of the average extreme Metal album.

I've always felt that Still Life is Iron Maiden's Somewhere in Time. Both albums show the band really stretching their limits as musicians, both have earned a sort of cult like status largely to the respective bands seeming to intentionally avoid playing a lot of the material from the albums live (at least until 2024 in Maiden's case). On a personal level, I also find both to be a bit overrated by the fanbase, but more on that later. The weird thing about Still Life is where it comes in the discography. I always forget it came before Blackwater Park because musically it really feels like BWP+. Heavier, more technical riffs, proggier. The only indication that it came first is the production and Mikael's clean vocals. It's a wild jump from MAYH to this album. To go back to an earlier comparison, it's like if Maiden made Number of the Beast and then followed it up with Somewhere in Time and then made Powerslave after. The musical development is just a bit wacky during this time.

So naturally I don't really agree with the #1 placement, just like I didn't agree with SIT tying for #1 in the Maiden game. I think albums like these benefit quite strongly from a cult status and being unique within the discography, to the point where compositional/arrangement flaws get overlooked. If you compare Still Life even to just Blackwater Park, the album it barely beat, I think BWP has much stronger songwriting, performances, and production. Even though it's not a concept album, BWP is much more cohesive as an album to me. With that being said, I'm not as down on this album as SIT. I think there are several GOAT Opeth songs on here and it definitely belongs in the top 3-5, I just think that there are a couple filler-y songs that feel kinda patched together even more than average for Opeth.