Opeth

By Request, Part 1 - Orchid:

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True. I guess they're on a different label now, RoadRunner usually streams the albums as soon as it Happens iirc.
 
Not a fan of this drum sound and/or tone and/or how it is mixed in. Don't know what it is but it sounds as if the drums (loud, fat hammering snare and bass strikes) are pressing on top of the music, rather than carrying the whole, or merging in it. Doesn't fit well to this kind of subtle music imo.
 
Just listened to The Happening. Initial impression:

- first 5 tracks are amazing
- the middle and end get lost a little for me in the pretty, melancholic sections.
- Strange Brew is damn cool.
 
I'll refrain from listening to the Happening. The album is just five days away, no problem waiting for me.

It's been a while since I could keep myself from looking at leaks of albums I'm anticipating, the last album where my first impression was from the original record was The Final Frontier.
 
Fuck. I couldn't do it. I'm weak.

I'll use spoilers because there will be descriptions.

  • Heavier album than Pale Communion. A lot of rapid moments on the album that weren't there on the last two.
  • Very keyboard heavy. Not sure I like that, but it's only the first listen.
  • Album felt like it was lacking a standout track.
  • Not a lot of catchy moments on the album. Possibly the least catchy Opeth album ever. Singles are the right choices in this regard, they feature the catchiest moments on the album.
  • The album features less prog cliches than Heritage and Pale Communion.
  • Chrysalis is straight out of Watershed. Vocals at some point seriously reminded me of Sheep by Pink Floyd.
  • The Seventh Sojourn sees the band explore something that I really want them to explore, a full on Middle Eastern sound. Would've been more interesting if it wasn't -mostly- an instrumental.
  • I'd single out Wilde Flowers and Era as favorites for now.
 
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For those that have listened to it, where would you rank it against their back catalogue? I actually really liked Heritage because it was different for them...but Pale Communion didn't click with me.
 
soundwave said:
For those that have listened to it, where would you rank it against their back catalogue? I actually really liked Heritage because it was different for them...but Pale Communion didn't click with me.
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Initially, it's better than Morningrise for sure for me. On par with Orchid. Not better than any of the albums between 1998 and 2008.

I'm a huge fan of Heritage, out of the three "new Opeth" albums I'd take that one first.
 
I love Pale Communion. I do not like Heritage.

So far I'd say I prefer Sorceress to at least the first two albums, Heritage, and Deliverance.
 
On Wilde Flowers: I like mysterious, atmospheric, melancholic and dark Opeth. This is not it.
The singing is irritating. The lyrics are repetitive.
 
Really? I thought its eerieness was what made Wilde Flowers special. It's definitely a polarizing track, I can see a lot of people disliking it, but it has no shortage of mysteriousness.
 
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