Totally fine with that, his growls have been deteriorating for a while. Just make the next album slightly heavier in sound. It doesn't need to be death metal, just a stronger guitar sound.
Opeth
- Thread starter Cornfed Hick
- Start date
The Flash
Dennis Wilcock did 9/11
I don't care if they go on an heavier route or not, I just don't want another retro prog rock record. This is not a diss to Heritage or Pale Communion, I enjoy the hell out of those albums, but if we get a 3rd one in a row it'll get stale. I'd like to see Mikael strip it down even further, actually, write some coherent shorter songs.
MrKnickerbocker
clap hands
I agree, I'm completely fine with Pale Communion-style material, I just wish they'd ditch the warm, fuzzy, round 70's tone.
Jamie Laszlo
Invader
I kinda like the fuzzy 70s tone. And I could go for one more album with it. But I'd also like to see more songs with a "Goblin" sound (having kind of a 70 progressive groovy feel). I don't know if they have another metal album in them. Once a band crosses the line in genres, a lot of the time they don't come back.
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Goblin is awesome, more of that would be good. I like the 70s tone but I think it gets in the way of the potential heaviness in some songs. I haven't seen any PC songs live, but when they do Heritage songs live they sound really heavy even though they don't have screams. If they ditched the lighter production this would come across on the album too.
I also like when Opeth gets dark and eerie. There's a bit of that on Pale Communion.
I also like when Opeth gets dark and eerie. There's a bit of that on Pale Communion.
Detective Beauregard
Leviathan of Doggerland
I still haven't figured out why they won't play Faith in Others. It's probably the best track they've done since Ghost Reveries.
About the growls, I'll miss them. But Heritage was an eerie record and PC was great; I've never been concerned about Opeth dipping in quality. I could tell that his growls were deteriorating shortly after Watershed with that live-from-whatever-music-hall-in-England album; he sounded awful there. And only about a third of the vocals on Watershed were growled, anyway.
I'm not a fan of the 70's production. It sounds muted and muffled and lacks the edge and sharpness of albums like Blackwater Park and Ghost Reveries. But - it does fit the sound they've been going for.
Agreed on everything but the shorter songs bit. I like my Opeth long, twisted, and complex; only a handful of their shorter songs outside of Damnation hold my attention. For a band that paints such haunting, dynamic, and multi-faceted soundscapes, I don't believe shorter songs suit them.
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MrKnickerbocker
clap hands
Maybe I'm a strange Opeth fan, but I don't love Damnation. It's interesting for its time and has a few amazing tracks, but I wouldn't rank it near my top.
Cornfed Hick
Ancient Mariner
I greatly prefer the warmer tone on the last two albums to the harsher digital sound of earlier albums. Perhaps that is because I actually started listening to music in the '70's!
MrKnickerbocker
clap hands
I greatly prefer the warmer tone on the last two albums to the harsher digital sound of earlier albums. Perhaps that is because I actually started listening to music in the '70's!
It definitely fits the overall tone of the music, but I just feel that it ruins the punch of some of the riffs. Moon Above, Sun Below is a perfect example: the part where they repeat the chorus could have sounded incredibly heavy and powerful (even with clean singing and harmonies), but instead it just feels...catchy. Opeth's riffs have always been very serpentine and precise, but the warm tone kind of muddles that precision.
I honestly think that older Opeth fans would have no problem with the PC-style songwriting if the guitars still sounded like Blackwater Park.
I finally discovered this 
Just discovered that there were two bonuses on the Japanese edition of Pale Communion: acoustic versions of Atonement and Demon Of The Fall! Here they are:
So I downloaded that new Damnation/Deliverance remix edition and it's bad. Deliverance is ruined. He made it sound like Blackwater Park - drums have a softer punch and double bass is much lower in the mix... very disappointing. I actually wouldn't be surprised if drums were re-recorded completely. Some fills don't sound the same.
Damnation sounds almost the same except again, drums are softened. Anyway, don't buy this shit.
Damnation sounds almost the same except again, drums are softened. Anyway, don't buy this shit.
Jamie Laszlo
Invader
I was actually thinking of getting the hard copy of it just for the surround sound mix.
MrKnickerbocker
clap hands
...it's like Opeth wrote a video score for Super Nintendo. Opeth brings you, Super Metroid Black!
I think the original song finally clicked for me... except for the intro, don't like Mikael's vocals there.
The Flash
Dennis Wilcock did 9/11
That's a great cover.
Dirge for November clicked with me during a bus trip. It was the trip where I moved from my old hometown to the current one. I listened to the song around 3 am in pitch black when everyone else but the driver and I were asleep. It was fucking powerful. Have loved the song ever since.
Dirge for November clicked with me during a bus trip. It was the trip where I moved from my old hometown to the current one. I listened to the song around 3 am in pitch black when everyone else but the driver and I were asleep. It was fucking powerful. Have loved the song ever since.
Heh, I had a similar situation ("around 3 am in pitch black when everyone else but the driver and I were asleep") help me get into some other albums, I still have that visual in my head whenever I hear some songs (like Wintersun's debut album or Priest's Nostradamus) 