Artist Profile

Death Metal with Talent | Opeth

By Dan ⋅ June 12, 2008 ⋅  Email This Post ⋅  Print This Post ⋅ Post a comment

Update (Nirav): Opeth released a new album on June 3rd entitled Watershed (2008). And let me tell you, it is one of the strongest rock/metal albums I’ve heard in a very long time. I will even go as far as to say since the release of 10,000 Days by Tool.

I wasn’t really a big fan of Opeth before. Mostly due to the screaming and some due to the level of straight metal sound. But I had enjoyed Damnation (album that was released in 2003) because it was “softer” and didn’t have the screaming. Watershed takes the best of their earlier albums and the greatness of Damnation to comprise a full album that can be listened to the whole way through.

One song, their latest single too, seems to sum up the way this album sounds. It’s entitled, “Porcelain Heart”, and here’s a music video that was recently released for it.

Porcelain Heart

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I feel like anyone that truly loves quality music should either know these guys already or at least have heard them enough to appreciate what is they do. They have influenced my music compositions at least as much as Tool and Led Zeppelin. I really wanted to include their lead guitarist, Mikael Åkerfeldt, in the Real Guitar Heroes post, but it was hard to really capture his essense in a single audio clip. There’s much more to him than flashy solos. He’s a great writer and somehow he’s able to blend classical acoustic with death metal. Although there is at least one solo in nearly every song, his solos aren’t immediately as impressive to the casual listener as some of the guys I listed. While Mikael Åkerfeldt is the lead singer, lead guitarist, and writer for the band (and his stage persona definitely brings out his ego), Opeth is an all around outstanding and talented band. Make no mistake, Opeth is metal at its best, but they aren’t the kind of metal band that just tries to play as fast and as loud as possible.

My initial reaction to Opeth was shock actually. I first heard Blackwater Park (2001) blasting in my dad’s truck. When you’re not used to screaming, that’s the only thing you focus on. Either that or the fact that my dad likes heavier music than me… what’s that about? But I was told that Opeth had some the best rhythm and lead guitar work and drumming if I could just embrace the vocals. To my surprise, Opeth had some incredible compositions and nearly half of their tracks are 10 minutes long or very close to it. Now I don’t want to focus on the screaming too much because Opeth is very diverse. One minute they’re playing a classical duo piece with acoustic guitar and piano, the next they’ve got the mosh pit going crazy.

There is an attitude out there that you shouldn’t have to acquire a taste for music. This is a bold faced lie. Don’t give in to the propaganda. If I kept the attitude of immediately dismissing any music with screaming, I never would have gotten into bands like Opeth, Isis, and Baroness (to just name a few). Each of these bands has incredible talent. And from these bands I found others such as Russian Circles, Irepress, and God is an Astronaut (and all three are instumental). By the way, it turns out those death metal screams in Opeth’s music are all through a synthesizer. So don’t try it at home kids. Anyways, if you haven’t climbed that wall just yet, there is still plenty of Opeth with no screaming. If you need an entire album with no screaming whatsoever, I might suggest starting with their album Damnation (2003). This whole album is mello with acoustic guitars and actual singing, and makes a good segway into some typical Opeth. Hopefully, it will establish the kind of intricate compositions they tend to write.

Once you get into Damnation and get over yourself, you’ll find the typical Opeth is everything Metallica could have ever hoped to be. In my opinion, it’s some the best composed metal out there with particularly well written guitar work. And somehow they’ve managed to always have an outstanding drummer, despite the fact they’ve gone through more drummers than Spinal Tap. Opeth’s first album came out in 1995 and they’ve kept pretty busy since. I’ve got nine albums of their’s and I’m probably missing some obscure ones somehow.

For an audio clip, I’ve selected a couple pieces that illustrate their diversity. The first clip is from Bleak off Blackwater Park and the second is from Deliverance off the album Deliverance (2002). If you purchase these albums, you’ll find that Bleak is 9:16 and Deliverance is 13:36. I’ve cut down the length of these clips by a long shot, but I hope it’s still enough to give you a solid impression. All I ask is that you play the clip at least past the first 30 seconds, the distinction in vocal styles is staggering. I tried to minimize the screaming content, but I didn’t want to erradicate it completely and portray them to be someone they’re not. I also happen to think the solo at the end of the clip is one of the best transitions from metal to acoustic I’ve ever heard. Trust me, at the very least you’ll decide that Opeth isn’t your style, but you’ll still appreciate what they’re doing. You know… assuming you actually like good music.

Tags: metal, progressive, rock