Opeth

By Request, Part 1 - Orchid:

  • Total voters
    10
The new drummer is awesome. His playing is the highlight of Eternal Rains Will Come.

Night Prowler said:
Or how Mosh didn't like Smedley's drumming in Iced Earth yet I thought it's great
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To clarify: I like Smedley' drumming in his hey-day, it's very recently that he started to phone it in. It was obvious he wasn't into it anymore.
 
Detective Beauregard said:
MrKnickerbocker saw Opeth earlier this year and said that Mikael's growls were spot on (much better than on their most recent live album).
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They sounded great to me. Ghost of Perdition was epic.

Night Prowler said:
I could compare it to how Broderick nails all the Friedman solos in Megadeth, but it doesn't sound same. Or how Mosh didn't like Smedley's drumming in Iced Earth yet I thought it's great :p
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Broderick plays fast and loose with Marty's solos. I saw 'Deth earlier this year and he was sloppy all over the place. He tries to do too much and it ends up sounding incredibly tuneless. I'm not a fan of his at all. Pitrelli was vastly better from a Marty-recreation standpoint.

Smedley is no Richard Christy, but he's pretty good. The fact that he's played on the most sterile, poorly produced IE albums does not help my opinion of him, though.
 
The problem with bands like Megadeth and Iced Earth is that due to their constant revolving door of band members due to two egomaniacal tyrants, they struggle to find any kind of cohesive musical identity. Or maybe the tyrants are just washed up, who knows.

As for Opeth, I always mix up Mendez and Lopez! I'm pretty sure they're both from Uruguay; that's probably why. Has nothing to do with how similar their names sound.
 
Or that they're both named Martin. :p

I agree about IE and Megadeth to an extent. Both bands are extremely formulaic to the point that they'll sound the same no matter who's in the band as long as the main songwriter is there. The problem is that those main writers have long been washed up and are clearly running out of ideas. Having another creative force to work with would be beneficial and cause them to change things up a bit.
 
That's cool:

OPETH are set to celebrate their landmark 25th Anniversary as a band next year with a very special event at the legendary London Palladium on 18th October 2015. After being the heaviest band to play the Royal Albert Hall (in 2010), they will no doubt be the heaviest band to also play the Palladium.

The unique show, dubbed 'An Evening with OPETH' will feature two sets from the progressive Swedes, including 2005's much-lauded 'Ghost Reveries' album in its entirety (which in turn is celebrating its 10th anniversary), plus a second set of classics from their 25-year career.

Frontman Mikael Akerfeldt is looking forward to the show, informing us; "The forces that be put up a very mystical and subtle little advert on the so called internet. Yes, we will celebrate 25 years of being Opeth in 2015 and this is reason enough to gather up the forces and play. For you. At the Palladium in London. Not sure if they have a dress-code there, as it is a posh little place. Do we care? No we don’t. It will be a pretty unique evening I reckon, hopefully free of technical difficulties. No thanks to Baal! With that said, we are a live band in the true sense of the word and you can never be certain. Regardless it will be a blast and I strongly advise you to think about attending. But don’t think for too long. It might cost you your seat! We’re currently on tour (Hey! Thanks European progrockdeathmetalheads! You are absolutely fantastic and we love you!) and I’m being called for, so gotta dash. Ta-ta!"
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Ahum. Err. *cough, cough* Because that one is not worth celebrating. *runs with breakneck speed in opposite direction of Belgrade* :D
 
Would've been better if they just played 2 songs from each album. And none of them from previous DVD's.
 
@Mosh the discussion in the Opeth survivor was closed (while I was making the post!) so I'll put it here:


I haven't spinned the last two that much. Just once in total, and a few songs that survived a next round twice. I'll definitely play them more often.
(If I leave out Still Life), My Arms Your Hearse & Heritage were the most difficult ones to appreciate. My Arms did already better at a second listen. Heritage had some songs that took a lot of my patience but also some stuff that clicked immediately. This could become a grower, so to speak. Pale Communion was a bullseye with the first listen. Not the whole album to be honest, but the majority sounded good enough to embrace it. Ghost Reveries has some really awesome songs, of which the best ones were IMO eliminated too early in this survival. The ones that got into the final were perhaps even the two least good songs in my ears. Damnation has some wonderful songs, but as a whole I prefer more adventurous Opeth. Deliverance is a really heavy album. Just as Blackwater Park, both albums have an excellent vibe, and I can understand BP's breakthrough factor. Still, not every song keeps my attention as much as what goes on on Watershed. Seven tracks only, but overwhelmingly interesting and impressive! As a whole, this is probably my favourite "recent" Opeth album, at the moment that is.

Favourite tracks, not sure yet. I have some problems with Opeth and their titles. For some reason they don't stick to what I am hearing. I'd have to go through all the albums to make up my mind about that (will definitely try to play the next survivor!).

Are the two first albums still my favourites? Well, especially my appreciation for the debut has intensified. I love the style and the sound so much. Haunting vibe, melodies that give me goosebumps, unexpected changes, and cool echoing (delay?) of the guitar lines. Quite an experience with headphones.
A very pure album, not much fuss added, not too many layers, not too full. This album feels "warmer" than its follow-up Morningrise. Opeth's second album has a more black metallish, bleaker, or even evil atmosphere. Some songs have insanely cool melodies but sometimes you really need to wait long for those. If I've remembered well, this is especially the case in Black Rose Immortal. I guess this album also needs patience to appreciate it fully. Still, this kind of style really fits my taste well.

I can't say anymore -with confidence- that the first two are still my favourites, but I am pretty sure one of them (I guess the debut) is still a top 2 album for me.
 
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Cool. Glad this survivor got you into more Opeth! I actually agree for the most part, especially glad to see some love for Watershed, my #2 Opeth album. Easily their most interesting too I think. Lots going on there and it flows together quite nicely. Heritage is definitely a grower but I think it's best consumed as background music. It's an album that rarely commands your attention and that can be grating to some who want something interesting to be happening constantly.

I had problems with titles too, it's probably because most of their songs don't really stay in one place for very long so it can all mesh together sometimes. I like that about them though, it provides a great full album experience. My suggestion is after going through the discography, find one or two albums to focus on and really get to know them. There's a lot to dig into! There are a few Opeth albums that I still don't know very well despite listening to them so much, so they have a ton to offer.

I think the early stuff is just fine. If the pre Still Life albums were the only ones they ever released, I think they'd still be a great band and certainly essentials in the genre. It's just that they quickly outdid themselves and took the already unique sound even further and really refined it. A true rarity in metal (and music in general) I think.
 
This is what Opeth posted on their Facebook:
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Here's the set list from earlier this month in Amsterdam. Which of these tracks would you like to see performed on the upcoming tour in N America?
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Awesome setlist! Especially because both Grand Conjuration and Bleak are out there.
Deliverance, Advent, Lotus Eater, Windowpane and Eternal Rains make the feast complete.
 
Setlist could be better, seems like the new album kinda got snubbed this time around. But Bleak and The Lotus Eater alone make it worth it, love those songs Deliverance is mindblowing live too, I'm sure it makes a great set closer.
 
That is a pretty decent set. I don't get why Elysian Woes is in there -- I'd much rather see Faith in Others. As for everything else? Replace The Moor with Serenity Painted Death, Advent with Black Rose Immortal, April Ethereal with The Amen Corner, The Grand Conjuration with Harlequin Forest, and Deliverance with Blackwater Park, and you've got a near-perfect set.
 
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