Opeth - looking for suggestions

[kmorse]

I've got the "Damnation" Cd and enjoy it. I've listened to Opeth samples on Amazon.com and am not fond of the growls. Since Opeth usually mixes the heavy and the light on their albums, one can either buy them all and edit out the undesirable ones and put the rest on a compilation CD or download just the desirable ones.

Here are the kind of titles I'm looking for:

1. Instrumentals, light or heavy. But I think the light stuff they do really brings out their talent.
2. Non-growling vocals. I'm not sure if these exist outside of "Damnation."

I'd appreciate any lists anyone could post --  or send me private message.

Thanks.

[Appelmoes??]

Downloads are baaaaaad

[kmorse]

Not if you pay for them

[PH]

Downloading is not bad.
If I hadn't downloaded Contagion, I wouldn't be here.
Thanks to downloading I can enjoy Prog much more. I download something I get suggested, and when I like it, I buy it.
I've bought a lot of albums lately, and I'm planning to buy more, I want everything by Arena.

I don't think downloading music is really that bad, it's just how you do it.
Today I'm gonna buy some CD's again in a Prog store along with my cousin Cyborg-Frask and a friend of mine.

Ok, but yeah, Damnation is ok. Don't really like the growls too. But on Ayreon all the growls are really good and not disturbing.

[willowroolz]

Here are the kind of titles I'm looking for:

1. Instrumentals, light or heavy. But I think the light stuff they do really brings out their talent.
2. Non-growling vocals. I'm not sure if these exist outside of "Damnation."

Hmm, well a few spring to mind that fit your criteria:

A Fair Judgement off Deliverance
Harvest off Blackwater Park
Benighted and Face of Melinda off Still Life
Hours of Wealth and Isolation Years off Ghost Reveries

I'm a recent Opeth convert and, like you, I'm not keen on growled vocals. But I have to say with Opeth it really works. It took a while for me to get to grips with it but when it finally clicked I was hooked.

For me, this is largely because there is so much light and shade in their material, not just over the course of an entire album but over the course of a single song. A lot of their tracks are around 10 minutes in length, so even though it might start off growly it usually segues very smoothly into quieter, more melodic passages.

Bearing this in mind you might like to try some of these:

Ghost of Perdition and The Baying of the Hounds (my personal favourite Opeth track - it rocks!) off Ghost Reveries
Bleak, The Drapery Falls and The Funeral Portrait off Blackwater Park
The Moor and Serenity Painted Death off Still Life
Deliverance and Master's Apprentices off Deliverance

If you do get into those it's also worth going back and checking out the older albums like My Arms Your Hearse.

I hope this helps, they really are an amazing band 

[kmorse]

Thanks for the suggestions. To be honest with you, the growled vocals on "Human Equation" don't bother me either, because they fit the character. To me, it's one of those things that's like a seasoning in food. A little cayenne pepper is great, but too much can be, well, too much.

I often buy used CDs, too. It's a cheaper way to try out stuff I'm not sure I want to spend 15 dollars or more on, but I'm willing to spend half that much.

Opeth also seems to be heavily influenced by Steven Wilson of Porcupine Tree, and I'm a recent convert to PT's music, too. One can hear the influences from his production.

[kmorse]

I would also second your comments on downloading. I downloaded every song I could from Arena's website. Not only did I discover Arena, I rediscovered prog. I seriously thought that prog had gone away sometime in the late 70s. I think that Arena's download offerings are a very good idea. It would be interesting to know how many of them translate into sales, but I imagine thatit's substantial.

[willowroolz]

Opeth also seems to be heavily influenced by Steven Wilson of Porcupine Tree, and I'm a recent convert to PT's music, too. One can hear the influences from his production.

Definitely. Not only the production but also in some of the arrangements (particularly on Damnation) and in the use of harmonies. He also sings on Bleak, if I'm not mistaken 

Nothing but good there - PT are brilliant and Steve Wilson is a genius 

[funkster]

I i may add my twopenneworth

Firstly , Willroolz is spot on - the cookie monster vocals compliment the music and in no way detract from it.

Musically the are lights years ahead of the vast majority of metal bands out there and the way that the structure their songs is first class.

Album wise i would highly recommend

Ghost reveries
Still Life
Blackwater Park

Still life just edges it over Ghost Reveries for me but they are a superb band
   

[Appelmoes??]

I got Blackwater Park last week and I'm very impressed by the music. I have to get used to the grunts though...

[Peter]

...I have to get used to the grunts though...

Actually, you don't necessarily have to get used to them...

[willowroolz]

I still can't decide which album of theirs I like best. One minute it's Ghost Reveries (I think The Baying of the Hounds is one of the greatest pieces of music ever committed to disc  ), then it's Deliverance, then it's Blackwater Park (The Drapery Falls and Funeral Portrait are just jaw-dopping).

Last night it was Still Life. At several points during The Moor I thought to myself "This is the definitive Opeth track". Then Godhead's Lament came on and I thought the same. Then it was Moonlapse Vertigo. Then it was White Cluster.

You get the picture. I've never known a band to be so consistent over so many albums. Stunning.

[kmorse]

I've recently picked up "Still Life" and "Deliverance." Your recommendations were all spot-on. They're certainly a versatile band, capable of just about any kind of mood.

[Appelmoes??]

I've recently picked up "Still Life" and "Deliverance." Your recommendations were all spot-on. They're certainly a versatile band, capable of just about any kind of mood.

Lol, I got those too last week!

[PH]

Kmorse and Appelmoes?? Are one and the same person!!
Peter, ban one of them, or better yet, ban both!
Check their IP-addresses!!

[Appelmoes??]

Peter: PH is rude (again), ban him please











See how ridiculus that sounds?

[kmorse]

Are "Orchid" and "My Arms, Your Hearse" worth having?

[Appelmoes??]

Seeing as good as the other are, probably yes

(reminds himself to read the lyrics...)

[willowroolz]

Are "Orchid" and "My Arms, Your Hearse" worth having?

They're both a lot more raw, there's not so much of the clean vocals on either of them and the growling isn't quite as refined, but they both still rock. My Arms Your Hearse is definitely worth checking out 

[kmorse]

I think there isn't a prettier prog song than "Benighted" off of "Still Life"

[PH]

I was listening to 'Damnation' by Opeth today and was wondering wether or not I should buy this album. It's really good.
But now I've seen this:
http://www.progarchives.com/Progressive_rock_discography_CD.asp?cd_id=12850

Ooooo I'd like to know how much this will cost. Seems like a good way to "get into" Opeth.
By the way, do Opeth have satanic lyrics or any of that kind, the real metal stuff?
I'm sure my parents would like to know that. Forget the grunting, that's got nothing to do with the lyrics anyway, I actually think I can handle that now...

Yeah, that limited edition boxset looks good. Damnation is really good and the other albums, well, I still have to get into it.

[willowroolz]

Don't think you can go far wrong with that box set, PH. Blackwater Park and Deliverance are both superb, but then I could say that about Still Life and Ghost Reveries, too. I think the latter two are my favourites 

On the lyrics front, these are from my favourite, The Baying of the Hounds on Ghost Reveries:

His mouth is a vortex
Sucking you into it's pandemonium
Fools you with a helping hand of ashes
Reached out in false dismay
His body is a country
The cities lay dead and beyond despair
Friends turned enemies unable to come clean
In a rising fog of reeking death

Everything you believed is a lie
Everyone you loved is a death-burden
So you take comfort in him
And you are receptive to stark wishes
No longer struggling to declare your stand
You would inflict no harm to others
They are unaware and in a loop of futile events
You are everything, they are nothing


It's a happy little tune 

But they do have contrasts, as well, like Isolation Years on the same album:

There's a sense of longing in me
As I read Rosemary's letter
Her writing is honest
Can't forget the years she's lost

In isolation
She talks about her love
And as I read
"Die alone"
I know she's aching

There's a certain detail seen here
The pen must have slipped to the side
And left a stain
Next to his name
She knows he's gone

And isolation
Is all that would remain
"The wound in me is pouring out
To rest on a lover's shore"

[kmorse]

By the way, do Opeth have satanic lyrics or any of that kind, the real metal stuff?
Yeah, that limited edition boxset looks good. Damnation is really good and the other albums, well, I still have to get into it.

PH,

Because of my beliefs, I'm very sensitive to lyrics, especially the kind that we sometimes find in "black metal" or similar genres. There are a few Opeth songs that contain lyrics dealing with the occult, but I don't think they glorify it. The best example I can think of is "The Grand Conjuration":

Majesty
Faithful me
Pour yourself
Into me

Wield your power
Martyr's price
Stare me down
To the ground

The eyes of the devil
Fixed on his sinners

Slake my thirst
Eternal wealth
Heathen key
Round my neck

This poetry
Our blasphemy
Know the sounds
Of infamy

The hands of Satan
Assembling his flock
Pale horse rider
Searching the earth

Whispered conjuration
A belief takes form
Choking hand tapping
The veins in your throat

His orders in your mouth
A decree for domination
Beneath the tides of wisdom
Spins the undertow of hate

Injected seeds of vengeance
Usurper's eyes of the powerless
Clean path to his kingdom
Beckoning in the mist

(The grand conjuration)

Tell my why
Love subsides
In the light
Of your wishes

Say my name
Ease the pain
Clear the smoke
In my head

My reading of these lyrics is that one who gives himself over to Satan -- or evil -- suffers in the end. I think that how any song's lyrics will affect you is largely determined by what you thought and believed before you ever heard the song. You are more a product of the way your parents reared you and how your friends influence you. Song lyrics could have an impact, but aren't going to be a primary factor. Still, you have to let your conscience be your guide.

There are some other songs that deal with similar subjects but I don't find them glorifying evil or encouraging it. It seems to me that Opeth lyrics are sung by a "character" in a story that the songwriter is telling.

The story behind "Still Life" is sort of anti-religious. It seems that the "Council of the Cross" mentioned in one of the stories stands for the religious establishment that stands between the main character and his love, Melinda.

On the other hand, I'm 50 years old, not very impressionable anymore and not accountable to my parents for such things. I can understand someone not wanting to upset their parents with such matters. If I had a kid who was listening to Opeth, I'd have a talk with him, but not forbid it. In fact, we'd listen to it together because I like their music. And then my kid wouldn't think it was cool anymore. That would be reverse psychology.


What I did was buy the Opeth CDs, compressed and burned them all to one CD and then just listen to the songs I like. I really like the music and can put up with the growling to a certain extent. I made one CD of all their "mellow" stuff and even my wife doesn't complain about it.

If you know where you stand on things spiritual, then you can decide whether you want to listen to such things or not. Seeing as lyrics such as the ones I included in this post are "growled" rather than sung, they're hardly discernible when listening. You have to read the lyric sheet to even know what's being sung.

I hope this long-winded reply is helpful.

Keith

[PH]

*long-winded post*

I hope this long-winded reply is helpful.

Keith

Thanks! It was.

[kmorse]

go to this site and click on the "Patterns in the Ivy" link. What a pretty little tune. This is not on the conventional "Blackwater Park" Cd, but the "additional tracks" CD, along with one other all-acoustic tune. Worth a listen.

http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=2973509