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Immediately, Opeth looks like a different metal band. The name of this album, Still Life, shows a side of Opeth that most metal bands do not have. Most other bands may have titled this album "Still Death." Life and the beauty of it clashes with the gritty, death obsession that comes with the genre of metal. Examples are abundant, including Metallica's Kill 'Em All, Children of Bodom's Are You Dead Yet, and Dimmu Borgir's Death Cult Armageddon. While the album storyline results in death, most of the album revolves around love, another representation of Opeth's almost Bohemian ideals.
Still Life is Opeth's 4th studio release and the first since the debut to represent a full band rather than a few permanent members playing with studio musicians. The album showcases more complex riffs and more originality due to the fact that the band is made of entirely permanent members. Another aspect of Opeth shows they are not just another metal band as well. Many of Opeth's songs enter incredibly melodic acoustic passages and give the listener a break from the huge metal riffs that pound eardrums worldwide. Singer Mikael Akerfeldt screams intense, powerful metal growls and still shows his ability to sing clean, beautiful vocals when needed. Martin Lopez never falls into the metal stereotype of relying on double bass. While he does kick the double bass sixteenth in the climatic moments, he knows how to make a great metal drum feel without it. However, he and Martin Mendez serve as background and an undercurrent for the guitar riffing, which is nearly always the instrumental theme.
As far as the death metal section of the Opeth formula goes, the riffing is original, powerful, and tight. Often, the bass will follow the guitar riff if it isn't a chordal riff. Peter Lindgren's lead parts harmonize and create an extremely evil and dissonant aura about them. However, the harmonization isn't overdone like a band such as Avenged Sevenfold. The harmonizations are mixed much better and often sit on top of the guitar riff, not heard unless the listener tries to find them. Typically, Opeth allows the riff to be heard by itself for a few repetitions with the lead guitar soloing before Akerfeldt enters with his powerful metal growling. When it is time for a full out guitar solo, whoever is soloing lets all hell break loose. He covers the entire fretboard and plays tastefully. Unlike so many metal guitarists,both guitars know how to make an enjoyable solo rather than playing as many notes as possible within 3 seconds. They usually extend the color tones (3rd, 7th, 9th, etc) of the chords and create jazzy melodies, or as close to a jazzy melody that a death metal band can get.
The melodic acoustic side of Opeth is in some ways better than their metal sound. The guitar patterns, again, are the instrumental theme, but the bass often creates a hidden countermelody with the guitar. Martin Mendez makes a much better bassist in this style than the metal, holding his own melodies and never succumbing to the guitar lines. Akerfeldt sings beautifully, and if Opeth produced an album entirely made of these dark, brooding acoustic passages, he would never be expected to be able to scream, let alone scream well. His tone is dark, warm, and round, like the perfect euphonium or tuba sound. The chord progressions are often dissonant and dark. The passages are reminiscent of riding horseback in a dark, quiet night. Lindgren or Akerfeldt play very bluesy solos, often on a clean electric guitar. Both men's solos, both in the metal and acoustic sections have influenced my bass soloing as a jazz musician although Opeth is a metal band.
Putting these two formulas together creates a full, epic album that sets the stage for their follow up and breakthrough album Blackwater Park. Songs reach past 10 minutes, trading off between these two feels, each song with a new energy and aura about them. Song formats never follow anything typical, and listening for the first time is often mind-blowing because of the unexpected climaxes, transitions, and virtuosity in every second of the album. Unlike other Opeth albums, the acoustic passages make a much larger appearance on the album, being mostly the entire song in Benighted and Face of Melinda. However, huge metal epics like The Moor and Godhead's Lament are still here. This album put Opeth in the direction of becoming one of the greatest metal bands in the 21st century thus far, and they show no signs of slowing down.
Recommended Tracks:
The Moor
Godhead's Lament
Benighted
White Cluster
other reviews of this album |
Brendan Schroer STAFF (5) Prog-death perfection....
kalkal50 (5) Still Life for now may be just another album due for file sharing, but it will have an imp...
TheAnalyzer (5) NEEDS MOAR OPETH...
jtswope (4.5) Still Life is a detailed and powerful juxtaposition of the light and the darkness....
Hatshepsut (5) ...
Shredzilla (5) Truly Opeth's most defining album. Still Life is an absolute masterpiece, which, in my opi...
Slowburner (5) I hide the scars from my past, yet they sense my mute dirge. This is when it all falls apa...
metallicaman8 (4.5) Next time you come to a fork in the road and you're not sure whre to go, think of this alb...
yellowmomma (5) ...
Altmer (5) If aliens landed on earth and asked us to show the best record for every genre, this is a ...
SadlyMisinformed (3) Unmemorable and frustrating at times, which is dissapointing considering the frightening a...
e210013 (5) One of the best conceptual prog albums I’ve ever heard. The album that made the genre de...
J2e2c (5) There is not much to say in the summary other than: this is a genius prog-metal masterpiec...
Benny243 (5) Powerful, beautiful masterpiece, my favorite album of all time....
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Opeth win.
| | | Album Rating: 4.0
I was just about to write this.
| | | Album Rating: 4.5
Still Life isn't a song, Chan. I think you meant album.
| | | Album Rating: 4.5
Well in that case, agreed.
| | | Album Rating: 4.0
i always thought this played second fiddle to blackwater park, but having listened to it the other day, i think the two are about equal in quality, that quality being "ABSO-FECKIN-LUTELY EXCELLENT!!!!"
ditto for the review, good work man!
| | | I've only heard one 'Opeth' song, and I couldn't get intp it. I don't even remember the song, it just randomly played on launch.com. So I've always put them off. Good review however.This Message Edited On 07.23.06
| | | Do yourself a favor and get Blackwater Park.
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Do yourself a favor and get Blackwater Park
If I had the money I would. I've got a list of albums I need to buy, and I'm short on money. I can't DL stuff either. But I'll see if I can find it around and preview it or something.
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I was just about to write this. Please do :D
| | | Go to their MySpace.This Message Edited On 07.23.06
| | | MX disabled disguising links.
EDIT: Ha, you quickly edited that!This Message Edited On 07.23.06
| | | Album Rating: 4.5
Blackwater Park is definitely the starting point for those looking to explore Opeth.
| | | Album Rating: 4.0
While I do agree that BWP is where to start, I think this is a stronger album. It's my favourite Opeth album, in fact, though only by a hair.
| | | Album Rating: 5.0
Face of Melinda is a great great song. Good acoustic for the first half and when the distortion comes in it just fits perfect. If only Opeth would do more songs with clean singing, but distorted guitars.
| | | Album Rating: 4.5
I find every song on here quite enjoyable, but Benighted is a better acoustic song than Face of Melinda in my opinion.
| | | Album Rating: 5.0
I just love the ending. You're right, there isn't a single song on Still Life that I skip when I'm listening to it, unlike most other albums.
| | | Album Rating: 4.5
I just couldn't get this a 5. I don't really know why.
| | | Album Rating: 5.0
Best Opeth album.
The only one I could give a perfect 5, having said that, I give MAYH, Damnation, Blackwater Park and Ghost Reveries all 4.5's.
Such a good band once you get into them, one of my favourites, and definately the darkest band I listen to.
| | | Album Rating: 3.5
Great review, although there is one factual error that I think you've made, and that's that you credit all of the soloing to Lindgren, whereas Akerfeldt does a great deal of it, and if I'm not mistaken he does most of the "jazzy" soloing that you talk about.
This is my favorite Opeth album.
| | | Album Rating: 4.5
Oh, thanks for letting me know. I'll edit.
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