Opeth

By Request, Part 1 - Orchid:

  • Total voters
    10
JudasMyGuide said:
Playlist 1 – Autumnal Park (The Soft Side of Opeth)
Spotify link: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/0KBl26IQGsmDVl4XtdNp1u?si=QLk79-fqRfSbyifRQ260VQ

1. Windowpane
2. Atonement
3. In My Time of Need
4. Benighted
5. Death Whispered a Lullaby
6. Harvest
7. Will o the Wisp
8. A Fleeting Glance
9. Hope Leaves
10. Burden
11. Sorceress 2
12. Hours of Wealth
13. Folklore
14. Weakness

Playlist 2 – Gloomy Moor (The Middle Side of Opeth)
Spotify link: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/2nvUOiMuBxRSbHhoUFObiw?si=SaD5z8t2SLiCt01dHGSE5w

1. Face of Melinda
2. Cusp of Eternity
3. The Wilde Flowers
4. A Fair Judgement
5. Moon Above, Sun Below
6. Strange Brew
7. Porcelain Heart
8.-9. Era / Persephone (Slight Return)
10. The Drapery Falls

Playlist 3 – Derelict Mansion (The Heavy Side of Opeth)
Spotify link: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/2fSf9rP9IoGh9WTRWGCU5h?si=VPrP_wajTfehM1GzSyDETA

1. Ghost of Perdition
2. Deliverance
3. Bleak
4. The Baying of the Hounds
5. The Moor
6. Reverie/Harlequin Forest
7. White Cluster

Playlist 4 – Midnight Cemetery (The Extreme Side of Opeth)
Spotify link: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/0ou7R2CTTb8omYAglVOPji?si=6WqrWB0pTN2FMS6_YmQ_1w
1. Godhead’s Lament
2. Master’s Apprentices
3. Demon of the Fall
4. Wreath
5. Heir Apparent
6. The Leper Affinity
7. Serenity Painted Death
8. Blackwater Park
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I think it's a reasonable amount of songs (lacking more Heritage but hey... anything that features a lot of STILL LIFE is...) but I would simply split it in very generic parts: Calm, Retro and Heavier. IMO Opeth normally has that autumnal deeply nordic aura (being it prog, prog death metal, folk or all wrapped in the same composition) you mentioned on almost everything Akerfeldt writes. I would go as follow:

Calm (the name says it all... Acoustic or semi acoustical themes):
Benighted
Face Of Melinda
Windowpane
A Fair Judgement
Coil
Folklore
Faith In Others

Retro (Most of latest Opeth material fits this tag... when they go blatantly 70's prog the majority of the time)
Hex Omega
The Devil's Orchard
I Feel The Dark
Nepenthe
The Lines In My Hand
Eternal Rains Will Come
Strange Brew
Dignity

Heavier (bear in mind that it doen't need to be Prog Death Metal all the way to be heavy as Akerfeldt himself said)
Black Rose Immortal
Demon Of The Fall
Godhead's Lament
Serenity Painted Death
Bleak
The Drapery Falls
Dirge For November
Blackwater Park
Harlequin Forest
Sorceress
 
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I had a different thing in mind - the purpose was to get someone who does not know/like metal (or, well, rock in general) into Opeth, so the progress was supposed to be from the softest/easiest tracks to the heaviest/creepiest/most extreme. So the first is mostly just the softest tracks in general, not even much of rock in there, the second one is already hard-rockish/metalish without growls (and that's why most of the "retro" stuff falls here), apart from the ending Drapery which is like a preview of what's to come and the third one is full on death metal, but not the really creepy/dissonant/head-blowing tracks which I saved for the last playlist.
But maybe you're right, 3 would have been enough. Well, I've already sent it to her, so..

I absolutely agree that Opeth are 99% autumnal, so my intention wasn't to present this as a part of their sound separately - the names are just pseudo-poetic shit I came up with, from the "least scary" (Autumnal Park) to the "scariest" (Midnight Cemetery) - again, for someone who doesn't listen to metal at all.

But it's cool you shared your playlists, I'll try them out soon.
 
10459

- the heaviest of the Newpeth albums so far - I don't doubt you guys will still say it's still too unnecessarily "retro", but at least it's gotten more "retro-Sabbath" than "retro-Camel"
- the dynamics are back!
- very doom-y in general, IMHO - I don't complain
- possibly the most autumnal of the Newpeth albums too - this could just as well be called Dirge for September or something - you just get all the fallen leaves and the Sehnsucht/saudade and grey sky overcast... perfect. After the past few albums have been more like "tired summertime", if you feel me (which I liked, but didn't want them to stay with that), this one is back on the right track
- intro track is atmoshperic, but slightly overlong + also what's with all the spoken word and/or film snippets?
- am I the only one who feels Heart in Hand sounds really close to Cusp of Eternity? That clear, airy, oriental chorus might be the culprit, but I don't think it's just that.
- Next of Kin - more Sabbath-y doomsies! Also, the chorus is just WTF, very weird, I love it!
- Lovelorn Crime reminded me of Burden - an awesome ballad that hits all the correct spots with me
- The Garroter is just insane, it's like non-heavy Lotus Eater or heavier middle part of Heritage (at least I remember it sounded that way!) Or was it Universal Truth? Shit, I don't remember :D
- I think that all of you guys who loved PC will probably like this one as well - it's definitely much closer to that one than the other two Newpeth. Actually, I know it's too early, but I felt a lot of similarities to Watershed in my book (don't want to dwell on that now, also might change my mind, I'll get back to it when/if I do my Watershed write-up), so it's probably not that strange that ->
- I'm far from being hot-headed in that regard and "instant classic" is a bullshit term, but this one might actually end up very high in my Opeth rankings. We shall see what the next listens bring.
 
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Probably their best sounding album up to now imo. A bit reverb-y in a few spots, which I usually don’t like, but it sounds interesting here. It’s very diverse, and sometimes I wish they’d stay in one mood for a longer time and develop that one mood more. The very quiet ominous acoustic stuff is gorgeous for the most part, very beautiful, but sometimes it gets a bit too poppy. Awesome drumming, very jazzy at times.

I love the fact that the album’s in Swedish. And come on, Michael is such a great, heartfelt singer... I wish he’d skip the growly stuff live as well.
 
I thought the album was good, not great. Ranks below Pale Communion but above Sorceress for me. I do see it as a return to form, Sorceress was a relative disappointment when it came out and hasn't aged well, either. The clear change for the better in production quality aside, the songwriting sounds more inspired on In Cauda Venenum. What I really liked about it is that it has more character to it than the previous albums, it has an eerie vibe throughout. The albums strong points usually come when the band goes for a doomier feel. Opeth still sounds their best when their music attempts to set an atmosphere and isn't afraid to get dark when doing so. The strength of Mikael's songwriting lies where it always has.

Won't do a track-by-track breakdown, but De närmast sörjande, Ingen sanning är allas, Hjärtat vet vad handen gör and Allting tar slut are my favorite tracks off the album. Did not enjoy Charlatan and Kontinuerlig drift, neither of them really go anywhere. The first half is more consistent. As the way I talk about the songs suggests, I prefer the Swedish version. Mikael's vocals flow better, there's a couple of instances where the vocal performance is slightly stronger on the Swedish version as well, Hjärtat vet vad handen gör being the most noticable one.

All in all, I'd give it a 3.5/5, or a 7/10. Sorceress is the only album in their discography that I would consider In Cauda Venenum to be better than.
 
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I have heard it and I do not find this a nice album. Annoying, overpresent, overblown vocal lines (constantly returning "AHHHHHH AHHHHHHHHH") The 4 or 5 guitar solos are fine but can't save the absence of grabbing melodies, making this a snoozefest in the true sense of the word.
 
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10506

I might think about going to LA. Depends on my work schedule. I’ve never seen Opeth before.
 
Already have it and it jumped to my top 4 Opeth albums with ease. The number of different soundscapes explored here are considerable: from prog and metal (of course) to djent, symphonical and even some experimentalism and folk here and there. Songs like Dignity, Next In Kin, Charlatan, Garroter, Continuum and All Things Will Pass are Opeth really near its apex like I haven't seen them in years. Great quality in a solid record almost without subpar tunes (unlike their last two albums) that only the "It has no growls in it" dead horse beaters should dislike.
 
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I also found the new album boring, but then I've never been a big fan of Opeth anyway. 'Ghost Reveries' and 'Watershed' have some great stuff but the rest of the Opeth I've listened to has never been of much interest to me.
 
Night Prowler said:
No darkness or melancholy like in the previous albums. Pale Communion nailed it, when it comes to Softpeth era.
Click to expand...

I agree that this album definitely has too many of those happy ‘70s flower child hippie moments (I don’t want any of that in my Opeth), but it also has some very dark moments. Garroter and the last track are evil, and the end of Continuum is about as melancholy as you can get. Charlatan is pretty dark, too.

This is currently tied with Pale Communion for my favorite Opeth Lite album. That doesn’t include Damnation, of course, which is stronger than all four. My favorite songs on this one are Next of Kin, Charlatan, the first half of Heart in Hand, and the last three tracks.
 
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