OPETH SURVIVOR 2014: Results -> Bleak wins!

Satisfied with the results?

  • Total voters
    6
Forostar said:
In this round, my vote for Karma was a mistake. If possible, do not count it. Cheers!
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After listening to this album again last night, Karma shot up by a whole point in my rankings. What a great song! Sadly, most other songs dropped a point. Oh, except for Demon of the Fall, which for some impossible reason you have not rescinded your vote. o_O
 
Everything from first 2 albums, except 2 favorites from each - Mist, Forest, Advent, Silent Water. And 3 instrumentals from the third album.

Btw. it's gonna be 2 day rounds until the next album joins the game. I'm gonna have longer rounds every time a new album joins :)
 
I appreciate the longer rounds, NP. While relistening I was shocked to find that Orchid and MAYH dropped almost a half point in my personal rankings, whereas Morningrise earned a half. I was actually looking forward to absorbing MAYH again, but found it mostly underwhelming.
 
I had the same problem with MAYH. It had three really great songs (April Ethereal, When, Demon of the Fall) but the rest was somewhat dull. I remember it being a lot better.
 
Mosh said:
I had the same problem with MAYH. It had three really great songs (April Ethereal, When, Demon of the Fall) but the rest was somewhat dull. I remember it being a lot better.
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Demon of the Fall remains a classic, but I was shocked how unimpressed I was with April Ethereal and When this time around. I read the lyrics again, looked up the story, looked at interviews to get into the concept, and yet, those two songs both dropped a whole point. Karma, on the other hand, surprised me and went up.
 
Orchid is dropping in my ratings every time I listen to it (not that I have actual ratings :P). I don't really like any of the songs from it.
Morningrise has 2 great songs (Advent, Silent Water) and one good song (Farewell), the rest is meh.
April Ethereal and Demon Of The Fall are awesome, the rest ain't bad, but ain't memorable either.
 
This survivor shows once again, that I find that from the third album and onwards, Opeth gets more monotone. I really appreciate the variety in (sudden) changes of chords and melodies in the first two albums. Gives them more colour. Also I find the acoustic passages on the first album more beautiful than in this next album. I know that the post-Morningrise approach was more succesful, but I don't find this stuff nicer to listen to. On the contrary: duller.
 
IMO there's just too much going on on first 2 albums. Songs are way too long, no catchy riffs or vocal melodies. They are just churning out Maidenish melody after melody.

Later albums have a lot of melody, just not during whole songs, non-stop, for 10 minutes :P
 
First two albums are a result of weak songwriting, the other albums have much better songwriting. The material is much more focused. I do wonder sometimes what would Mikael do with the material from the first two albums if he had them today.

Orchid and Morningrise are my least favorite Opeth albums.
 
This says it all for me, especially the blue parts:

On Orchid:
The music in Orchid combines elements influenced by progressive rock and acoustics pieces of folk music to the black metal scream and the death metal growl, as well having clean vocals. It also contains influences from jazz and melodic passages played by a piano and acoustic guitars.[10][11] Opeth sounded much different than the casual black or death metal bands at that time[12][13] and it's the closest album that the band came to the black genre.[13] Critics described the sound of the album as it being "unique". Jim Raggi wrote "If you're wanting the more deathy and song oriented Opeth, skip down to My Arms Your Hearse and go from there. If you're looking for a unique journey of music built alternately around dual guitar harmonies knocking into sequences when the two guitars and the bass are all playing different parts, stop-start transitions at times and smooth here-to-theres at others, here you go."[11] Matt Smith stated that "with Orchid, the band introduced its blend of intricate, down-tempo acoustic guitar and piano lines and swinging, Celtic-sounding, distorted rhythms."[14]
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Death metal, after its formative stages, wasn't averse to experimentation or the influence of other genres, but it never sounded as powerful, fearless or skilled as on Orchid... Opeth's debut was, to quote frontman Mikael Åkerfeldt in 1993, a masterful hybrid of 'Wishbone Ash, Black Sabbath and Bathory.'... It was inviting, abrasive and full of subtlety. Despite Symbolic, Slaughter of the Soul, Domination, The Gallery and Storm of the Light's Bane blowing minds in 1995, it was Opeth's Orchid that changed death metal forever.
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On Morningrise:
Along with Orchid, Morningrise shows a sound that is influenced by progressive rock, folk, black metal and death metal, but with more clean vocals than that of the previous record.[8][9] Despite the singing, Murat Batmaz of Sea of Tranquility magazine said that the song "Black Rose Immortal" "ends with one of Akerfeldt's most violent and longest screams in his career which could only be rivaled by his guesting on Edge of Sanity's Crimson album", and that Opeth created a "dark atmosphere on this album, which is simply unique."[9] The album has a "dark melancholic" sound, and features acoustic and jazz styles.
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The twin guitars work well with each other, creating some great melodies in the guitars, and often lasping into very tasteful acoustic moods. In my opinion, it's difficult to write on guitar intricate songs that fully involve the listener, but Opeth manages to keep your attention."[15] Murat Batmaz of Sea of Tranquility wrote that "the melodies, both on this song ["Advent"] and the entire album, are immortal." He also wrote, "Though I prefer their current lineup, I don't believe Morningrise would have been so amazing without Johan DeFarfalla and Anders Nordin adding their touches. They both incorporate subtle jazz harmonies in their playing enriching the psychedelic passages on the album." He was also impressed with the guitar riffs, saying "it is almost shocking how many godlike riffs Opeth are using in their songs. They literally employ tens of changing riff patterns and incomparable melodies on a single track, with which other bands could more than likely write two full albums" and claimed that the song "Black Rose Immortal" is a "magnum opus".
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Opeth indeed did put a lot into their songs in the early days, but that's not too much for me. I like such styles and influences. And I love all these counter melodies. I have an ear for such stuff. It's also happening in At the Gates, especially older stuff. Such ingredients are the most important reason why I love Maiden and most metal bands in general.
 
As much as I enjoy counter melodies, and I like a lot of the rhythms on those first two albums, the overall songwriting is poor. Compared to their later work, the lyrics are especially bad - even Mikael believes so! Most of the early songs were written with literally no concept and feature lyrics that are strung together to sound "cool" and "Satanic". The vocal melodies are laid out poorly and are utterly forgettable, save for a few instances. Like many bands, it took Opeth awhile to find their sound. I much prefer the sound of Opeth: The Middle Years.
 
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Eliminated:
Prologue - 7 votes
Madrigal - 6 votes
Epilogue - 6 votes

Thanks to the last forum update, it's now possible to shorten/extend a round, for all users. I cut this round short for a couple of hours so that I can update it before I go out. Won't do it often, this round is an exception because it was extra long :) However, if you guys need more time for relistening in the future, post in the thread and I'll extend the round as needed! :)
 
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