Opeth

By Request, Part 1 - Orchid:

  • Total voters
    12
Detective Beauregard said:
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.
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I find quite the opposite. I like the contrast on a hot, sunny summer's day.
 
I'm moving this seasonal music discussion to a new thread, because I find it incredibly interesting!

Detective Beauregard said:
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.
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Though I appreciate that style, it is clear that they were using their influences to find their own sound. I believe they hit on the right mix by MAYH, although there is a decided lack lead bass and counterpoint guitars compared to the first two albums.

Mosh said:
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.
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That is my impression of the album, as well. Connect-the-dots in Opeth's songwriting, and you get Deliverance. It doesn't take any chances and it feels forced, whereas Damnation feels incredibly heartfelt and emotional. It is clear where the band's mind was during these recordings, and which album they produced on auto-pilot.
 
I love Deliverance. Except for the second part of By The Pain I See In Others and For Absent Friends, it's a perfect album.

I liked Watershed for a while, but lately I can't listen to it. My Arms, Your Hearse to Ghost Reveries is classic Opeth IMO. I can't bring myself to listen to post-Lopez Opeth anymore... I think I need to change my Opeth rankings again.
 
Didn't know NOTB was his first record, but that's pretty awesome. Their cover of Remember Tomorrow is one of the few great Maiden covers.
 
Mosh said:
Their cover of Remember Tomorrow is one of the few great Maiden covers.
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It's really good. Oddly enough, a lot of bigger bands have covered "Remember Tomorrow", and I love them all. Opeth, Metallica, and Anthrax (w/ John Bush, thank God) all do covers of it. I think it actually works better for those bands, as it is a somewhat atypical Maiden track. For the early years it was very interesting, but looking back, it just doesn't seem to fit with the band's normal melodic sensibility.
 
Growling would ruin it IMO.

I haven't heard Anthrax's cover, but Metallica's is pretty good actually. I think it's a perfect song for Opeth, especially for showing their softer side.
 
I think both Opeth and Metallica did great covers of Remember Tomorrow. There's a high-pitched scream in Opeth's version, though, that I don't think really fit the song. I actually think Metallica's version was more original.

I want to hear Opeth cover Aces High. Or maybe The Talisman. That would be great.
 
Eh. I don't think Mikael's cleans would fit those songs. Now, stuff like Strange World or Prodigal Son would be pretty good. Or maybe Isle Of Avalon. Generally, songs without high pitched vocals.
 
Yeah, the falsetto wail is very weird to hear from Mikael, I don't think it's something that ever showed up on their own albums. It fits the song about as well as screaming would fit that the song, in that it doesn't. I agree with Detective, I think Metallica's is slightly better.

I think Opeth would do a great job on "Hallowed Be Thy Name", even if they added some growls. The longer songs are, IMO, better suited for Opeth since they usually have a focus on mood over bombast. "Brave New World" could even be interesting.
 
I dunno, Hallowed is one of those songs that people should just leave alone. I could see them doing Strange World, but besides that I can't imagine them doing another Maiden song.
 
I was only joking about Aces High and such, although Mikael could easily pull off the quiet intro in The Talisman. Opeth covering Powerslave might be kind of cool; they could do some interesting things musically.
 
Both of those covers are impeccably recorded, but do absolutely nothing new to the songs. There are a couple changes in vocal inflections, but otherwise, it's a direct copy. While quite admirable, I wish they took more chances and added their own style to it. That said, I doubt you'll find another cover of "Hallowed" with a vocal that good. The "H&H" one is a little too silly for me, not sure why, he just sounds like he's trying too hard to be Dio.
 
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