Opeth

By Request, Part 1 - Orchid:

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Yea he sounds pretty bad on Leper Affinity but it gets better as the show goes on. Now it doesn't even sound like growls anymore. More like groans.
 
We're probably gonna cherish how he sounds today like 5 years from now :P I predict he'll get someone else to do the growls. He could get someone to play guitar and growl occassionally (similarly to how Gildenlöw fills in for Transatlantic?).

If they ditch the growls altogether, they can still play Face Of Melinda, Damnation songs, A Fair Judgement, Hex Omega, Porcelain Heart etc.

Mikael's voice deteriorated really fast compared to other harsh vocalists. Johan from Amon Amarth still sounds as brutal as ever and he's 1 year older than Mikael.
 
Mikael drinks and smokes a shit ton, no surprises there.

What is a surprise is that his cleans are so strong.

Night Prowler said:
If they ditch the growls altogether, they can still play Face Of Melinda, Damnation songs, A Fair Judgement, Hex Omega, Porcelain Heart etc.
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Or explore the acoustic versions territory further than just Demon of the Fall.
 
His clean voice will start to decline sooner than most of us probably expect IMO. It's already starting to sound a little raspy.

Night Prowler said:
We're probably gonna cherish how he sounds today like 5 years from now :p I predict he'll get someone else to do the growls. He could get someone to play guitar and growl occassionally (similarly to how Gildenlöw fills in for Transatlantic?).
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It would've been cool if he got someone who growled to replace Peter. Or a keyboardist when the first guy left. I think he will have to find someone else to growl at some point. His growls on that recording of The Drapery Falls on the Sorceress bonus disc were not pretty. I was actually really shocked at how bad they were, and I saw the band live not that much earlier.
 
Few days ago I listened to that Storm Corrosion album for the first time. Imagine a full album made just out of the über silent parts of Heritage and you get this. I guess the first song had some OK moments but the rest is so so so so boring.
 
Yeah, I listened to about half of it before shutting it off. Somehow working together with no exterior band pressure brings out the most boring aspects of Akerfeldt and Wilson.
 
I knew after the first single that it wasn't something I'd be interested in. Can't remember if I tried much more than that.

MrKnickerbocker said:
Yeah, I listened to about half of it before shutting it off. Somehow working together with no exterior band pressure brings out the most boring aspects of Akerfeldt and Wilson.
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I think it's more that they were desperately trying to do something unexpected. Nothing wrong with that, but I think both artists like to think of themselves as transcending prog rock more than they really do.
 
Night Prowler said:
I've gained new appreciation for the Royal Albert Hall show these days. I thought Mikael sounded awful when I first heard it when it came out, but compared to how he growls today, I can tolerate this :p

I especially like the ending of this one and Axe's addition of blastbeats:
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God, his growls are terrible live now. He used to be the master at it.
 
So, question is...who is he talking about in that article?

Guitar/vocals - Mikael
Guitar/vocals - Devin Townsend
"Guy from Sweden" for vocals - that dude from Katatonia, maybe?
Keyboard - ???
Drummer - ??? The article speculates Mike Portnoy, which would make me not listen to that album...

...Intricate Akerfeldt/Townsend harmony
UGHBROTHAUGH!
 
Night Prowler said:
Also @MrKnickerbocker I think Portnoy is only bad at singing when he tries to do "tuff guy" vocals :p
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He's great at harmonies, but Akerfeldt is specifying "people who all have lead singer-type voices." So, let's just hope it's not him. Personally, I think Akerfeldt is too smart to try that. He knows that he's too particular about his music to try and take on Portnoy's ego.

I see their interactions as like that one guy at the party that doesn't understand sarcasm.

PORTNOY: "Hey dude, we totally have to do something together, brotha!"
MIKAEL: "Oh, yes. We must do that."
PORTNOY: "Yeah brotha, let's do it! I think that music would be badass!"
MIKAEL: "Yes, it would certainly be something."
*Portnoy turns his head to look at shiny things because A.D.D., Mikael vanishes*
PORTNOY (to himself): "SWEET! I can't wait to make an album with Mikael!"

Later, in interviews...

MIKAEL: "Yes, we've always wanted to do something together, but it just hasn't worked out yet..."
MIKAEL'S SECRETARY: "Hey, Mikael, both you and Mike Portnoy have January 2015 to April 2015 completely free."
MIKAEL: "NO! I, uh...I have plans. Vacation. I'm going to a sunny beach. Alone."
 
This does sound like a Metal Transatlantic. Also Portnoy's best vocal work is in Transatlantic. He's used sparingly and the parts they write for him to sing actually fit his voice. It's nothing like what he was doing toward the end of DT. So if he was involved in this I wouldn't have a problem with it. I also don't see him doing tuff guy vocals when Mikael and Townsend are in the band because the only reason he did them in DT was he didn't think JLB's voice was Metal enough.

Edit: All that said I'm 100% sure Portnoy won't be involved.
 
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MrKnickerbocker said:
He knows that he's too particular about his music to try and take on Portnoy's ego.

I see their interactions as like that one guy at the party that doesn't understand sarcasm.
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Portnoy has been involved in so many projects and managed to keep his ego from getting in the way. I think they just haven't found an interesting idea that they can work on together. I imagine Mike wants to do something heavy like Opeth and Mikael is obviously not interested in that.
 
I've become addicted to Wreath and By The Pain I See In Others. Reoccuring parts that start at 1:46 in Wreath and 3:32 in By The Pain are incredible. On the whole I don't think these songs are their best, but those moments alone are Top 5.
 
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