Opeth-a melodic death metal band

philco · Post by **philco** » Mon Nov 03, 2003 4:39 pm

While cruising the web checking out new bands, I stumbled across a melodic death metal band that everybody (well, at least every metalhead with at least 50% functioning brain cells) was raving about. It's music has been compared to a level produced by classical masters from the past. Guitar World mag called them "metal's most brilliant band". If you can get past the occasional growling vocals (even that is done quite well, in a metal kind of way), then you can easily see what all the hype is about. Every song is epic length, and the band calls them movements. I never heard such a blend of acoustic playing and melodic vocals mixed with raw metal and growling death vocals. It will really wake you up in the morning!

The neighbors must really wonder what's going on at my place. I've been getting strange glances lately. The band is called Opeth, and I bought Orchid, their first album, and a later one called Blackwater Park that is a bit easier to get into wihout smashing the disc. This music has a strange way of growing on you, or as one reviewer stated, it "takes a bit of time for the virus to set in". There's a lot of contrast in all the songs between the melodic parts and the death metal parts. Hard to believe that both parts could come from the same band on the same album, much less the same song.

Koch Records KOC-CD-8237 (Blackwater Park)

Now, YOU tell ME which Rickenbackers you think these guys should be playing.

wormdiet · Post by **wormdiet** » Wed Mar 24, 2004 5:38 am

Wow. . . somebody else has an appreciation for Opeth and Rickenbackers. That makes 2 of us. For Christmas this year I received

1) The new Bangles album - no surprise there
2) Orchid (by Opeth)
It's frankly an awesome album. A classical music snob would probably disagree, but it does sound quite orchestral. Good call Phil.

Opeth is kinda like a mirror image of mid-70s Rush. Weird lyrics, complex music, technical virtuosity. The "mirror" part comes through with the vocals. Instead of Geddy's high-pitched screech, you geta cookie-monsterish bass growl. The vocals are, frankly speaking, so atrociously bad that they are kind of humorously good. The singing grows on you.

I'd say the bass player could get away with a good old 4001 or a 4004 c/5. Maybe a jazzbo for some of the accoustic parts.

philco · Post by **philco** » Wed Mar 24, 2004 3:12 pm

Actually, John, for the amount of range these guys are getting, I would say my Spector ReBop would be better for bass (active EQ and wider range pickups), and my 650D could play dark metal or bright sounding lead or rhythm. The best Rick bass would be the 4004 because of the darker tone and high output humbuckers, plus the Laredo version looks sinister in its Jetglo finish.

I also have Opeth's 'Orchid' album, which I bought first. Another metal band I intend on checking out is Bathory. The leader is very secretive and the band never gives live concerts, but its reputation is very high among metal insiders. My guess is the guy is some kind of multi-instrumentalist that plays all the parts and doesn't do live concerts because of it. He stated that there was no difference between him and Richard Wagner except that he used modern metal instruments rather than orchestral instruments. He may be a frustrated classical musician that wants to keep his metal playing secret for professional reasons. He said in an interview that he never buys metal albums, but does listen to the Beatles and Classical music. 'Hammerheart' is supposed to be something like Wagner's Ring Cycle in a heavy metal way, about old Viking times in Scandinavia.

Actually, there are more classical music albums in my music library than anything else. One thing is for sure, there are very few metal bands that equal Opeth for instrumental virtuosity. Their latest rock album, 'Damnation', has no death metal growling. Thought I might like it better because of the absence of the growling vocals, but I feel it inferior to the death metal albums on artistic grounds.

I feel 'Blackwater Park' is the best of the three albums I mentioned. If you like 'Orchid', then give 'Blackwater Park' a try for sure. A Wagnerian classical quartet gone mad with a stack of modern gear at their disposal might describe Opeth. They have at least been listening to classical music, if not actually playing it.

If you get a chance to hear any of Bathory's albums, your opinion would be appreciated. I'm really not a heavy metal fan, but these Opeth guys are different from the rest. My youngest brother will probably like them, because he likes Rammstein.

rob · Post by **rob** » Thu Mar 25, 2004 9:41 am

Phillip,

Have you ever heard of a band called Cynic?
They have a different approach with adding a lot of melodic stuff with death metal.

philco · Post by **philco** » Thu Mar 25, 2004 2:13 pm

Robert, never heard of Cynic. I actually know very little about metal, but heard that Opeth was unique. Most of extreme metal music seems to be released in small numbers on independent labels, so its hard to find and sample. My brother has a video of Rammstein, and they seem to put on a dynamic live performance. I read they were olympic class East German athletes that decided to take a stab at being metal musicians. The growling in death metal seems rather excessive to me. As an occasional hook, it might work for me.

shamustwin · Post by **shamustwin** » Fri Mar 26, 2004 5:23 am

"melodic death metal" just strikes me as an amusing word combination

philco · Post by **philco** » Fri Mar 26, 2004 3:21 pm

These guys manage to pull it off. The contrast between the melodic and death metal secions add a lot of dramatic impact. This band manages to stay mostly sold out on product in the places I've looked around here, and that includes a large used CD store in Dallas. They had a copy of 'My Arms, Your Hearse', but it was scratched so I didn't get it. While Mikael Akerfeldt's death growl is upsetting to me, his straight singing is fairly good. 'Blackwater Park' has more of the melodic emphasis. BTW, that album was named after an obscure German band that had some influence on them. The used CD store was willing to order more of Opeth's new albums for $12.99 each, so the price is reasonable. I especially want to add 'Morningrise', 'Still Life', and 'Deliverance'to my Opeth collection. These are not the types of titles you typically see on death metal albums, and naming your debut album 'Orchid' takes guts in the metal world. 'Desecration of Orchids' would even seem a bit tame. The titles of their songs also seem tame by metal standards: In Mist She Was Standing, Under The Weeping Moon, Silhouette, Forest of October, The Twilight Is My Robe, Requiem, The Apostle in Triumph, Into the Frost of Winter, Windowpane, Closure, Ending Credits, Harvest, The Drapery Falls, Patterns in the Ivy, etc.

rob · Post by **rob** » Tue Mar 30, 2004 9:57 am

Sounds like these guys take some good drugs.....

wormdiet · Post by **wormdiet** » Wed Apr 07, 2004 1:57 am

I just bought "Deliverance" the other day. I have to say I prefer Orchid at the moment but that could change very easily. Blackwater Park is next on this list for me.

Maybe Opeth would be fertile ground for a 4004 bass promo? Hrrmm. . .

philco · Post by **philco** » Wed Apr 07, 2004 4:58 pm

"Blackwater Park" is my fave at the moment, but I hear that "Morningrise" is the best they ever put out (which is, of course, the opinion of reviewers). They supposedly lightened up a bit on the death growls on their 2nd album in comparison to "Orchid". I have "Morningrise" on backorder, and it seems to have gone out of print. It would be a good idea to grab that one as soon as possible unless you can grab a used copy as new CD sources are running out. Opeth's albums are very hard to find on the used racks as word is getting out about them. I let a new copy of "Morningrise" get away from me in Hastings. "Damnation" may be a good album to take along on a long weekend drive, so I'm going to record it to cassette soon.

Their earlier bassist, Johan De Farfalla, liked to play lead bass a bit. "Morningrise" contains his best work according to reviews. The latest work, "Damnation", highlights the outstanding drummer, Martin Lopez. I don't have their middle albums, but the bandmember lineup has been constant since "Blackwater Park". Mikael Akerfeldt and Peter Lindgren are the two constants throughout the band's history, both guitarists.

Most readers on the Forum would probably appreciate "Damnation" the most as it contains no death metal influences. It's more like 70's Progressive Rock that kept progressing, minus the synthesizer. The bass isn't wirey like Squire's bass because Akerfeldt evidently wants to keep the bass the bass these days. De Farfalla's lead bass tone may be one thing missing from the "Orchid" and "Morningrise" era. You're right, John, later Opeth has a deep 4004 bass tone. Akerfeldt must intend on keeping lead solos to himself and Lindgren, but Martin Mendez does a fine job on bass anyway. He seems to play some fretless, but I will let better bass experts than me decide that. Judging by last names, Opeth seems to have a latin rhythm section.

wormdiet · Post by **wormdiet** » Sun Apr 18, 2004 2:07 pm

"The best Rick bass would be the 4004 because of the darker tone and high output humbuckers, plus the Laredo version looks sinister in its Jetglo finish. "

I was doing some Opeth research (listening to one of those newfangled databases in a chain bookstore and skimming metal mags) and discovered something interesting: The current bass player uses a *jazz* of all things with virtually no effects, at least live. I can't recall his amp.

philco · Post by **philco** » Mon Apr 19, 2004 2:42 am

One of the CD covers lists Laney amps as a sponsor, so most likely a Laney.