My listening thoughts essay on
Still Life:
The Moor – We kick off the album with a creepy ass intro that sounds like Death Itself taking a midnight stroll through the fog. The whole buildup is perfect, from the acoustics to the rhythmic shifts underneath that first big riff. Mikael's torrent of screams after the long dirge adds to the chaos, introducing the tortured soul of the protagonist. This is an incredible start to the definitive Opeth sound. The vocals have finally reached their potential in terms of both growling and singing, the transition into the cleans is perfectly fluid, and the lead guitar underneath accentuates the vocals so well. A spooky musical break cuts the tension, but exists only as a brief reprieve. I love the chorus riff and melody, and we transition perfectly through harmonized guitar wailing that leads into…more harmonized wailing! The acoustic section with the jaunty Celtic riff (around 8:00) is just masterfully done. It's amazing how fluid all the music is here, a stark contrast to the first two albums. After a beautifully sung section that contrasts love and hate with sweet clean singing, the first real nonsense lullaby appears in an Opeth song and it's glorious. The creepy whispered "Melinda" before it returns to heaviness is spine-chilling. The brilliance is in the confidence of the ending. Similar to what they will do later on Ghost of Perdition, the song picks up and reaches its ultimate climax and immediately ends. It's crazy to say that an 11-minute song is restrained, but it truly is. The ending leaves you wanting more, even though you've already been given it.
10/10
Godhead’s Lament – The first minute and a half are brutal as hell, with a lead that is constructed out of pure madness tinkering away beneath Mikael’s bellowing growl. When the riffage kicks in at 1:42 the song levels up. The lead at 3 mins is so emotional and perfect, especially once it’s harmonized. Mikael's vocals take the melody and lead into a beautiful acoustic section with a background of harmonized guitars in ghoul-minor, the most Opeth of keys. The entire vocal passage over the acoustics is splendid- it sounds like a church choir (fitting for the song about the protagonist’s anger against his love’s turn towards religion). The songwriting, from concept to lyric to execution, has truly come into the forefront of the band and we're so much better off for it. I love the break after the heavy part before the final chorus. That's right – Opeth has pre-choruses and choruses now! It ends with a wail of pure rage, leading us into the beauty of Benighted. Another perfect song.
10/10
Benighted - I can't describe how much I love this song. It's beautiful and an exemplary display of acoustic guitar playing and arranging that you would never get in a “metal” band other than Opeth. The fact that the majority of the fan base doesn't adore this song is beyond me. It's a hallmark of Opeth's catalogue and probably my favorite soft song they've ever written. I love the arpeggios, the slides, the melodies, the harmonies, the groovy full band section, that guitar solo - it's simply perfect. One of Opeth's hardest songs to play and it's nearly all acoustic. I think a song of this nature is 100% necessary on an album such as this – it’s a reflective number in a sea of destruction, yet (like the other tracks) it never stops moving.
10/10
Moonlapse Vertigo - The. Riffs. Never. Stop. That lead with the acoustics under it in the beginning is out of this world. There's some hope at this point in the story, and losing that hope throughout this song is what makes it so great. The riff under the first growled part (2:40ish) is astounding. Not to mention those growls are pummeling, Mikael’s best yet. The dynamics make this song truly perfect. The bluesy touches throughout are quite unique for early Opeth, like the funky chord leading into that little solo at 5:00 with the atonal chords underneath it before things get really dark with the volume swells. This song is untouchable. When the real guitar solo kicks in it pushes the protagonist towards pain, violence and rage. Overall, I'd say this is the best song on the album. It's the
Empire Strikes Back of songs on Still Life.
10/10
Face of Melinda - A beautiful, sorrowful piece that builds the bridge towards the end of the album. Regarding the songwriting: it says a lot about Mikael's confidence that, as a guy in a death metal band, he chooses a soothing, clean vocal song to portray the deepest moment of sadness for this character. It's a masterful decision. This kind of stuff is what sets Opeth apart from everyone else. The music does the talking, with those heavy riffs finally crashing in and giving the listener the release they expect without beating them over the head with double bass and screaming (because we’ll get plenty on the next song). The outro is awesome and haunting, leading perfectly into madness.
10/10
Serenity Painted Death - Demon of the Fall x2. The Track of Evil, and what a track it is! So many great riffs and melodies here, it’s hard to pick a favorite. The melody at :50 is amazing, as is the “Serenity Painted Death” riff, the riff after that...it's all brilliant and it all works together instead of sounding completely random. Mikael's growls are absolutely vicious here. Maybe his best ever in a single song. The bluesy part with the lead under it at 3:20 is one of my favorite moments, especially once the vocals kick in. The guitars on this album are top notch. Career best, I think. "Darkness reared its head" verse is purely terrifying. The moody guitar solo that follows is one of my favorites, as well, especially the way it ends and leads into the clean vocal section. Oh! And the pinch harmonic in the chorus riff! God. I can't even. Maybe this is the best song on the album. I don't even know anymore.
10/10
White Cluster - This song crept up on me. It's got a lot of little bluesy touches here and there, some wah-wah chords, some great clean vocals, some great heavy vocals, it's got everything great you want to hear in an Opeth song. The clean vocal section is the catchiest on the whole album. Upon my first few listens, this song didn't stand out and I finally discovered the reason: it comes after 50 minutes of brilliance. The more I absorbed the song, the more I came to appreciate it. It truly stands up against any other great track from the album with tons of riffs, great heaviness, singing, and a killer groove that shifts throughout. It's got a creepy, panned acoustic part and a growl from the bowels of hell, before a Dream Theater section and a stellar pair of frenetic tradeoff guitar solos. God, this song is power. A masterful way to end a completely flawless album.
10/10
This album is so immersive. Every time I listen to it I look at the clock and literally don't understand how an hour has passed. It's pure magic from start to finish. Part of that is that the music just never stops - it flows from song to song and passage to passage in master strokes. Every song on this album is like a river: it never stops flowing. Gone are the start/stop transitions from the early albums (that will unfortunately reappear later in the discography). This sense of movement keeps the energy from dipping, yet never diminishes the dynamics of each song.
I fully believe this is Mikael's crowning achievement of songwriting from a riff perspective and certainly from a musical transition perspective. Everything that is Opeth is defined and perfected on this record.
Needless to say, I will not be voting for anything off of
Still Life.
Face Of Melinda
One of their most popular songs and definitely the most popular one from this album. I think it’s the first Opeth song that only features clean vocals and it’s an instant classic.
Except for To Bid You Farewell, Credence, and (mostly recently) Benighted just two tracks prior.
While older work can be seen by some as very busy because of the changes, for me this album is very busy in the segments themselves. It is very intense. My beef is that a very large percentage is very much like this. There are not many welcome calm sections. In other words, and this may also explain why you like it so much Night Prowler: this is a very heavy album with not much breathing/recharging space. This makes it very constant. Too constant for my taste to see it as one of their best.
This is precisely why I like this album. The songs (and album) sound connected. They do not sound like a collection of parts and this is due to it being "constant" as you put it. Even the calm songs never stop moving. I can understand why you feel the way you do, but I don't see this as "intensity", but as movement. This album is alive to me.
(Also had to check exact times to be able to write them down)