Opeth

[Mosh]

I dunno which part you're talking about but the whole song is awesome, so no.

 

[The Flash]

I dunno which part you're talking about but the whole song is awesome, so no.

It's the part where Mikael tries a different vocal thing. "It's all false pretension..." I think it's genius.

 

[Mosh]

Oh yea, that's great. The atmosphere of that song really gets good as it goes closer to the end.

 

[Night Prowler]

That vocal line is cringe inducing IMO.

 

[Cornfed Hick]

Harlequin Forest would've been much better if it ended before the 07:19-07:45 part which is truly awful.

Good God, man! That's the best part!!

 

[Mosh]

Recent discussion made me go on a short Opeth binge. Listened to the last half of Ghost Reveries (starting with Harlequin Forest) and My Arms, Your Hearse.
Two things:
1: GR is still awesome, but I particularly noticed in Hours Of Wealth, the atmosphere is unbeatable. So much space in the music. The whole album has a great atmosphere.
2: MAYH is also awesome. I never paid much attention to it as it is kinda in a weird place in the discography. It has all the aspects of Opeth that I love and is presented a bit better than on the first two albums. Definitely going to listen to it more.

 

[MrKnickerbocker]

Good to seek another Opeth fan here. Love Knick's posts lately, but his critique of the production on Heritage doesn't bear scrutiny. At least on the CD, the dynamic range is much greater on Heritage than on Opeth's previous albums, though one could attribute that to the CD mastering process more than the production. See this link. Yet even on vinyl, the dynamic range on Heritage is the highest of any Opeth album. So, even if you don't like the production style, which is purely subjective, the critique that it stripped the album of its dynamics just isn't correct.

You do have a point there, I suppose what I'm saying is more a matter of instrument tone and mixing than it is actual dynamic range from mastering. The guitars have more mids, the bass has a more round tone (neither punchy nor heavy), and there's a lot of reverb going around...all things that were clearly meant to achieve the sound of a prog rock record from back in the day. I don't think it was poorly done, I think they got exactly the sound they were going for, I just like my Opeth to have a little more bite.

1: GR is still awesome, but I particularly noticed in Hours Of Wealth, the atmosphere is unbeatable. So much space in the music. The whole album has a great atmosphere.

Such an overlooked song, imo. Looking at iTunes, "Hours of Wealth" has more plays than anything on that album, even though it's not even my favorite track in the bunch. Un-fucking-believable atmosphere.

As far as my favorites from each album, I can't say that I'm familiar enough with all of them to choose. As far as Ghost Reveries, it's hard to beat Harlequin Forest, but when I hear Ghost of Perdition, it's like a religious experience.

 

[Mosh]

Hours Of Wealth doesn't work if you take it out of context IMO, but with the rest of the album it's an awesome experience.

Best song on GR is definitely Ghost Of Perdition for me. Harlequin Forest is very close, however.

 

[Detective Beauregard]

There's no way I can pick only one favorite per album, as Opeth is probably the most consistent band I've ever heard.

Orchid - Forest of October
Morningrise - Black Rose Immortal / To Bid You Farewell
My Arms, Your Hearse - The Amen Corner
Still Life - Moonlapse Vertigo / Serenity Painted Death
Blackwater Park - The Leper Affinity / Blackwater Park
Deliverance - Master's Apprentices
Damnation - Hope Leaves / Windowpane / To Rid the Disease / Death Whispered a Lullaby / Ending Credits
Ghost Reveries - Ghost of Perdition / Reverie & Harlequin Forest
Watershed - The Lotus Eater, I suppose, if only for that crazy middle part (my least favorite album by far)
Heritage - Nepenthe / Folklore

The bass on Heritage is ungodly loud. Even as a bassist I think they should have turned it down a notch.

MAYH is also awesome. I never paid much attention to it as it is kinda in a weird place in the discography. It has all the aspects of Opeth that I love and is presented a bit better than on the first two albums. Definitely going to listen to it more.

MAYH was my least favorite album for the longest time, but a few years ago it clicked with me. It's the growliest album they've done, and has more of a "wall of sound" thing going on when compared to their other releases, but parts of it are brutally creepy. The Amen Corner is a fine example of this.

 

[Mosh]

Yea I love all the evil sounding bits. I also like the clean guitar sound they had on it, was a lot different then what they usually do.

Demon Of The Fall live (their acoustic arrangement) was one of the most chilling things ever.

 

[Detective Beauregard]

Demon Of The Fall live (their acoustic arrangement) was one of the most chilling things ever.

You're not kidding about that.

The part at 5:22 sounds like a cult in the middle of the woods chanting around a fire. Eerie.

On a side note, Mikael has to be one of the most hilariously awkward frontmen ever.

 

[Mosh]

That record thing looked awesome, wish I could've gone.

 

[MrKnickerbocker]

MAYH was my least favorite album for the longest time, but a few years ago it clicked with me. It's the growliest album they've done, and has more of a "wall of sound" thing going on when compared to their other releases, but parts of it are brutally creepy. The Amen Corner is a fine example of this.

The way you used to feel about MAYH is how I feel about Deliverance. Nothing from that album is very memorable, save for the title track, which has the most memorable outro riff of all Opeth-time.

 

[Mosh]

Agreed 100%, especially about the title track. Sometimes I even prefer Orchid to Deliverance, only Morningrise is worse.
A Fair Judgement is pretty good though.

 

[MrKnickerbocker]

I definitely prefer Orchid, too. Both Morningrise and Deliverance fall into the same trap of overlong, overlayered, overwritten songs. There's no room to breathe (not counting the all too brief "For Absent Friends").

 

[Detective Beauregard]

I loved the songwriting style on Orchid and Morningrise; it was more musically melodic than later efforts and featured sweet lead bass work and Nordic counterpoint guitar lines. I really wish they had better production and the growl depth/quality of their later releases. I thought Orchid had some filler, though, whereas Morningrise had much less of it. Three of the tracks on the latter are practically perfect if you ask me.

Deliverance is a mixed bag of quality and strangeness. Wreath is quite dull save for a few of the instrumental bits, and the title track has a great outro but is otherwise drawn out, but the rest of the album is solid quality-wise. I actually really like the last track, with its crunchy riffs and unorthodox growling over quiet sections. Opeth likes to roll the dice, and I respect that (usually). You also have to love that iceberg-paced riff that closes out A Fair Judgement.

 

[Mosh]

I loved the songwriting style on Orchid and Morningrise; it was more musically melodic than later efforts and featured sweet lead bass work and Nordic counterpoint guitar lines. I really wish they had better production and the growl depth/quality of their later releases. I thought Orchid had some filler, though, whereas Morningrise had much less of it. Three of the tracks on the latter are practically perfect if you ask me.

Pretty much agree, save for the last part. I've never been able to get into Morningrise, though admittedly, I haven't listened to it much. I may go back to it tomorrow though. I think once you get past the production, there are some really cool songs. It has a different vibe than other Opeth albums and I love that, I like having them on in the winter time. The Royal Albert Hall performance of those songs really shows their potential.

Deliverance is a mixed bag of quality and strangeness. Wreath is quite dull save for a few of the instrumental bits, and the title track has a great outro but is otherwise drawn out, but the rest of the album is solid quality-wise. I actually really like the last track, with its crunchy riffs and unorthodox growling over quiet sections. Opeth likes to roll the dice, and I respect that (usually). You also have to love that iceberg-paced riff that closes out A Fair Judgement.

My problem with Deliverance is that it's a paint by numbers Opeth album (to me at least). Up until that point, they were trying something different with each album but it just seems like churned out another BWP. Plus their focus was obviously on Damnation so the material didn't get any nurturing. When I listen to Deliverance it sounds like the band is saying "another day another album", and I don't like that. The title track really is a top ten track though.

Luckily with Ghost Reveries they decided to turn the tables again.

 

[Detective Beauregard]

I like having them on in the winter time.

Opeth is pretty much the only seasonal/weather-related band I know. Opeth in the summer? Only if it's overcast. Opeth on a sunny day? Only if it's fall and the trees around me are all withered and dying and there's the smell of burning leaves in the air. Tomorrow has a 35% chance of light Opeth.

My problem with Deliverance is that it's a paint by numbers Opeth album (to me at least). Up until that point, they were trying something different with each album but it just seems like churned out another BWP. Plus their focus was obviously on Damnation so the material didn't get any nurturing.

If I'm not mistaken, both Deliverance and Damnation were written at the same time and to be released as a double album, but the record company wanted them released six months apart. I suppose it is possible that they wanted to do a heavy/light combo and were more interested in the concept than the actual heavy material, since Damnation seemed far more inspired at the time. Deliverance does kind of seem like a weaker version of Blackwater Park all around; exact same style but weaker material.

Is Deliverance their weakest album? I'm not sure, but I think it's definitely near the bottom, along with Watershed. Not that any of their albums are terribly weak, though.

 

[Mosh]

Opeth is pretty much the only seasonal/weather-related band I know. Opeth in the summer? Only if it's overcast. Opeth on a sunny day? Only if it's fall and the trees around me are all withered and dying and there's the smell of burning leaves in the air. Tomorrow has a 35% chance of light Opeth.

Yea exactly. Most Black Metal works well in the winter too.

If I'm not mistaken, both Deliverance and Damnation were written at the same time and to be released as a double album, but the record company wanted them released six months apart. I suppose it is possible that they wanted to do a heavy/light combo and were more interested in the concept than the actual heavy material, since Damnation seemed far more inspired at the time. Deliverance does kind of seem like a weaker version of Blackwater Park all around; exact same style but weaker material.

Yea they were done at the same time, which is the problem IMO. I get the feeling they just did Deliverance to please the Metal fans so they'd get away with an almost acoustic record. The concept is interesting, but poorly executed. I'd rather them just do a mix of both, like on most Opeth albums.

Is Deliverance their weakest album? I'm not sure, but I think it's definitely near the bottom, along with Watershed. Not that any of their albums are terribly weak, though.

Can't say I agree with the Watershed placement, it's my 2nd favorite Opeth album. I didn't care for it much first, stylistically it's pretty schizophrenic but once you get past that it has some really awesome stuff.

 

[The Flash]

I pretty much slammed Deliverance (title track included) back when there was an Opeth survivor, the title track has grown on me drastically, one of my favorites. The album hasn't though, my least favorite Opeth album.